The North American Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) has finalized a performance test standard that will provide appliance manufacturers with a consistent way to test the effectiveness of portable room air cleaners’ ability to remove microbiological pollutants including viruses, bacteria and mold. “The new standard, AHAM-AC-5-2022, measures the rate at which an air cleaner reduces aerosolized bacteriophages that mimic many common illness-causing viruses, including COVID-19 – AHAM explains –. While no air cleaner removes all pollutants (microbiological or otherwise), AC-5 will provides a uniform method to assess the rate at which different air cleaner models remove microbiological pollutants from rooms of a given size. AHAM AC-5 is the first air cleaner performance standard to focus on microbiological pollutants and was developed over the course of 18 months by a committee of public health professionals, academic researchers and leading appliance manufacturers”. Room air cleaners have long been used to improve indoor air quality by reducing allergens and pollutants, and the COVID-19 pandemic sparked interest among consumers in utilizing room air cleaners as a tool to reduce the likelihood of virus transmission. AHAM AC-5 was developed in response to that interest. AHAM administers the AHAM Verifide® air cleaner certification program, which independently tests air cleaners’ ability to reduce tobacco smoke, dust and pollen, and provides each unit with a certified Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR). Models tested under AC-5 and certified by AHAM will eventually be assigned an m-CADR rating for the ability to remove microbiological pollutants. AHAM is currently working to bring this test into the AHAM Verifide® program.
