6 Tips For Choosing The Best Air Purifier For Smokers (March 2024 update)

Did you know that secondhand smoke from cigarettes and other tobacco products has a high amount of toxins? A toxicology report on secondhand smoking reveals that cigarette smoke has over 69 known carcinogens that may potentially harm your health. Fortunately, you can keep your home smoke-free and maintain a healthy lifestyle with an air purifier for smokers.

Four main sources of smoke pollution

There are a lot of things that can ruin the quality of the indoor air in your home. Yet, none can be as menacing as the smoke that still finds its way into your home even with the doors and windows closed. Smoke pollution can come from anywhere, but we are going to highlight the four main sources of smoke pollution, which are:

● Secondhand smoking

● Kitchen/cooking smoke

● Wildfire smoke

● Vehicle smoke

Secondhand smoking

“Help, my neighbour smokes and it comes in my house!”

Secondhand smoke can be annoying, especially if you are not a fan of cigarettes, or cigars. The smoke may come from someone smoking right next to you or from a neighbouring home. Smoke coming from directly burning tobacco, without necessarily smoking it, is also referred to as second-hand smoke.

Secondhand smoke can be worse than actual smoking. This is because the smoke expelled from burning tobacco contains over 7,000 chemicals, and about 69 of those chemicals are considered carcinogenic.

Common toxins in tobacco smoke include;

● Butane

● Toluene

● Benzene

● Ammonia

● Hydrogen cyanide

● Cadmium

These toxins are also found in flammable fluids like gasoline, in household cleaners, batteries, and chemical weapons or are used in manufacturing paint thinners.

Kitchen/ Cooking smoke

Kitchen smoke can either be from cooking forms or combusting fuels like coal or gas. Burning food has the worst smoke fumes which can still linger for some days even after disposing of the burnt food. There is also the smoke from grease when frying or roasting food that can affect indoor air quality.

Kitchen fumes can be detrimental to your health, especially in homes with small spaces. Even with a smoke extractor installed, you will still need an air purifier for smokers to be 100% safe, and we will explain why later.

Wildfire smoke

Smoke from wildfires is carried by the wind into our homes. Wildfire smoke contains harmful air pollutants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and gaseous pollutants such as carbon monoxide. Like other forms of smoke, wildfires are filled with particle pollution that drifts through windows into our lungs.

Automotive exhaust fumes

Exhaust from a vehicle in an adjacent garage can find its way into the main house. Vehicle exhaust emissions contain the gases nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide, which are poisonous gases that can affect your respiratory system.

Do Air Purifiers Work Against Smoke?

Yes, air purifiers do eliminate smoke, especially the ones fitted with a “Medical-grade HEPA 13 filter” which is ideal for smoke elimination. Yet, besides a smoke filter, you also need an air purifier that can get rid of the smell of smoke, which is the tricky part.

Unlike smoke, odour has no particles, so it cannot be filtered even with a high-quality HEPA filter. In addition to odour, tobacco releases other toxic chemicals that freely pass through the HEPA filter back into the environment. To prevent this, modern air purifiers for smokers will usually include a carbon filter.

A carbon filter will absorb the smell of smoke and any other microscopic toxins that a HEPA filter wouldn’t be able to remove. A carbon filter is fitted behind the HEPA filter to capture odour and other noxious gases.

How do you purify air from smoke?

A regular EPA air purifier may not be as effective in purifying air from smoke. EPA air purifiers lack a complex filtration system that can filter particulate matter up to 0.3 microns. A more advanced air purifier with a “Medical grade HEPA smoke filter” will successfully eliminate smoke from your home.

“Medical grade HEPA air purifiers” feature a 4-stage filtration system. It consists of;

● Pre-Filter

● HEPA H13 Filter

● Carbon Filter

● Ion booster filter

Pre-Filter

The pre-filter works like a normal EPA air purifier by filtering out large particles of pollutants from the air. This includes pollutants like pet dander, human hair, dust, sand particles and any particle that is above 2.5 microns in size.

HEPA H13 Filter

The HEPA-13 filter is the most crucial part of this setup. This “Medical grade HEPA filter” is capable of removing tiny pollutant particles that are up to 0.1 microns in size. It includes tiny particles like bacteria, asbestos, carbon dust, paint pigment, pet allergies, and smoke. A HEPA filter will also remove mould, and there are ways to increase its efficiency in humid environments.

Carbon Filter

The third filter, the carbon smoke filter, is crucial if you want to get rid of the odour left behind by smoke. This filter also removes any other noxious gases that may be lingering in your home.

Ion booster filter

Finally, the Ioniser booster is another important filtration system in any modern HEPA13 air purifier. This filter produces negative ions that bind to any contaminants that may still be lurking before clean air is blown back into the room.

