Airborne toxins and pollutants can have a significant impact on your baby's development, affecting their immune system, lungs and brain. In order for your child to grow up healthy, it is important to ensure that the air in their room is as clean as possible.
During and after pregnancy, one of the easiest ways to renew indoor air is to air your home daily. However, this method is not sufficient to eliminate dust mites, kitchen odours, cigarette smoke, dust, pollen on your clothes, etc.
The most effective way to remove this pollution is with an air purifier. But do you know which air purifier to choose for you and your baby? And which ones to avoid?
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Our selection for the year 2023
There are many air purifiers on the market. In order to make your choice easier, we have limited our selection to 3 products that we believe are the best for your baby in 2023.
1. Rowenta Intense Pure Air Connect XL air purifier
The most efficient
The Rowenta Intense Pure Air Connect XL is a quality air purifier that tends towards the high end with its NanoCaptur technology, silence, size and power. Suitable for medium to large rooms, it is undeniably one of the best performing air purifiers to date, with an ozone-free 100 % mechanical air purification system and many interesting additional features.
2. Levoit Core 300 air purifier
Our favourite ❤
The Levoit Core 300 is an air purifier suitable for babies and baby's rooms, but also for people with allergies or asthma (the device has no ozone emission risk and a low noise level). It is ideal for cleaning the air in your home, whether in the living room or bedroom, and offers unbeatable value for money. We can only recommend it if you want to buy an efficient device at a reasonable price.
3. Xiaomi Mi 3H Air Purifier
The best value for money
The Xiaomi Mi 3H air purifier is a powerful device with many practical features not found in the competition. This affordable, connected air purifier offers excellent value for money.
Designed for areas up to 45 m², you can place it in any room. The multitude of options, the variety of speeds and the minimal design make it a complete piece of equipment. In addition, the Xiaomi Mi 3H air purifier is outstanding in terms of performance as evidenced by its CADR certification.
What are the benefits of an air purifier for baby's health?
Babies, infants and young children are very vulnerable to all kinds of air pollution, as they breathe 40-60 times per minute (twice as much as an adult). As a result, they are constantly inhaling many more air pollutants than adults.
If you think you have a safe house, capable of keeping all contaminants out, think again. According to theAnsesIndoor air quality is 5 to 10 times more polluted than outdoor air. Several studies have shown that this pollution leads to increased infant mortality and respiratory problems. Good air quality is important even before birth, as dirty air is linked to difficulties during pregnancy and a higher rate of birth defects.
Your baby's room is one of the places where the risk of air pollution is greatest. There are many airborne pollutants that your baby can breathe in. These include tobacco smoke, formaldehyde from carpets or furniture, dust, cleaning products, dust mites (and their excrement), mould and animal dander, etc.
According to solidarity-health.gouv.frPoor air quality impacts a child's neurological development, which in turn affects cognitive test results and increases rates of behavioural problems. An air purifier will allow you to trap all these pollutants and allergens and effectively protect your baby. It will be even more effective if you leave your air purifier on all the time.
Which products should be avoided?
Not all air purifiers are safe for your baby. When looking for an air purifier, you should pay attention to the air filtration technology used and in particular that the device does not emit ozone. This gas is known to be the main component of smog: it irritates the respiratory system, aggravates chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and can also compromise the body's ability to fight respiratory infections.
The best choice for your baby is an air purifier that uses only a HEPA filter rather than an ionising air purifier or an air purifier using UV-C light. Why this choice? The reason is simple: the HEPA filter is mechanical, it does not generate ozone.
The Golden Rule To clean the air for babies and children, never buy a device that is likely to generate ozone (ioniser, photocatalysis, UV-C light). We also advise against the use of plasma: this technology can potentially emit carcinogenic substances, a source of respiratory problems following incomplete oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in the ambient atmosphere.
Which options should be preferred?
To maintain a healthy environment for your baby, we recommend combining these two filters:
- The HEPA filter This can reduce all airborne allergens down to 0.3 microns by 99.97 %.
- The activated carbon filter It can adsorb odours, smoke, chemicals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
The baby air purifier can also be equipped with a humidification function, which allows you to maintain an ideal level of humidity in your child's room. What's in it for you? It helps your little one avoid sore throats, dry sinuses and blocked noses, which can lead to allergies and asthma.
