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Protect Your Family and Pets with Air Purifiers with Carbon Vapor Filters
With so many of us staying home more often than ever before, more and more people are thinking seriously about the quality of the air inside their houses. And for good reason, as according to the EPA, indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than the air outside. Luckily, there are many options for products that can keep the air inside your house cleaner and healthier for your family and pets. Today, we’ll be talking about one such variety: air purifiers with carbon vapor filters, and why these might be the right choice for your home.
What Carbon Vapor Filters Are
Also known as activated carbon or activated charcoal filters, these are filters made of charcoal that has been treated with oxygen to open up pores between the carbon atoms. They filter impurities out of the air through a process known as adsorption, in which pollutants get trapped in those gaps between the carbon atoms.
They’re best for removing odors, including the smell of smoke or animals, and they’re also great at trapping harmful gases called volatile organic compounds or VOCs. Some examples of VOCs are benzene, formaldehyde, and ethylene glycol, among others. These chemicals are surprisingly common in an average person’s household, since they’re often found in everyday objects like cleaning sprays, paint, air fresheners, copiers, and printers.
Though carbon is amazing for removing these dangerous fumes from the air, they’re not perfect. For example, activated carbon specializes in trapping gases, and so it’s not very effective when it comes to filtering out particles like dust, pollen, or mold, nor does it work to remove bacteria or viruses. Further, activated carbon filters need to be replaced frequently because when they become oversaturated, they may begin releasing the trapped pollutants back out into the air.
Why Use Activated Carbon
If odors and chemicals are your biggest worries for your indoor air, a carbon filter is perfect for you. They will be the most useful for those who live with pets or a constant smell of smoke due to cigarettes or even wildfires, as the carbon filter will be able to remove those scents, keeping the house smelling fresh and clean.
However, for people who have pollen allergies, something like an air purifier with a HEPA filter would be a better choice. HEPA filters are better at removing larger particles and substances that a carbon filter can’t, but they’re not designed to filter odors or VOCs. Ideally, the best solution would be to find an air purifier that contains both an activated carbon filter as well as a HEPA filter. That way, you can get the smell and VOC removal powers of the carbon filter and the dust and pollen filtering that a HEPA filter provides. Ultimately, though, the choice is up to you.
Hopefully this article has taught you a little more about how activated carbon works and if it’s right for you and your family.