Factors you need to consider before buying a Smoke Eater or
Commercial Air Cleaner
What are you trying to accomplish by buying a smoke eater?
Today with indoor air pollution being one of the top 5 health concerns
reported by the Environmental Protection Agency, purchasing a smoke eater to
clean your indoor air or tobacco smoke may no longer be a luxury as we once
thought, but rather a necessity to help ward of associated health problems that
have been linked to inhaling secondhand smoke. When buying an smoke clearing
air purification system, you will need to consider several factors depending on
WHICH components of the tobacco smoke pollutants you are trying to clear and
ultimately HOW clean you are trying to get your indoor air.
All of the following
factors need to be considered before you are able to make an educated choice
about purchasing the right type of smoke eater for your particular needs:
-
What pollutants you are trying to clean;
Allergens, Viruses, Odors, etc…
-
What size is the room to be cleaned? (length,
width, ceiling height)
-
Are you trying to alleviate any lung or
respiratory problems?
-
Are there any noise requirements?
-
Is there a certain type of visible contaminant
in the air? (dust, smoke, gases)
-
Are there any
specifications your air purification systems need?
-
Automatic Monitoring
-
Furnace Filters
-
Central Air Systems
-
Style
-
Check for reliability (consumer experts) and a
good warranty for parts and labor.
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Be sure you are knowledgeable of the
manufacturer’s reputation.
-
Are there any local, state, or national codes in
which you may need to adhere to?
How can you tell
if you have chosen the correct Smoke Eater ?
Choosing the right smoke eater can be tricky; however, by
asking yourself the right questions, you can narrow your search down so you
choose one that will work best for your situation. Remember, every person has
different needs so while one type of smoke eater may be fine for one application, the
same smoke eater may not be right for your situation. Obviously, you want a
smoke eater that is effective and efficient for your particular needs.
Unfortunately, there are commercial smoke eaters on the market that when tested
for clearing tobacco smoke from your indoor air, do not even come close to
earning a passing grade. Therefore, your first criterion is choosing the right
air cleaning technology that you know will effectively clean the air of the
smoke air pollutants that you are trying to get rid of.
Allergens,
viruses, gas, smoke and odors all require different air cleaning technologies…
so make sure you choose the right smoke eater with the right air cleaning
technology.
The best filter to have in a
smoke eater for removing indoor allergens and particulate
matter is a HEPA filter.
Again, the type of smoke eater you choose will depend on your goal for clean
air. As an example, if you have concerns about allergens, then you want to
choose a system that will eliminate large air particles to include pollen, dust
and other larger airborne particles. The best choice in this case is buying a
commercial
air purifier that has a pre-filter combined with a regular HEPA filter that is
designed to get rid of particulates ranging from 0.3 to 5 microns in size, which
would include airborne particles such as bacteria, animal dander, mold spores,
dust mites, and pollen. Beware of HEPA-like filters, only true medical grade
HEPA can filter particles as small as 0.3 microns in size. HEPA-like filters
may only filter airborne particulates no smaller than 1 micron in size.
Although a HEPA
filter would work perfectly for trapping these particulates, remember that as
many as 90% of all air particulates are smaller than 0.3 microns, referred to in
the air purification industry as “lung penetrating particles”. Of all the
airborne particles we breathe, these are by far the most dangerous to our
health. Now, not all air purifiers are able to filter out the smaller particles
however, you can find air purifiers with advanced engineered HEPA air purifiers
that have enhanced filtration capabilities, designed specifically to trap the
very small particles. HEPA filters work very well to trap the majority of
particles that are in cigarette smoke, which is why most HEPA filters meet the
code requirements for commercial use.
