I'm prone to allergies and sinus infections. I'm allergic to grass and
many weeds. Is buying an air filter for my room likely to help much?
If so, what device/brand should I buy?

Hello Beatle,

"I'm prone to allergies and sinus infections. I'm allergic to grass
and many weeds. Is buying an air filter for my room likely to help
much?"

Yes, an air filter will help a lot. There are many types of air
filtration device. These are, in no particular order:

• High-efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter
• Activated carbon filter (active filter)
• Ionizers
• Ordinary fiber or sponge filters (usually attached to an air
conditioning unit or a blower)

For people like you, HEPA filter is the best air filtration device.
HEPA filters are so efficient because it can capture micron-sized
particulates such as soot, pollen and other suspended particulates in
the air. However, please remember that the benefits of a HEPA filter
is limited only inside your room or your home - where the filter is
located.

I have answered a similar question for another customer. For more info
on air filters, please click on the links that are provided in this
link:

Air filter/cleaner for whole house
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=118752


Search strategy:
Personal knowledge

I hope this helps you. Should you have any comments/questions, please
feel free to post your clarification before rating this and I'll
attend to you as soon as possible. Thanks for asking.

Best regards,
Feilong

For allergies and such, an air filter certified to be a HEPA filter would be best.

Here are some ratings for air purifiers

http://www.allergybuyersclub.com/compare-air.html?source=googleadair%20purifiers

Greetings, beatle!

I honestly don't believe that there is much point in getting room air
filters. You need fresh air to circulate in your home for health
reasons, and unless you're bedridden and confined to one room with the
door always shut, you're going to be exposed to things every time
someone opens an exterior door, or every time you go somewhere.

My husband is a physician, and I suffer from severe allergies. Both he
and I believe that these devices are very good for only one thing:
separating people who are suffering from their money.

When we moved into our home last July, we discovered that both HVAC
units contained (1 upstairs, 1 downstairs) cheap, "reusable" metal
filters that had holes in their weave the size of dinosaurs. The great
HVAC guy whom we had out for a repair right after we moved in
suggested that we go to Lowe's or Home Depot and buy good-quality
disposable fiber filters. He said that HEPA filters are not terribly
effective, and if you're going to go all-out with the expensive way,
you should get an electrostatic filter installed on your HVAC unit (to
the tune of about $700 each).

After 6 weeks, we checked the new fiber filters, and they were
absolutely filthy black, so we replaced them. After the first couple
of times (presumably getting the build-up of particles out of the
house), my husband noticed that he hardly ever had to dust, and even
then, not much had accumulated. So we replace these babies every 3
months. The filters are the better-quality ones available and cost
$4-5 each. Considering how much I suffer from allergies, I think they
are well worth the minor expense.

The other thing you can do that will greatly help reduce pollutants is
to vacuum (with a good vacuum with a fiber filter, NOT one of those
worthless HEPA cartridges that are all the rage, according to the
owner of the local vacuum store who only sells HEPA vacuums because
customers demad them) very frequently. My husband (what a man!)
vacuums every week, and my friend who is allergic to cats never has a
reaction when she comes to our house, despite the fact that we have
two felines.

Best wishes,

ace

I too had to put an air filter in my bedroom.  Keep my doors closed,
treat my carpets from mite, take down the drapes and on and on, took
shots, flonase, claritin, zyrtec.  I'm sure it helped and I still use
the filter daily, but I stumbled across something very relunctantly. 
Allergies and asthma are from immune deficiencies.  I discovered I
could rebuild my healthy cells to fight off the bad cells and rebuild
my immune system by eating more fresh raw fruits and vegetables.  I
can't always do that, so my doctor introduced my to JuicePlus which
has 17 fruits and vegetables in a capsule form.  I have had so much
success in taking this that I eventually become involved in the
company.  If you want to check out the research check out
www.JuicePlus.com/+HB11828.  It was worth a try for me, but all in
all, do get an air filter.  Our homes have so much mold, etc. it
really will help with things in the air, but work on building you a
healthy body to fight the immune deficiency you are experiencing.

HEPA Air filters seem to work best for allergies when combined with a
carbon filter.  I got mine at
http://www.air-purifiers-and-filters.com/  It works amazingly well.

One thing that you should be careful about when you install a new
device is the ozone it produces. Many electronic devices are known to
do so. Ozone may aggrevate an existing allergy condition.

The only practical solution is installing a whole-house Electronic Air
Cleaner (Aprilaire 5000) into the HVAC system.  Those room air
cleaners and air purifiers are worthless (in spite of the massive
media blitzes).  If you don't want to spring for an E.A.C. just be
sure to change your return air grille filters EVERY 30 DAYS, even if
they appear to be clean. This isn't a very good solution for allergy
and asthma sufferers, and the throwaway filters don't do much for dust
control in the home, but something is better than nothing. Here's a
website to check out for the 1" filters and also for the Aprilaire
whole-house air cleaners:  www.gotairfilters.net.