You should, however, pay attention to the maintenance of the humidification system: poor cleaning can encourage the development of viruses and bacteria in the water supply of the device. So remember to wash your humidifier regularly (as indicated in the user manual). This will prevent the spread of a culture of germs in the air!
Finally, the air purifier should also have a silent mechanism so as not to disturb your baby's sleep at night. Some models may make a little noise when they are in use. We therefore advise you to pay attention to this point when making your choice, as baby's sleep is the most precious thing for young parents!
Do you want to purify the rest of the house as well?
>> Discover our complete guide to air purifiers
How to optimise the efficiency of your air purifier?
To improve your comfort, we suggest blocking the blue light/power light emitted by the device. This can disrupt sleep cycles, so it is recommended that it be moved out of the child's field of vision or blocked with a piece of tape.
Another important point is to place your air purifier on a stable surface, preferably on the floor or near your baby's bed. The air purification is even more effective in its immediate area. By placing it like this, you will capture as much dust and pollutants as possible in direct contact with your baby.
Finally, keep your device close to the cot, where the baby spends many hours sleeping, so that the atmosphere your baby breathes is as pure as possible.
Our tips for keeping the air in the room clean
Controlling the sources of pollutants is an essential first step in keeping your child's room clean. Even if it seems obvious, do not smoke in the house. The vapour from burning tobacco is particularly harmful to newborns. It has also been shown that even smoke on your clothes or hair can be toxic to babies.
We also recommend that you clean the surfaces with a damp cloth and regular vacuuming. This will remove many of the pollutant particles that can be re-dispersed into the household air. Regarding carpets and furniture, you should be careful if you plan to buy new ones, as they can release toxins such as formaldehyde. If you can: isolate them for a few days in a room while they air out.
Finally, pay attention to the humidity level This should not be too high and should remain between 40 and 60 %. This will prevent the formation of mould and mould spores. Regular dusting and maintaining the correct humidity level in your home can limit the occurrence of mould in your home and at the same time prevent health problems.
What are the effects of pollutants on your child's health?
Whether you live in a big city or in a rural area, the air you breathe is polluted. Very often this pollution is invisible and odourless, yet it is not without risk to your child or unborn baby. Unborn babies and infants are at higher risk of developing health problems due to air pollution. But what are the different types of outdoor pollution and their effects on your baby?
The particles
The term "particulate matter" refers to a diverse class of pollutants that exist in the form of particles. The size of these substances can vary, but in general the smallest particles are the most toxic. They come from emissions of sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides or volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Exposure to particles can lead to cardiovascular and respiratory health problemsThis includes an increased risk of low birth weight and infant mortality due to respiratory problems after birth.
Ground-level ozone and smog
Ground-level ozone is created by the chemical interaction of volatile organic compounds with particles, heat and sunlight. It is a gas commonly referred to as smog during pollution episodes in large cities. Exposure to this gas in pregnant women increases the risk of low birth weight, as well as the risk of infant mortality. In addition, exposed infants and children are likely to develop asthma.
Second-hand tobacco smoke
Passive smoking by friends, family or bystanders can have a negative impact on the environment. a significant impact on the health of your child or unborn child. Second-hand smoke can cause miscarriage, premature birth, low birth weight, learning or behavioural disabilities, and sudden infant death syndrome.
Combustion pollutants (gases and smoke)
Gases such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide can be released from your household appliances (gas cookers, space heaters, etc.). health problems for mother and baby. During pregnancy, exposure to these pollutants can reduce the ability of the mother's blood to carry oxygen (O2), thereby limiting the supply of O2 to the developing foetus.
Moulds
Mould can grow in many places in your home. It can grow from the moisture in your bathroom or the humidifier in your bedroom. Coughing, wheezing, skin, throat and eye irritations are signs of the presence of micromycetes. There is no proven link between mould exposure and an increased risk of problems during pregnancy. However, moulds cause many health and respiratory problems.
Pollen
Pollen is an allergen that can be carried on your clothes and enter your home through open windows and doors. High exposure to pollen during pregnancy increases the risk of developing asthma or allergies in your child at an early age.
Dust
Dust is one of the most common indoor air pollutants. Inhaling it can trigger allergic reactions.
Volatile organic compounds
This form of pollution is present almost everywhere. Cleaning products, paints and cosmetics release these gases into the air. They include formaldehyde, acetone, benzene and ethylene glycol. Like other air pollutants, volatile organic compounds are linked to childhood asthma.