The recent flooding in many parts of the country has started a flood of calls on the best air cleaner for removing mold spores from the air. It has also sparked quite a discussion here at The Allergy Store about what is the best air cleaner for mold.

Tiffany thinks it is the Austin Air HealthMate Plus, Mike likes the Austin Air Allergy Machine. I am throwing my vote to the Alen A375UV or Alen Paralda.

If you read this blog often, you will be surprised that I didn't pick a machine made by Austin Air.  I love every Austin Air made machine in my house.  They make a great machine.  But, if my home had been flooded and I was in the process of removing debris and cleaning it out, I would want another machine running.  The reason I would pick the Alen A375UV or Alen Paralda is because both of these machines contain ultraviolet lights.  Now, despite what they may claim, I know that those UV lights aren't killing viruses, bacterias, and molds as they fly through the air. However, those UV lights are keeping the mold from growing on the filter. If the situation is one with high spore counts, any HEPA filter is going to be hard at work trapping those spores.  Why not help it out by using UV to kill the spores it traps?  This is the time that I think two of the Alen models trumps the Austin models.  If I were using any Austin Air machine, I would certainly throw out the filter when I was done with the clean-up and start fresh.  Seems like a waste of a filter since they are designed to last for 5 years under normal household conditions. But a flooded environment isn't a normal household condition and I certainly wouldn't want a filter that I had loaded with mold running in my bedroom once I had in cleaned up.  In my humble opinion.

I'll let Mike and Tiffany defend their opinions.

Til Next Time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store