When it comes to cleaning the air in a single room in your home, a portable air purifier is sufficient. But if you want to improve the indoor air quality throughout your entire house, a whole house air filter or purification system can clean the air as it passes through your home’s HVAC system.

Breathing elevated concentrations of ozone can trigger a variety of responses, such as chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and airway inflammation. It also can reduce lung function and harm lung tissue. Ozone can worsen bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma , leading to increased medical care .

On Days when High Particle Levels are Expected, Take these Extra Steps to Reduce Pollution:

1. Reduce the number of trips you take in your car.
2. Reduce or eliminate fireplace and wood stove use.
3. Avoid burning leaves, trash, and other materials.
4. Avoid using gas-powered lawn and garden equipment.

The dirt from shoes and pet paws and particles in the air that settle into carpet fibers can be a major contributor to dust in the home. Frequent vacuuming (daily or every other day) can help—as long as you don’t recirculate some of the dust back into the living space while vacuuming.

Air pollution and the Immune System Inhaling dirty air can trigger the release of white blood cells into the bloodstream and can result in inflammation. The presence of PM or fine particulate matter triggers imbalance in the immune system.

Air purifiers can’t make you sick because they work to clean the air. Air purifiers don’t cause a sore throat. Some ionic air purifiers may cause throat irritation in people with respiratory conditions, but it doesn’t cause you to cough. Air purifiers don’t dry out the air.

Bacteria and viruses settle on surfaces in our homes, but they also float in the air, where they can be inhaled. If you already have a cold or flu, an air purifier will not eliminate the illness, but it could ease some of the symptoms by improving the air quality.

Look for a model with a HEPA filter, which is what most allergists and doctors recommend. Air purifiers can remove the smallest microbes in the air, reducing harmful airborne germs that not only include cold and flu viruses but also dust, pollen, mold spores, pet dander and smoke particles.

The short answer is yes, but only to a limited degree. Many air purifiers actually are capable of trapping and even killing viruses, but they can only be expected to trap a small percentage of germs in the air in a typical home.

Best Quality Personal Air Purifier — AirTamer A310. This A310 model I have is a stylish and surprisingly powerful little air ionizer that generates more than 2 million beneficial negative ions per cubic centimeter every second.

In the United States, the TSA, or Transportation Security Administration, has no rules against bringing an air purifier in a checked or carry-on bag. While you should always check with the TSA and the airline before you depart, this means you’ll have to wait to use your air purifier when you land.

About 40 percent of a cabin’s air gets filtered through this HEPA system; the remaining 60 percent is fresh and piped in from outside the plane. “Cabin air is completely changed every three minutes, on average, while the aircraft is cruising,” says Becker. (Lufthansa has a video showing how HEPA filters work.)

Delta Air Lines is the only major U.S. airline that continues to block airplane middle seats in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19 on its flights.

If the flight is cancelled, the airline will put you on the next available flight. (you won’t be the only passenger they need to rebook, so call the airline 800# rather than waiting in a queue to deal with a harried airline employee at the airport.)

If the airplane can be kept in a hangar prior to flight, it can operate in very, very cold conditions. Airplanes fly in minus 56 celsius (-69 degrees Fahrenheit) or colder conditions at altitude, therefore if the fluids can be kept warm, the airplane can usually operate.