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Air purifiers are best for disinfecting and purifying your indoor air from allergens, particles, dust, etc. But what about odor or bad smell? The reason behind such a question is, it’s really hard to find a house without any type of smell. Especially, if you have pets in your house and cooks regularly these smells become distinct.
Therefore, when it comes to purchasing an air purifier a common question maximum people ask is do air purifiers get rid of odors? Well, some air purifiers can tackle pesky odors and some can’t, so, you have to consider some features for removing odors. This guide will let you know everything about air purifiers and how they help sink the stink in your house.
In This Post:
Do Air Purifiers Get Rid of Odors?
The main purpose of air purifiers is to eliminate particles, allergens, contaminants from the air. But do air purifiers get rid of odors? Yes, certain types of air purifiers can remove all unpleasant odor. Let’s find out which air purifiers can help you in removing odors along with contaminants and particles.
Carbon Filters
Activated carbon acts like a sponge and is the best way to absorb most odors. Carbon is porous and the element is absorbent that can effectively trap the airborne chemicals present. So, an air purifier with an activated carbon filter absorbs all the odor-causing chemicals and makes your home smell-free.
An air purifier may contain an activated carbon filter or a cartridge with carbon granules. Both these methods are equally effective against foul odors. Besides that, an activated carbon filter is used to eliminate VOCs which refer to “Volatile organic compounds” in your room. These organic chemicals release a gas vapor which causes offensive odors.
Air purifiers use a fan to cycle the air in the room which fills with contaminants, VOCs, and foul odors. So, when the air passes through the activated carbon filter, it traps all the molecules. In this way, it helps to eliminate unpleasant odors.
But, remember one thing, when the carbon filter becomes full of contaminants and airborne particles, it becomes less effective. At this time, you should replace the filter so that, it can start trapping the harmful particles again.
HEPA Air Purifier
HEPA implies high-efficiency particulate air filters which are able to filter almost 99.97% of all airborne particles. Even it can filter the smallest particles like 0.3 microns, including pet dander, dust, pollen, etc. HEPA filters are best for cleaning the air but to tackle unpleasant odor they usually have to combine with additional filtration systems like Zeolite or carbon.
The carbon or zeolite filters are saturated with potassium iodide to remove allergens, toxins, chemically reactive gases, and bad odors. However, some HEPA filters are equipped with a UV-C light which kills microorganisms that can cause odor. But the downside of this air purifier is, it produces ozone, which is very harmful to human health. So, before buying make sure to consider these factors.
Molekule Technology (PECO)
Another ideal way is Photo Electrochemical Oxidation (PECO) that can help you to deal with the odor-causing VOCs. This air purification technology removes airborne particles as small as 0.1 nm and also filters all the VOCs from the air. The molecule air purifiers generate free radicals into the air.
In this way, it breaks down all the odor-causing Molekule bonds and destroys the harmful airborne chemicals. This implies it can keep your room odor-free and free from all the unpleasant and physically harmful smells. Unlike carbon filters, it not only traps the contaminants but also destroys them.
What Odors Do Air Purifiers Can Remove?
From the above section, it is clear that air purifiers can remove smells from your home. And, here are the common types of odors that most households would encounter, against which air purifiers work effectively.
Mold and Mildew
Our home environment is the perfect place for the fungi like mold and mildew to form. These fungi cause a musty smell and in the rainy seasons, these smells become horrible to tolerate. They are much harmful to our health and if you have allergies then these can be really dangerous. But, fortunately, air purifiers can efficiently remove these fungi from your home air as well as the odor.
Smoke
Smokes from gaseous pollutants, cigarettes, chemical pollutants are odorous nuisances and extremely harmful to inhale. Here, using the fan, filter, and purification technology air filters drag out the smoke from your indoor air. Also, some air purifiers come with smoke detection technology which works much more conveniently against the smoke.
Pet Odor
According to APPA National Pet Owners Survey, 67% of U.S. households own a pet, which equates to 84.9 million homes. And those who have pats know very well, how much they give bath to them, they still stink. The reason behind this is, an animal’s skin has tiny proteins, oils, other substances, and obviously danders. Luckily, the air purifier not only can remove the hair and dander but also absorb the odors from pets.
Kitchen Odor
Every time your delicious meal leaves smoke and ends up lingering in the kitchen. Unfortunately, the kitchen smells find their way across the other rooms also. It doesn’t matter how much you clean the kitchen, the stink remains.
This is where some good purifiers for kitchen come in really handy to remove these stinks. The air purifier eats up all the excessive cooking smells and leaves the kitchen fresh and clean to breathe.
Household Products
The indoor moisture is the biggest reason to cause a dampish smell throughout the whole house. Even the daily used clothes, wall paints, furniture, curtains, and other household things sometimes leave bad smells.
Actually, this happens due to the polluted indoor air and moisture. In this case, an air purifier will keep the room dry, eliminate all the pollution from the air and make the room absolutely free from bad smells.
Many people use air fresheners or scented candles which can cover up the bad smells of your room for a few minutes. But, they won’t last long and can’t make your room pollution-free. However, you should keep in mind that these products contain harmful toxic chemicals which are harmful to human health. So, all in all, an air purifier is the ideal choice to make your home odor-free.
Last Thoughts
So, do air purifiers get rid of odors?
The answer is yes, and as you have made it to the end of this guide, all your confusion may clear out. Odors like tobacco smoke, strong cooking smells, chemical fumes, and others are very harmful to human health. Especially if you are suffering from asthma, allergies, MCS, and COPS these odors can be dangerous for you.
Also, the musty odor can make you feel embarrassed when other people come to your house. In this case, a high-quality air purifier with filters or peco technology can reduce odor and help you out. In addition, you will get pollution-free, clean, and breathable air in your home.
