Rating Cigarette Smoke Air Purifiers
If you're searching for effective tobacco smoke air purifiers you're
certainly not alone. Millions of nonsmokers are concerned about the
health effects of second hand smoke exposure in the home. Attempting
to cash in on this concern are numerous Johnny-come-lately
manufacturers touting their latest "high tech" purification method.
They hawk a confusing array of air cleaners to remove tobacco smoke,
"Ozone! No ozone! Best! Newest! Latest technology! Multi-Tech! Eats
smoke! Three ways, no four ways, no five ways to clean your air!" How
do you know what is really going to work? With all the competing and
contradictory claims from so-called smoke eaters, how do you choose the
right air purifier for cigarette smoke? Are there any effective smoke
air purifiers on the market? The answer begins in understanding the problem.
Understanding what tobacco smoke air purifiers must remove
Tobacco smoke contains two different kinds of pollutants. The
first is particles. This is the smoke that you see and is the easiest
to filter. These particles come in a wide variety of sizes, measured in
microns. A micron is one one-thousandth of a millimeter. Though
microscopic, most filter media is capable of trapping some or even most
tobacco smoke. The smoke that you see is not necessarily the
smoke that you smell. The second component of tobacco smoke is the
chemical gases given off by burning tobacco. Over four thousand
chemicals have been identified in tobacco smoke. As dangerous as particle contaminants are to the lungs and tissues of the airways, these chemical toxins are extra dangerous. Why? While
particles are limited to the airways, chemical toxins pass through the
lung tissues into the bloodstream. This is how nicotine is delivered to
the brain. While in the bloodstream these toxins will pass through
every organ and tissue in the body. This is why exposure to tobacco
smoke increases cancer risks for every organ of the body. The health
effects of tobacco smoke are systemic, encompassing the whole body. So, smoke air purifiers need to effectively address both particulate and chemical pollutants of tobacco smoke. Unfortunately, while there are a lot of choices, most are not up to the job.
Capabilities and limits of smoke air purifiers
There are five primary technologies marketed as air purifiers for
cigarette smoke. These are sometimes combined with one another to
produce the diverse products on the market.This
makes it impossible to consider products individually but if you
understand the underlying technologies you can determine which have
merit. We'll consider each technology’s ability to remove tobacco smoke
in addition to other pollutants.
Negative ion generators as smoke air purifiers
The first air purifier for cigarette smoke we’ll consider is the negative ion generator, or air ionizer. This
method of air cleaning relies on the fact that negative ions will
charge particles suspended in the air. These particles are drawn to and
collect on room surfaces or possibly each other, making them heavier
and more likely to settle out of the air. Unfortunately, your
walls, tables, chairs, and everything else become one big particle
collector. That's why these devices are notorious for blackening the
walls where they are placed. The effect has even been given a name;
it's called "black wall effect." The biggest problem is that
these charged particles enter your lungs and imbed there with even more
tenacity than they otherwise would. This is the exact opposite outcome
you'd like considering that you want to remove tobacco smoke. Finally,
the negative ion generator has no effect on chemical contaminants,
gases and odors, since these do not attach to the negative ions and
become charged.
Electrostatic precipitators as smoke air purifiersThe
second air purifier for cigarette smoke we’ll consider is the
electrostatic precipitator. These products are the ones usually
promoted as "ionic" and are among the most common air purifiers on the
market.It
is like an ion generator except that a set of oppositely charged plates
has been added. This attracts the particles and they tend to separate
out of the air before the air leaves the air cleaner. This helps
eliminate the black wall effect because the contaminants collect on the
plates instead. Since it is possible to collect particles down
to 0.1 micron versus a HEPA filter's 0.3 micron filtration you will
sometimes hear a manufacturer proudly proclaim their product to be
"Better than HEPA!" However, these devices have been shown to only be
about 80% efficient at collecting particles versus HEPA's 99.97%
efficiency. This means an electrostatic precipitator leaves about 20%
of the contaminants in the air with each pass. What is worse,
efficiency steadily declines as the plates become loaded with
contaminants. Research has shown that 80% of the plates' collection
ability is lost in as few as three days. This is under normal use.
Attempting to remove tobacco smoke with its heavy particulate load will
render the plates ineffective at an even faster pace. The end result is
the owner must clean the plates at a minimum of every other day and
preferably every day to maintain any reasonable level of usefulness. Of
course, these ionic electrostatic precipitators also do nothing for
chemicals, gases and odors. If you want effective smoke air purifiers
you should pass these by.
Ozone generators as smoke air purifiersA third type of
air purifier for cigarette smoke is the ozone generator. The basis of
its air purification claims is ozone's ability to react with chemical
contaminants.When
ozone fully oxidizes a volatile organic compound the only products left
are water and carbon dioxide. This sounds wonderful, right? But there
are several really big catches to this scenario. It is true
that commercial ozone generators are used in hotel room prep, car
detailing, and fire and smoke restoration to eliminate smoke odors.
