Do air purifiers get rid of odors? Most people who don’t know about air purifiers ask this question. In this article, we’re about to find out just whether air purifiers are okay for bad smells or not, and how they exactly work.
Bad smells can threaten your house in many ways. For example, it can turn off your guests or your family members. Usually, odors come from moldy areas that are too damp, such as basements that have leaky pipes. Odors can also come from pets, such as dogs or cats, and they could even come from cooking odors, such as fish.
In other cases, odors can be caused by frequent smokers in the house or even chemicals that you use. To get rid of these odors, you’ll need something to absorb them.
Do air purifiers get rid of bad smells?
Yes, air purifiers do get rid of bad smells. They do it by means of the following:
- Activated carbon filter. The activated carbon filter can help to eliminate the bad smells since carbon or charcoal is a natural odor absorber. This filter usually goes inside of your present air purifier filter and is sandwiched between layers. The charcoal or carbon filter is what sets most air purifiers apart from generic ones.
Keep in mind that not all air purifiers have an activated carbon filter, so do look for one if you want to get rid of bad smells in your house. If you’re one of those whose room smells like body odor, an air purifier may be a good choice for you in this case.
- Variable fan speeds. The fan speed of an air purifier can be set from 1 to 4, or 1 to 3 at most. This variable fan speed not only helps to move air, but it also moves the bad smell away from your home space. This can be useful if the air in your indoor area is stagnant and you want to drive the bad smell away using windows or ventilation areas.
- Multi-layer filtering. The filter system of an air purifier is more than just one layer – you get sandwiched layers in between to help filter out the air thoroughly. This includes your bad smells and foul odors, which can be filtered out through the activated carbon filter, pass through the true HEPA filter, and eventually create fresh and clean-smelling air.
- True HEPA filter. A true HEPA filter is much better than an average air purifier filter because it can clean up to 99.97% of pollutants in the air. Such pollutants include dust, dirt, pollen, pet dander, microbes, bad bacteria, and the like. If your air becomes cleaner then it will also smell better. This is true for those who live in an industrial place and always had to deal with smoke and smog all the time.
- Oscillation methods. Air purifiers don’t just stay in one place. Much like air conditioners and electric fans, air purifiers can also oscillate (but not all of them – check the unit that you want to buy first). Air purifiers have this method so that it can circulate the entire room to effectively clean and get rid of the odors in your home or room.
Will an air purifier get rid of a musty smell?
Yes, absolutely! Air purifiers are not just built for unclean spaces filled with pollutants like dust and pollen – they are also made for musty smells.
One factor that air purifiers do is they target mold. Thanks to their activated carbon filter, it gets rid of the mold smell and neutralizes it. This carbon filter can be a solution for you if you’ve already tried the vinegar and baking soda technique and still haven’t had any results.
The next thing that air purifiers do to mold is they clean it up using UV germicidal lamps. These lamps are made with UV rays that can help kill and disinfect areas that are potential with mold spores, mildew, and the like. These can form pathogens that not only cause bad smells but they can be harmful to our health (and your pet’s and plants’ health as well).
Also keep in mind that not all air purifiers have UV germicidal lamps, so it pays to look into their product specs first. You may want to know which air purifier to buy from our guide.
Do air purifiers remove cooking odors?
Yes! Air purifiers do remove cooking odors thanks to their odor-neutralizing activated carbon filter. What it does is get rid of the smoke using the filter so that you no longer have to smell bad cooking odors that are from fish and the like.
Cooking odors can be nasty if you live in an apartment or condo unit. In some cases, restaurants also do get cooking odors and that’s why air purifiers can be necessary for them. If your neighbors complain about the smell of your cooking fish then getting an air purifier could be helpful for you.
What is the best air purifier for odors?
An air purifier we’d like to suggest for odors would be the Vornado AC550 Air 
Purifier because of its included carbon pre-filter, which can target all the foul smells in your home or closed space. It can clean up to 335 square feet in total and the push-button controls could provide easy operation for both you and grandma.
And of course, it has a true HEPA filter, which can clean up your air from pollutants as well. Not to worry about its power consumption, since it has a sleep mode, which leaves you with a peace of mind when you slumber.
Conclusion
To conclude, air purifiers can get rid of odors, provided that they are rated just right for your room, you use them more frequently, and if they are placed properly. Remember: when choosing an air purifier that’s going to combat foul odors and such, pick one that has an activated carbon filter and you’re all set!
