In Washington’s Yakima Valley, a rural area with lots of farms, dairies, and crops, there is a lot of air pollution from dust, ammonia, pesticides, and traffic. Children who live there often get asthma because the air inside their homes can be full of tiny particles that make breathing difficult.

Researchers from the University of Washington worked with local clinics and farmworker families between 2015 and 2017. They set up a study with children aged 6–12 who had asthma. Every family got asthma education and tools like mattress covers and green cleaning kits. But only half the families also received HealthMate air purifiers to use in the child’s bedroom and the living room—running 24/7 to clean the air indoors.

Here’s what happened:

• In homes without the HEPA purifiers, indoor pollution (PM2.5) dropped by about 15% in bedrooms and 17% in living rooms.
  
• In contrast, homes with the HealthMate cleaners saw far bigger reductions—up to 65% less in bedrooms and 48% less in living rooms.
  
• The cleaner air led to better asthma control: kids had fewer symptoms and were much less likely to need unplanned doctor or emergency visits—72% fewer visits overall, and an even stronger benefit for kids with more severe symptoms at the start.
  

Why This Study Matters

• Most asthma studies focus on cities—but this one is special because it shows the HealthMate works even in agricultural, rural settings with high levels of dust and ammonia.
  
• It shows that cleaning indoor air with a purifier really helps kids with asthma breathe easier and reduce emergency room visits.
  
• It proves that the HealthMate can be a powerful part of asthma management—especially in homes where outdoor pollution seeps inside every day.
  

In simple terms: Kids in farm areas breathed cleaner indoor air, and because of that, their asthma was easier to manage—and their families didn’t have to go to the ER as often.