Smoking causes devastating effects on the body. Cigarette smoke contains enough chemicals to cause permanent health damage when inhaled, not just to the smoker, the second-hand smoke inhaled by your loved ones can also cause anything from lung irritation, allergic reactions, and more serious conditions. Tobacco smoke takes a massive toll of deaths each year.
6.5 trillion cigarettes are sold around the world each day. Although, some would argue that smoking is a source of comfort and a habit or a ritual to release some pressure from the everyday hustle and bustle. If you are not ready to break the habit yet, it won’t hurt to be mindful of the people around you who may inhale your second-hand smoke instead. So, it’s good to invest in the best air purifier for smoke for the people you care about.
Air Purifier Reduce Second Hand Smoke
An air purifier’s primary function is to eliminate airborne particles from smoke and the cocktail of toxic chemicals from odours. Not only does it filter smoke but also pollutants, moulds, allergens, and pollens, creating a clean and fresh environment for kids and the other people around you.
According to a study, breathing polluted air for ten years has the same consequences on your lungs as being a heavy smoker for 29 years. So, if you live in a dense and polluted city, then you are already a passive smoker, one way or another.
However, there is a growing concern about the promises of air purifiers. Some believe that air purifiers don’t offer that much help in eliminating cigarette smoke. But HEPA Air purifiers will beg to differ.
How Does an Air Purifier Filter Out Smoke?
No air purifier can completely weed out particles in the air. The best air purifier for smoke is called a “HEPA” or a High Efficient Particulate Arrestor air purifier. However, it does not completely safeguard your family from 2nd hand smoke. The HEPA filter is only effective at removing particles with a size of 0.3 microns. Therefore, it can reduce dangerous substances from the smoke but are incapable of removing a vast amount of harmful airborne pollutants smaller than 0.3 microns. The good news, however, is that you can add HEPA filters to some HEPA purifiers capable of filtering particles down to 0.1 microns.
HEPA purifiers and HEPA filters may reduce tobacco smoke and odour, but they are still not enough to wipe this out completely. Odours are not particles, so even the best HEPA filter cannot trap it. No matter how good the HEPA filter is, it is only limited to the air purifier fan’s capacity to suck the smoky air into the filter.
HEPA air purifier selection guide
This is one of the common mistakes people make when choosing an air purifier. If you choose an air purifier online and the label says it can clean 1000 square feet, this isn’t referring to the area of the room, but the surface area. Here’s the difference if you have a room area of 16 feet.
- Area of the room = 16 x 16 = 256 feet
- Surface area of the room = 16x16x16 = 1536 feet
See the difference? That product can be misleading to some knowing that it can keep the room of 1000 square feet cool or clean, but in reality, it can only service a room less than 170 square feet.
HEPA filters in industries
Not only limited to purifying the breathing air of our living space, HEPA filters found great and major application in the manufacturing automotive, electronics and pharmaceutical industries where room cleanliness need to be maintained as per the ISO standards. In those industries, HEPA filters are used in conjunction with centralized air conditioning plants so as to maintain the temperature, humidity as well as the number of dust particles inside the room.
Higher the class is required, lesser will be allowable dust particles inside the room. In such applications, HEPA filters are used according to the air velocity required and are replaced whenever the air velocity is reduced or the dust particle count is increasing.
Just make sure to remember all the information above to choose the best unit for your specific needs.