When used in these capacities an extremely high level of ozone is being
produced. But no humans or animals are present when these devices
are in operation due to the danger of ozone exposure. The area being
treated is ventilated afterward to allow the ozone to escape and decay. Ozone's
highly reactive nature means it can rupture cell walls and destroy
tissues as easily as it can break up chemical contaminants. Exposing a
person to the levels necessary to remove tobacco smoke effectively
would have dire consequences up to and including death. Any
ozone generator sold for home use must produce ozone at far lower
levels. However it is widely recognized by everyone but sellers of
ozone generators that levels tolerable for long-term exposure could
never effectively deal with indoor pollution, much less remove tobacco
smoke. You'd be better off simply opening a window. It is also
recognized that asthmatics and others with breathing difficulties are
especially susceptible to increased ozone levels. A home-use ozone
generator can be especially dangerous to the very people they are
marketed to. Unfortunately, in the US no governmental body has
oversight and authority to pull the plug, though the FTC has filed suit
against some manufacturers for fraudulent claims regarding these
devices. If you want an air purifier for cigarette smoke an ozone
generator simply isn't up to the task and exposes you to an additional
health risk.
HEPA filters as smoke air purifiersOur fourth contender
to remove tobacco smoke is the HEPA filter. HEPA filtration technology
was developed by the US Atomic Energy Commission to remove fine
particles contaminated with radioactive isotopes from the air at
nuclear research projects.HEPA
filters have the ability to remove particles from the air as small as
0.3 micron at 99.97% efficiency. This was the standard set for HEPA
filtration because it is at this point that most filter media becomes
least effective. This particle trapping efficiency is more than
adequate to remove tobacco smoke from the air. Its effectiveness at
doing so will remain at 100% throughout the life of the filter. The
only reason to replace it is when particle loading reduces the amount
of air flowing through the filter. A high quality HEPA filter
should last five years under normal use, less in a smoke filled
environment, but is still your best choice for smoke air purifiers. However,
while the media being used may meet HEPA standard the air purifier
incorporating it may be way off the mark. Since HEPA filter media can
be brittle it may have become cracked or otherwise damaged in
manufacturing. Poorly made air purifiers may have gaps between the
housing and the media that allow air to pass. Poor seals may allow air
to bypass the filter. These defects reduce the efficiency of the air
purifier and its ability to remove tobacco smoke and other pollutants. To
choose the best HEPA air purifier look for a company that specializes
exclusively in air purification products. Look for warm rolled medical
grade HEPA filter media, to insure against cracks. Expect a well built
housing and quality seals. Try to find a company that guarantees the
actual efficiency of the overall unit, not just the theoretical
efficiency of the media. Finally, HEPA filters will not remove
chemicals, gases and odors. For that HEPA media needs to be partnered
with activated carbon, our next air purifier technology.
Activated carbon as smoke air purifiersThe last air
purification method we'll consider is the activated carbon filter.
Activated carbon is the media of choice to remove tobacco smoke gases
and odors.Activated
carbon can adsorb as much as 60% of its own weight in chemical
pollutants. This makes it ideally suited for tobacco smoke air
purifiers. Additional catalysts and compounds can be used to
treat the carbon so that it removes specific contaminants with greater
success. This occurs either by improving adsorption ability or possibly
catalyzing the decomposition of certain VOCs. The effectiveness
of activated carbon has led numerous manufacturers to include it in
their products. Unfortunately this often takes the form of a foam pad
impregnated with a few ounces of carbon. This foam pad may serve double
duty as a prefilter on some air cleaners to protect a higher efficiency
filter downstream. This does not benefit the consumer. Without
any depth to the carbon bed, there is insufficient dwell time for the
carbon to adsorb chemicals. Using the carbon as a prefilter subjects it
to particle contamination that clogs its pores and reduces its ability
to adsorb chemicals. The inadequacy of these designs is made
obvious by the fact that manufacturers of this kind of filter also
include a scent cartridge to mask odors. If the carbon were working the
scent would be unnecessary. Not only that but the carbon would adsorb
the scent rendering the scent useless. To truly be effective an air purifier for cigarette smoke needs to include many pounds of activated carbon. It
is also preferable if the activated carbon has undergone special
treatments to enable it to better handle the chemical contaminants
typically found in tobacco smoke. Look for a special smokers air
cleaner carbon blend such as offered by Allerair.
My recommendation for smoke air purifiersTobacco smoke in
the home can be especially difficult to remove. If you're looking for
an air purifier for cigarette smoke you need one that can handle both
particles and gases. The above guidelines will help you in your search.My
own personal recommendation is the Allerair smokers air purifiers.
Allerair has developed innovative products you simply won’t find
anywhere else. The Allerair smoker’s air purifiers have a
patented tar trapping prefilter that removes heavy tars in tobacco
smoke before they reach the rest of the filter media. The smoke laden
air then passes through a deep bed of activated carbon, custom blended
for enhanced adsorption of chemicals found in tobacco smoke. This bed
may be from 15 to 160 pounds of activated carbon, depending on the
model. High quality True HEPA filters complete the process by
eliminating smoke particles from the air. Return to Home Air Purifier Guide homepage from Smoke Air Purifiers article.
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