Ultraviolet light air cleaners are the most
effective at ridding the air of biological contaminants, but do very little for
purifying the air of dust, dander or other particulate matter. Also, newer
types of systems use the enhanced filtration with ultraviolet light or
ultraviolet light alone. In this case, the DNA and RNA of the microorganisms
are broken down, which do not kill them, but sterilizes them so they cannot
reproduce or grow. This is very helpful in ridding the air of pollen, mildew,
mold, dust mites, viruses and bacteria. Usually, this option in air purification
is used in addition to a media based filter and possibly an activated carbon
filter.
A substantial
amount of carbon incorporated into an air purifier is needed to clean the air
of smoke, odors and other toxic gases.
Because gas particulates are so incredibly small, usually 0.001 and smaller,
even the most sophisticated HEPA filter cannot eliminate them. Therefore, a
substance is needed that has the ability to trap the gas molecules in many micro
pores. This would include activated carbon that is heated to significant
temperatures and then steamed. What happens is that millions of small pores
become trapped, which can then adsorb the gas molecules. When the carbon pore
has reached its maximum for holding the gas molecules, it becomes saturated and
the carbon filter needs to be replaced. Carbon filters can reduce the majority
of common indoor odors, such as, pet odor, smoke, grease and ammonia. Carbon
filters do need to be replaced regularly depending upon the amount of use.
Size and Quality
of the air purifier:
Size and quality of the smoke eater are also important considerations for
buying the right unit. Remember that the larger the square footage of a HEPA
filter media the greater number of particulates the purifier can eliminate
before the filter becomes clogged up. For this reason, you want to choose an
air purifier that has a HEPA filter that has a pleated design, with all of the
pleats uniform in size and distance. This way, the filter is highly efficient.
If the pleats of the filter are too close, air movement is restricted, which
means there is a loss of airflow; therefore, a lowered ability to remove
pollutants from the air.
Although you will
find HEPA filters on the market made from synthetic material, your best option
for a HEPA filter is medical grade paper. First, paper filters are much more
effective at removing a high percentage of microscopic particulates and second
it does not restrict the air flow. The only drawback is that the high quality
paper HEPA filters are quite delicate and are easily damaged. If the paper
filter is damaged, pollutants can flow through the filter, making it less
efficient. Many medical grade paper HEPA filters have a case housing to protect
the filter media from any damage.
Lung and Other
Respiratory Problems caused by air pollutants:
The most common type of air pollution is that which causes lung and other
respiratory problems, which includes air pollutants such as smoke, fumes,
bacteria, diesel exhaust, smog, pollen fragments, dust mites, pet allergens,
atmospheric dust, and settled dust. These particles are so small that they can
easily get through sinus cavities, going directly into the respiratory system.
However, the problem is that while the particles are small enough to get in,
they are too large for a person to exhale. For this reason when buying a
smoke eating air purifier, choose one that will eliminate particles that are as small as .3
microns.
The technology in
smoke eaters today:
As you can imagine, the technology contained in smoke eaters has changed
dramatically over the years. One such technology involves ultraviolet light,
which has been shown to not kill, but sterilize germs, mold, viruses, bacteria,
and other types of microorganisms so they do not reproduce or grow. The only
downfall to this technology is that while it works amazingly well when the
object to be sterilized has enough exposure to the ultraviolet light for it to
sterilize properly, most airflow moves through the beam of UV light too quickly
to be efficient in sterilizing the air.
Activated
carbon filters.
Carbon and similar types of filter media are used to clean the air of
odors and various toxic gases. With carbon, the gas molecules are absorbed into
pores. Keep in mind that when removing the molecules that are heavier such as
VOCs and SVOCs, the activated carbon filters work best. However, if you live in
a region with high levels of humidity or have a problem with low molecule weight
such as sulfur, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde, this type of filter is not
very effective.
HEPA filters: a
head above the rest.
HEPA – This is the acronym for High Efficiency particulate Accumulation,
which is a very effective way to remove pollution from the air. The HEPA
filters that are used today are much better than what they used to be. In fact,
the military, hospitals and labs use them to clean the air in their buildings
and cleanrooms. These filters are woven from fine glass particles and then
pleated. The result is that up to 99.97% of all 0.03 microns and larger are
removed from the air.
