Can Air Purifiers Help Remove Smoke and Odours?
You’ve walked into a room that smells like cigarettes or burnt food. You know how difficult it can be to remove those types of odours. Cracking open a window helps slightly. Lighting a candle hides the smell for a while. But neither one actually cleans the air. Air purifiers are designed to do that.
Can air purifiers remove smoke and odours? Short answer: yes, but not all air purifiers are created equally. Some excel at trapping dust and pollen. Others do a better job with smoke and robust smells. Understanding the difference between these purifiers can save you time and money.
How Smoke Gets Into Your Air?
Hold your hand over your mouth and nose and take a puff of your favourite cigarette. You probably noticed that cigarette smoke isn’t just a smell. The cloud coming off that cigarette contains thousands of tiny particles and gases traveling through the air simultaneously.
When you inhale, you breathe in both the particles and the gases. The particles irritate your lungs and airways. The gases cling to walls, furniture, clothing, and create that lingering odour we all know so well.
This combination is part of what makes smoke so annoying. You need something that will treat both the particles you can see and smell as well as the microscopic gas molecules you cannot see. Most conventional air fresheners will not do this job. They merely mask the smell with something else.
HEPA Filters Aren’t Enough
The heart of most good air purifiers is a HEPA filter. HEPA stands for High-Efficiency Particulate Air. These filters can trap at least 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns. That means smoke particles, dust, pet dander, mold spores, pollen, and more are all trapped inside the HEPA filter.
Smoke from wildfires, cigarettes, and cooking release particles that a good HEPA filter can catch. By doing so, the air purifier effectively eliminates the particulate pollutants that come along with smoke. If you or someone in your household suffers from asthma or allergies, adding a HEPA air purifier can make your indoor air feel instantly better.
But wait, there’s more. HEPA filters do nothing for odours. The odorous compounds found in smoke are made up of gases. Gases are smaller than what the densely-weaved mesh inside of HEPA filters can catch. They easily pass right through. So, if you purchase an air purifier that contains only a HEPA filter, don’t expect miracles when it comes to odour removal.
Enter Activated Carbon
Activated carbon filters, sometimes called activated charcoal, handle gas molecules differently than a HEPA filter. Whereas HEPA filters trap particles mechanically, activated carbon absorbs gases using a process called adsorption.
Adsorption occurs when activated carbon traps gas molecules inside its millions of tiny pores. The carbon attracts and holds onto odour molecules, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and chemicals as air passes over it.
Smoke from cigarettes, cooking, pets, and yes even wildfires produce VOCs and gas-phase pollutants. No other filter is quite as effective at pulling these gases out of the air. However, carbon filters vary tremendously in quality. Thin sheets of carbon offer very light odour control. To really tackle smoke smells, you want a beefy carbon bed that weighs at least 2lbs.
The air purifiers we highly recommend offer both forms of filtration. A large prefilter captures the large particles first. Next, a HEPA filter catches finer particles. Lastly, an activated carbon layer adsorbs all those nasty odours and gases. Equipped with both technologies, these purifiers clean both elements of smoke at once.
Cigarette Smoke vs. Wildfire Smoke
Both types of smoke smell bad and can be damaging to your lungs over time. The difference is how each travels throughout your home. Cigarette and cigar smoke tends to hang out in one room and gradually absorb into soft surfaces. Wildfire smoke can infiltrate your home through cracks in windows, doors, and ventilation during a wildfire.
When dealing with cigarette smoke, it’s best to leave your air purifier running in that room continually. Allowing smoke to settle into your furniture and walls before you turn on the air purifier only prolongs the process. It’s much easier for the purifier to capture smoke from the air before it lands on surfaces.
For wildfire smoke, CADR matters most. CADR stands for Clean Air Delivery Rate. Essentially, this rating tells you how fast the air purifier can clean the air in a room of a specific size. If wildfire smoke is impacting your air, run the air purifier on high and keep doors and windows closed as much as possible.
Smokers might also benefit from a purifier with a high CADR rating. This ensures the unit can keep up with the constant introduction of smoke particles and gases into the air stream.
Shopping Guide for Smoke Odours
To make life easier, we’ve narrowed down the features you want to pay attention to when tackling smoke and odours. Look for air purifiers that…
Have a True HEPA filter:Check the packaging. You want to see “True HEPA” filter, not HEPA-type or HEPA-style filter
Use a dense activated carbon filter: HEPA filters trap particles, but odours are chemical gases. Carbon beds deep within the purifier remove odours. Choose units with thick carbon beds vs ones that just have a light carbon coating on the pre-filter
Are specifically rated for smoke: Not all air purifiers are tested for smoke. Look for a high CADR for smoke
Fit the room size: Don’t oversize or undersize your air purifier. Match the brand’s recommended square footage to the room you want to use it in
Have an Auto mode or air quality sensor: Automatic sensors detect when smoke is present and automatically turn up the fan speed
Feature filter replacement indicators: Carbon filters should be replaced every 3-6 months in homes with smoke
Take note that some advertisements can be misleading. Remember to check each of these criteria before you buy.