6 Tips for choosing the best HEPA air purifier for smokers

Choosing the right air purifier for smokers shouldn’t be hard when you know where to look. Here are 6 tips to consider when you are out shopping for a smoke air purifier.

1. Type of particles filtered

Particles are measured in microns. When buying an air purifier for smokers, choose one that can filter the particulate matter that comes from smoke. Combustion particles like those from smoke have a measurement of 0.3 and 0.5 microns. Ensure your air purifier can filter particulate matter up to 2.5 microns.

With technological advancement, a standard HEPA smoke air purifier can successfully filter particulate matter up to 0.3 microns in size.

2. HEPA certified

A “True HEPA”-certified smoke air purifier can filter particulate matter up to 0.3 microns with 99.9995% efficiency. Do not be fooled by brands that advertise their air purifier as “HEPA-like” or “True-HEPA”. If you see this label on your air purifier for smokers, it is only a marketing term and the unit may not be as efficient as its claims.

Always choose an air purifier with a “Medical-grade H13 HEPA filter”. This advanced filter always features a 4 filtration system that includes a carbon filter for odour elimination.

3. CADR

Clean Air Delivery Rate or CADR rating tells us how much volume of air an air purifier can filter given the room size it's installed in. Using the CADR rating allows consumers to compare the filter efficiency and airflow of an air purifier against other competitive brands.

CADR helps you know the true performance of an air purifier without misleading marketing terms like “HEPA-like” or “True-HEPA”. This rating would also help us know the room coverage of an air purifier.

4. Room size

Another thing to consider when shopping for an air purifier for smokers is its room coverage in square footage. Start by getting the exact square footage of the room you intend to purify the air in. Then check the CADR rating of the air purifier you intend to buy to see if it will meet your air purification needs.

The CADR value often gives you a hint of the room coverage capability of a smoke air purifier. For example, a large HEPA air purifier for smokers with a CADR rating of 200 m3/h will comfortably purify the air in a 237 sq. ft. room. Another unit with a CADR rating of 42m3 /h will be efficient in small rooms up to 40 sq ft.

Choosing the right size smoke air purifier will not only improve air quality in your home, but it can also help reduce the cost of running the air purifier.

5. Additional features

What else should you look for in the best air purifier for cigarette smoke removal UK? Besides HEPA certification, room coverage, and the CADR rating, also consider added features like sleep mode for low energy consumption and filter change indicator to know when to upgrade the internal smoke filter.

6. Fan speed

Do all air purifiers with HEPA filters efficiently remove smoke from a room? Not quite. Besides having the best medical-grade filter inside your air purifier, you also need to ensure the unit has the power to draw in air into the filters. This is where fan speeds come in handy.

Air purifiers with more than one fan speed have enough rotation power to draw air into the filters and blow it out as clean air. Even the smallest HEPA air purifier on the market should have at least 2 fan speeds to be efficient.

Conclusion: What air purifier is best for smoke?

With so many air purifier brands available today, it can get confusing to decide what air purifier for smokers is right for you. We hope this article helped point you in the right direction in choosing the best smoking air purifier for your home.

Smoke and the odour it leaves behind can be hard to get rid of. You need an air purifier for smokers that has an advanced filtration system that includes a medical grade HEPA 13 filter. The HEPA 13 filter removes cigarette smoke from neighbours UK, while an additional carbon filter takes care of any lingering odour.

FAQ’s

Which air purifier is best for cigarette smoke?

The best air purifier for smokers should have an advanced filtration system that includes a HEPA filter. A medical-grade HEPA filter removes smoke particles and other toxins like bacteria and carbon dust with a 99.95% efficiency. Avoid air purifiers that are labelled “HEPA-like” or “HEPA-type” as these are not true HEPA filters.

Are air purifiers good for smoke?

Medical grade HEPA air purifiers can remove smoke and odour with 99.95% removal efficiency. Choose an air purifier with at least two fan speeds to efficiently move air through the filters for efficient pollutant removal.

Do air purifiers remove the smell of smoke?

Yes, an air purifier with a carbon filter will get rid of the smell of smoke and other noxious gases. You must pick an air purifier that will be powerful enough to cover the room it will be used in. Check the CADR rating of the air purifier, as it gives a hint of the size of the room it can be used in.

My neighbours smoke and my house smells UK, what can I do?

Consider getting an air purifier for smokers with a HEPA 13 filter and carbon filter installed in it. Ensure doors and windows are closed for the air purifier to work efficiently. Also, seal off any cracks or gaps in walls, ceilings, or floors which allow secondhand smoke to come in.