SINGAPORE’S INTERMITTENT “HAZE SEASON” IS BACK — HOW PROTECTED ARE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY?
The best time to invest in a hospital-grade air purifier was yesterday!
Every year, Singapore faces the threat of haze, a result of forest fires in the region. The haze brings along a myriad of health risks, including respiratory issues, allergies, and eye irritation. If you’re concerned about its impact on your health and the well-being of your loved ones, then read on.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR AIR PURIFIERS
Protect Your Home and Health During Haze with an Effective Air Purifier
While it is proven that AIR PURIFIERS HELP beat the haze problem, not all air purifiers are built the same — and knowing which one is TRULY EFFECTIVE can make all the difference.
Dust, pet dander, pollen (if you have flowering plants in the house), and volatile organic compounds are examples of common indoor air pollutants. This could come from cleaning supplies, cooking, perfume, or even from humans and animals.
The majority of the haze, however, is made up of smoke and dust that can be classified as coarse or fine particulate matter because it is the result of widespread open burning of farmland and plantations.
PM10 refers to "coarse" inhalable particles with a diameter of 10 micrometers (m) or less but greater than 2.5 m. PM2.5, or "fine" particles, are defined as having a diameter less than 2.5 m.
Both are unhealthy since they can irritate your eyes, nose, and throat. This is an even bigger concern if you also have other health issues, like asthma or other respiratory illnesses.
Between PM10 and PM2.5, the latter is even more hazardous because it is far smaller particles that can enter your blood and the deeper parts of your lungs causing more severe damage to your health.
Therefore, an effective air purifier would need to be able to handle not only normal household air pollutants but also the particulate matter (both PM10 and PM2.5) from haze during this period of haze.
You would want a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter which can filter out 99.95% of particles with a diameter of 0.3m.
