Air Purifiers for Removing Cigar Smoke

Air Purifier Types

• Filtration air purifiers simply pass air through a filter and are typically part of a home's heating and air conditioning system. The filter is designed to remove particulates from the air when it is returned to the units as it passes through.

  Ionizing air purifiers remove particulates from the air using electrical energy. Atoms in the air are either given an extra electron or have one removed by the unit. This creates a static charge that drives the particulates to stick to the metal plates within the unit, removing them from the air.

  Ozone-generating air purifiers alter atoms in the air and turn them into oxygen and ozone. Producers of these contend that ozone cleans and deodorizes the air. However, there is much controversy over their effectiveness and the potential adverse impacts on your health.

  Adsorption purifiers utilize a material that is intended to clear chemicals, fumes, and odors such as cigar smoke from the air. The particulates in the air are trapped on the surface of another material such as activated charcoal.

  Ultraviolet radiation (UV) air purifiers utilizes ultraviolet light to neutralize particulates in the air. Many types of air purifiers utilize such a feature to clean the air of harmful contaminants such as bacteria and viruses.

  All of these reportedly improve indoor air quality.

Best Options

• Unfortunately, no air purifiers will remove the odor of cigar smoke from within your home. However, the best option to remove the airborne contaminants generated by cigar smoke and make some impact on the resulting odors are the air filters. Specifically choose carbon air filters for your home system that use the adsorption process to remove particulates and reduce odors in the air. The carbon filters are most effective in this application.

Cautionary Information

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is extremely critical regarding many of the claims that producers of air purifiers make. They are particularly critical of the ozone-generating models. Ozone is considered an air pollutant. Further, ozone can combine with other airborne contaminants that can be even more detrimental to your health. Their tests have shown that the level of ozone in the air under different room conditions far exceeds the prescribed allowable limits for humans and can cause adverse health reactions, particularly in people with allergies and other breathing problems.