Secondhand smoke is a serious thing.
I’m sure we all aware the secondhand smoke is worse than firsthand smoke.
Therefore, it is important to remove or at least reduce the impact of secondhand smoke in your home.
Without any doubt, it is best to have a smoke-free environment at home.
But if this is not achievable, your next option is to probably get an air purifier and this leads to one question:
Do air purifiers work for smoke?
The short answer is, Yes.
But, there’s a catch. The type of air purifier that I usually recommend, the HEPA filter most effective in filtering particles at the size of 0.3 microns.
And research claimed that smoke particles can go smaller than that which makes the air purifier not 99.99% effective.
However, if you ask whether it is still working for smoke, it does not eliminate entirely but managed to reduce quite a big portion of it.
In addition to that, if you follow my air purifier buyer’s guide, you should at least get an air purifier that comes with an activated carbon filter where this filter will help to remove the odor of the secondhand smoke.
As a result, the HEPA air purifier works against smoke.
Do Ionizers work for smoke?
Unfortunate to say, ionizers only work against particles.
With that being said, the ionizers will be able to knock down smoke particles and clear them off.
However, ionizers are not effective against VOC contaminant.
VOC can only be combat with activated carbon or charcoal filter.
Not to forget, ionizers will generate ozone which will cause your lungs and throat to be uncomfortable.
I strongly disagree to go with ionizers regardless of the price since a HEPA air purifier can be pretty cheap these days.
Impact of secondhand smoke
First, it has huge impact to cardiovascular disease such as heart disease and stroke.
Second, it will also increase the chance of getting lung cancer.
Third, if you have infant, it can potentially cause Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) which happened suddenly, out of nowhere.
Lastly, it is very harmful against children.
With all these side effect, I don’t see any reason not to take good care against the smoke in your house.
What else can you do to remove smoke?
A very obvious answer, stop creating smoke (I mean quit smoking, for real).
The best way to reduce smoke is not to have it in the first place.
Another method that you can try is to open your doors and windows the air out the smoke. Very natural and inexpensive.
I have not tried these natural ways to remove smoke and odor, you can surely check out the post.
Final Say – Do air purifiers work for smoke?
As concluded, air purifier is still a great tool to remove smoke in your home.
What do you have to say about getting rid of secondhand smoke in your home?
Let me know what you have in your mind and leave a comment below.
Leave a Reply