Fine particles too small to see—dust and dust mite waste, pollen, smoke, germs, and mold—can enter the upper respiratory tract and may worsen allergy symptoms. Ultrafine particles can penetrate further into the respiratory system, making their way into the lungs where they can cause inflammation and can increase allergic reactions.

While we can’t provide medical advice, we can tell you that effective air purification is frequently recommended by medical professionals for allergy sufferers.

Brio’s innovative APART (tm) technology is highly effective at removing fine and ultra-fine particles from indoor air.

The short answer: yes.

To reduce airborne viruses, an air purifier must be able to capture very small particles—typically in the 0.1–0.5 micron range. Independent lab testing shows that Brio’s APART™ technology effectively removes particles in this size range, including a COVID-19 surrogate, in just 15 minutes.

Brio is also ASHRAE 241 compliant, meaning it meets rigorous standards for performance in reducing airborne contaminants.

It’s important to note, however, that air purification is one part of an overall protection strategy. As the EPA explains:

“When used properly, air purifiers can help reduce airborne contaminants, including viruses, in a home or confined space. However, by itself, a portable air cleaner is not enough to protect people from COVID-19. When used along with other best practices recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, operating an air cleaner can be part of a plan to protect yourself and your family.”

Yes, Brio can help. Fine wildfire smoke particles may be as small as 0.4-0.7 microns. Independent testing shows that Brio’s APART particle removal effectively traps particles in this size range including wildfire smoke. And because Brio stays at peak performance between cartridge changes, you can be confident smoke particles are being removed effectively.

Since the most damaging particle pollution is not visible to the human eye, the best way to determine the air quality is by using a high-quality indoor air quality monitor or particulate sensor. Leave your IAQ monitor on all day and night to accurately detect and monitor particle pollutants in your home. Ideally, the monitor will be positioned at a location in the room where particle pollution may be the most significant. You could also place it nearest to the people in the room—since they are affected by the air quality.

We suggest using a separate device to measure indoor air quality as particle sensors and air quality monitors located onboard an air purifier may give a less accurate picture of the true levels of pollution in the room, since the air closest to the purifier will tend to be cleaner. In addition, they can go out of calibration leading to inaccurate readings.

Yes, and yes. Do you need to? We think so. Particle pollution in your home can be from ongoing, regular sources (dust and pets, mold, pollen, cooking, wood-burning fireplaces) or it can be episodic (a nearby wildfire, for example). Or both. Poor environmental air quality affects you inside your home, too.

Particle pollution is also dynamic within a room over the course of daily life. Doors open and close. People move from room to room. So do pets. And so do airborne particles. Rooms aren’t airtight. Windows leak. Heating systems exchange indoor and outdoor air.

Because of multiple types and sources of invisible particle pollution, we recommend leaving your Brio air purifier on, all day and all night. The fan setting can be adjusted based on what your independent air quality monitor or particulate sensor is telling you. Or what you know about your home and air. As there is less air movement at night, air purifiers can often be turned to a lower setting at bedtime. This really depends on the level of particle pollution and the effectiveness of your air purifier at a low fan speed. If you wake up in the morning and your air quality has gone down, you may want to turn up the fan to a higher setting.

Brio’s APART technology draws particles out of the airflow, so there’s nothing to clog or slow the clean air delivery rate. And the cartridge is designed to hold a high volume of particles. Together these features add up to a long cartridge life. Your actual environmental conditions and use will determine how often it needs replacing. In less polluted areas, the cartridge may last much longer than a year. In areas with higher, ongoing pollution, the cartridge may need changing more often.

We suggest changing the APART Collection Cartridge using Brio’s Check/Change Indicator as a guide or once every 12 months.

Our lab tests have shown that Brio's APART Collection Cartridge stays at a peak performance level 5-10 times longer than identically tested HEPA-style air purifiers. HEPA filters lose effectiveness between the recommended filter changes because of how HEPA-style air purifiers work. Trapping particles in the filter reduces airflow and causes the clean air delivery rate to decline.

Brio doesn’t have this issue. Instead Brio draws particles away from the airflow, so performance stays consistently high, with no drop in the clean air delivery rate, until the APART Collection Cartridge is completely full. HEPA filters can't make the same promise.

Yes! However, it’s important to understand what this means, exactly. There are a number of sources of ozone in the home, and the level of ozone in your home may be elevated by the presence of smog outdoors or by use of some home cleaning products. Thanks to Brio’s Refresh Plus filtration process, ozone in the living space can be reduced to a level below what it may have been before turning Brio on. Brio is certified as ozone-safe by the California Air Resources Board, the country’s most-stringent certifying organization for ozone.