RVs seem to accumulate extra dust; more than an S&B house. It’s a small confined space with people and pets moving about with doors and windows open allowing natural allergens and campfire/grilling smoke in and cooking odors and pet dander floating everywhere. We had to find a solution of getting rid of that dust and those allergens.
Back when we had our S&B, we had a couple large HEPA Air Purifiers; one upstairs and one downstairs. They worked great, so we relocated them to our RV.
The term HEPA is an acronym for “High Efficiency Particulate Air.” HEPA filters are a common tool used in many mechanical air cleaners to filter small, unwanted, and unhealthy particles out of the air. They consist of a web of fibers arranged in a random pattern.
This photo is of the one we bought for our bedroom. Looking at the photos, please excuse the way our Air Purifier looks but we purposely left it that way to show that it works and why we recommend having one or two in your RV or camper (or even boat). Notice that white caked powder-like substance in the little holes? Those are “dust” particles aka allergens, dust mites, dander and even makeup powder; all of which came out of our small bedroom of our RV in a month’s time.
Realizing they don’t filter ‘everything’, we can’t imagine ‘not’ having one. They minimize dust, dander and allergens thus improving air quality. We highly recommend them.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Keep in mind that the “P” in “HEPA” stands for “Particulate.” HEPA filters only target airborne particles, not gasses. Although this means that a HEPA filter will help clean the air of many common pollutants, it also means that many others will pass right through the filter undisturbed. Many of the better air purifiers on the market will combine a HEPA filter with some other system that targets gaseous pollution, such as an activated carbon filter. Therefore, consumers are advised to consider their needs and all of the features of air purifiers before deciding which to buy.
For information on the technology and how they work, we encourage you to visit the APG (Air Purifier Guide) website. Lots of good interesting stuff. The site shows a pictoral explanation of how hepa filters work.
Both of ours are manufactured by Holmes. The one we have in the living area is a bit bigger; holding two filters instead of one like the air purifier in our
bedroom. Again, like the dehumidifiers, we appropriated each based on room size.
bedroom. Again, like the dehumidifiers, we appropriated each based on room size.
We purchased both air purifiers at Target; the livingroom one over seven years ago (the one we dragged from our S&B) and the smaller one in our bedroom when we purchased our new RV. They can be costly however, appreciating what they do for us and our health is a huge payoff.
We also can find the filters at Target or Amazon; running us about $15 each filter plus tax. We change our filters monthly during allergy seasons or in dusty environments stretching them to two months if we can.
So, if you’re looking to minimize the dust, allergens and particles that make you sick or sneeze alot consider getting one of these. Its not really a ‘must have’ in RV living but it makes RV life a little more comfortable and cleaner.
So, who wants to be dusting all the time?? Not us!
DISCLAIMER: These words are strictly from our experience and our opinion. We will not be held liable for misuse of this article or in the event they don’t work for your individual use or situation. We recommend doing your own research and gather other reviews prior to purchase.
