A classroom that has clean, fresh air can’t help but allow teachers and students to concentrate on learning rather than fighting with symptoms that poor air quality can cause.
Here are 5 features that are really important to have in an air purifier for your students. Anything less than this is just that—not as good.
Flexible Placement—Depending on the size of the space you’ve been given to teach in, being able to tuck the purifier away in a corner or put it up high on a shelf, or under even under a shelf.
A unit that can be this flexible should be able to pull air in from every side. And as a result the unit will only need about 6 inches of clearance in order to provide 360 degree intake of the air in your space.
Because a purifier with this feature does not to be placed in the center of the room to work effectively it offers several huge advantages. Its ability to work well anywhere can prevent you and your students from tripping over the cord, and can allow you to keep your students as the focal point in your room rather than the cleaner.
Safe By-Products—One of the most important things about an air cleaner that is to be used with anyone, but especially with children, is to know that the only by-product it produces is fresh clean air.
There is still a great deal of debate about cleaners that produce ozone and ionized particles. And since all are not agreed that these by-products are healthy, there is no reason to use these types of cleaners when there are other options that have been proven to be both effective and safe.
HEPA or high efficiency particle arresting filtration is the type that hospitals use to insure clean air. By definition this type of filter must be able to remove 99,997 out of every 10,000 particles that are .3 microns or larger in size.
It produces the by-product that the whole filtration process is about—fresh air only.. And isn’t that the ultimate goal for the air in your classroom?
Built To Last—Classroom activity can reach a high level and sustained level frequently.. So a delicate purifier that must be pampered probably isn’t a good match for the classroom.
Instead opt for a cleaner that is literally made of steel. It can withstand most normal classroom activities without any interruption in its operation.
24 Hour Filtration—This is one of the most important features your cleaner can offer you and your students. Many times the filtration, heat, and air conditioning are cut back to minimum levels when the building is empty.
My dad use to say pay now or pay later, and there’s really no way to get around it. It’s true that cutting the cleaner off cuts costs but then you have to run it faster and harder as it plays catch up to the pollutants that have accumulated while it was off.
And even though you may not be able to pinpoint exactly what is causing the problem, it usually takes a while for the cleaner to clear away pollutants and restore air quality to a healthy level.
Multiple Filters—One filter just can’t do an adequate job of taking out multiple types of pollutants. And even if it could, it would mean frequent maintenance, and who wants to spend spare time washing, cleaning, drying, or spraying a filter?
Opt for a cleaner that has multiple filters in a canister. This is a good idea for several reasons. Multiple filters that are sized to eliminate only a certain range of particle sizes will allow each filter to do its part and result in longer filter life.