How Long Will It Take?
Air purifiers work at different speeds depending on room size. Smaller air purifiers will clear a room of smoke faster than a larger model. In our lab tests, we’ve seen some units clear smoke from the air in less than a minute on the highest fan speed.
Deeply embedded odours in fabrics like sofas, rugs, and carpet may linger despite the air purifier working full-time. Once the smoke has cleared from the air, these odours usually die down considerably. However, you may want to deep clean these surfaces as well.
Air purifiers work best when you run them consistently. You know smoke is out of the air when your machine stops seizing on smoke particles. When you run the unit continuously, smoke particles and gases are minimized long-term. Consider it preventative maintenance for your home.
The Real-World Effectiveness of HEPA and Activated Carbon Filters Guide
Customer Complaint – Before
“My house reeks of smoke even with windows and doors closed!”
Located in Sacramento, one family dealt with these frustrating issues every wildfire season:
Eye and throat irritation
Smoke smell inside bedrooms and living spaces
Decreased indoor air quality sensor readings
Increased asthma symptoms
Visible smoke particles floating indoors
Particulate debris left on furniture
They bought a cheap air purifier with a HEPA-style filter to combat dust and smoke particles. It helped with dust motes, but smoke still lingered inside the house.
The Problem
After doing more research, they learned:
Smoke particles get trapped by HEPA filters
But the odours don’t go away because…
Gas phase pollutants and odorants aren’t captured by HEPA filters
They realized the smoke smell was caused by VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). Wildfires release both particles AND gases into the air. To address gases, the homeowner needed an air purifier with…
Customer Complaint – After
“My smoke smell is gone now after using this air purifier!”
The Solution
…an activated carbon filter. This family chose an air purifier with:
✔ HEPA filtration for smoke particles
✔ Thick carbon filtration for smoke gases and odors
✔ Strong Smoke CADR rating
✔ Air quality sensors that automatically power on
✔ “Quiet” night mode to run continuously in bedrooms
They kept their windows shut tightly and avoided bringing outdoor air inside when smoke was heavy. A few days later, they experienced:
Dramatically less visible smoke particles floating indoors
Little to no smoke smell inside their house
Much easier breathing
Decreased eye irritation and sore throats
Cleaner air at night while smoke was raging outside
Activated carbon filters work by absorbing smoke particles that pass through HEPA filters. Standard HEPA filter-only machines are not able to remove smoke smells from the air.
This Guide’s Key Takeaway
Since smoke has particles + gases + smells, you need a purifier with 2 filters:
True HEPA to remove airborne particles
Activated carbon to remove smoke smells, gases, & VOCs
Smoke smells can still linger if your air purifier lacks an activated carbon filter.
https://www.breathe-pure.com/blog/hepa-vs-activated-carbon-best-air-purifier-filter
FAQs on HEPA Filters and Smoke
Do air purifiers work on smoke?
Yes. Look for HEPA and activated carbon filters.
Can air purifiers remove smoke?
Yes, Air purifiers can trap small smoke particles with HEPA filters. Look for activated carbon filtration to help remove smoke smells and gases.
Will a HEPA filter remove smoke?
Smoke particles will be trapped by a HEPA filter, but it will not absorb smoke smells.
Does activated carbon filter remove smoke?
Activated carbon filters are perfect for trapping smoke smells, gases, and VOCs.
Are air purifiers effective for wildfire smoke?
Air purifiers with True HEPA and carbon filtration can make a big difference. Get units with high Smoke CADR ratings.
What does CADR mean and why is it important for smoke?
CADR stands for “Clean Air Delivery Rate.” CADR tells you how fast an air purifier cleans the air. Look for higher smoke CADR ratings when shopping.
Can air purifiers help with cooking odors?
Yes. They can help remove grease particles and cooking smoke smells with carbon filtration.
How quickly can air purifiers remove smoke?
Air purifiers can sometimes feel like they’re working immediately. Smoke particles will be gone soon, but odors may take longer.
Can air purifiers remove secondhand smoke?
Air purifiers are not a replacement for stopping people from smoking in your home. That said, they can help reduce secondhand smoke particles and odors.
How do I know when to change the carbon filter?
If your area gets smoke often, consider changing the carbon filter every few months. Smoke damages the filter and causes it to clog faster.
Will the smoke smell go away after the air purifier?
Smoke smells can linger in your furniture, carpets, curtains, and walls. Air purifiers can help filter the air, but sometimes professional cleaning is needed.
