Can Air Purifiers Clean Concrete Dust?
It is important to note that there are different types of air purifiers, such as ozone and ion generators, electrostatic precipitators or charged media filters. Each type of air purifier has its own benefits in particular situations, or are used for different reasons and applications. For this situation however, air purifiers that use HEPA filtration, removes 99.97% of air particles that are pulled through its fine mesh and are therefore the most applicable for dust control.
Air purifiers that hold a HEPA filter, such as the Novair 2000 or the Drieaz Defendair 500, use 2 stages of filtration. Through air movement, particles are forced into its filtration system. A pre-filter is used to capture larger particles in the air leaving the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate arrestance) filter to filter through the finer particles in the air. This effectively removes particles from the air, which is then expelled out of the machine as clean air.
Silica is a component that can be found in granite, sand, cement, rock and other materials. It is a common and naturally occuring chemical compound. Silica can become dangerous when rendered into a dust state that can be inhaled (silica dust). Long term exposure to inhaling silica can cause “development of lung cancer, silicosis..., kidney diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease” (Cancer.org.au, 2018) and should be taken very seriously.
By using HEPA filtered air purifiers, or air scrubbers, such as the Defendair 500 or the Novair 2000, users are able to thoroughly clean silica dust from the air, making a safe breathable area. Depending on the size of the area, multiple HEPA filtration units may be required, or larger, stronger models may be needed.