Air filters help to filter solid or gaseous particles from the air in order to improve air quality. Examples of two of the most common types of air filters are HEPA filters and activated carbon (or charcoal) filters. HEPA filters capture particulate pollution, and carbon filters capture gases. Learn more about the different type of air filters, their uses, and how to select the best here.
Companies sell activated carbon filters (also called “charcoal filters” or “carbon air filters”) to remove chemicals like formaldehyde and benzene, but does carbon really work to remove VOCs? The Smart Air lab put real-world carbon air filters to the test. Who Needs Carbon Filters Anyway? I wrote early on that …
The boring answer is “it depends on your filter,” but here are three much more useful insights I’ve learned from actually testing HEPA lifespan: I’m not an expert in air pollution. I was just a poor grad student living in Beijing, and I started making DIY air purifiers to cope with one …
Working on DIY air purifiers for over 6 years, I’ve heard from a lot of people who have strong intuitions about cleaning car air filter. People tell me they wash their vehicle’s air filter, vacuum it, or bang it really hard. Opinions are plenty, but what about real, hard data? …
When buying an air purifier, the terms ‘airflow’ and CADR are often used interchangeably to describe an air purifier’s performance. But what’s the difference between CADR (clean air delivery rate) and airflow? Are they the same thing? Or which one – CADR vs. airflow – should be used when buying …
Most purifiers on the market come with a pre-filter. That would make one think that pre-filters must be a good thing, right? However, most purifier companies also love to sell people 6-stage filtration, or no – 7-stage filtration! But the science behind purifiers is surprisingly simple. Two types of filters …
Air purifiers are key to protecting yourself from wildfire smoke in your home. However, with the number of purifiers on the market, it can be confusing to know which are the best air purifiers for wildfire smoke. In this article, we dive into what to look for when buying an …
Wildfires create a serious amount of smoke and air pollution. Wildfire smoke can cause short and long-term health impacts. That’s why it’s important to know how to protect yourself from wildfire smoke. Wildfire smoke is a form of air pollution. It contains dangerous VOC gases and small particles (PM2.5) that …
The costs of replacement HEPA filters for air purifiers can quickly add up. A quick search on Amazon reveals some HEPA filters that cost hundreds of dollars. Should HEPA filters cost this much? Put simply: No! Read on to learn why HEPA filters shouldn’t be expensive, but why some companies …
Cigarette smoke smell and the dangerous pollutants in secondhand smoke can be extremely unpleasant. The health danger is serious, with a study showing one cigarette produces 10 times the amount of dangerous particulates than a diesel car. So how can we remove the cigarette smoke smell and the cancer-causing pollutants …
Here’s a question I often get asked about air purifiers: “I don’t want to hear the fan while I sleep, so can I run my air purifier for an hour and then turn it off before I sleep at night? Or should I sleep with my air purifier on at …