The disadvantage to
the HEPA air cleaner is that the cost from $75 to $150 each. Additionally, the
HEPA filters are extremely dense so for them to work efficiently, a blower
strong enough to blow air through is required. To effectively clean cigarette
smoke from a room, six to eight air changes will need to occur an hour. This
may add to your electric bill. A HEPA air filter will need to be replaced
according to use. The average smoker’s home will need to change their HEPA air
filter every two to three years.
Using an
electrical charge to clean the air:
Another technology used for smoke eaters is known as “ionization”,
which uses one or a combination of “electrical” technologies by charging the
particulates with a charged filter once they enter the system. An electrical
charge is created, which then negatively charges the airborne particles causing
them to stick to the metal plate. Electrical air cleaners work well for removing
smoke, but do not remove the smell. An activated carbon filter is needed in
addition to an electrical air cleaner in order to absorb odor. There are three
ways of ionizing the particulates:
-
Electrostatic Precipitator – This uses a series of metal collection plates,
oppositely charged to the ionized particles. Particles attract to the metal
similar to a magnet, which means microns as small as 0.1 microns can be
collected. These metal filters can be washed and reused, however frequently
that may be. Electrostatic precipitators release small doses of ozone as a
byproduct, ozone is toxic and can eat away at the tissue of your lungs.
- Negative
Ionizer – This filter works similarly to an electrostatic precipitator;
however, the metal plate sends out a negative charge to attract the
particles to it. This air purification method releases a slightly larger
amount of ozone.
- Ozone
Machine – The claim is that the air is cleaned while chemicals, gases, and
odors are eliminated. Ozone is negatively charged and is made up of three
atoms of oxygen (breathable oxygen has two atoms) which makes the molecule
very unstable. This third atom wants to break off and join with the first
thing it touches, hopefully a pollutant in the air. If the ozone molecule
does collide with an airborne particulate, it will usually make the
contaminant become inert and no longer harmful. The downside is ozone will
only stay in its original state for a few minutes and will eventually
collide with another ozone molecule, objects in the room, or worse, be
inhaled and collide with your lungs and esophagus. If ozone combines with
human tissue it will break it down, causing irreversible damage. The FDA,
EPA, and OSHA have recommended human exposure to ozone to be less than 0.05
ppm (parts per million) of breathed air. Most air purifiers and smoke eaters
that produce ozone cannot effectively limit the amount of ozone produced by
their filters. High levels of ozone, although toxic, can be extremely
helpful in eliminating odor of most any kind in UNINHABITED areas. The area
being cleaned should be kept closed off during the ozone process.
Make sure your
smoke eater is sized for the capacity of the room.
Many people looking to buy an air purifier overlook the importance of
matching the air cleaning system to the size of the room. For the air in a room
to be cleaned efficiently, there needs to be an air exchange of at least four to
five times every hour in order to effectively keep up with pollutants that
stream into the room through doorways, windows, and ventilation systems. You
should know the length, width, and height of the room to be filtered.
Think of your smoke
eater purchase as a financial investment for improving and maintaining
your health and, possibly preventing health problems further on down the road.
Purchasing the right smoke eater with the right air cleaning technology matched
to your specific indoor air pollutants will make all the difference in the world
when it comes to ensuring your indoor air is as clean as it can be.
Feel free to copy this article for publication
as long as the resource box(with links) is left intact.
About the author / resource box:
Dr. Craig Donnelly founded BPA Air Quality Solutions / BreathePureAir.com as a
result of his experience with his patients, many of whom suffered from
allergies, asthma and airborne environmental sensitivities. Having been
diagnosed with asthma himself, Dr. Craig understood about the origin of the
health consequences many of his patients experienced on a daily basis from
breathing contaminated indoor air . BreathePureAir.com specializes in home air
purifiers, commercial air cleaners
and smoke
eaters and industrial air purifiers
solutions.
