DIY Air Purifier Smoke
Many parts of North America, many parts of the rest of the world, have been plagued with wildfires this year, resulting in air that was hazardous, even dangerous to breathe. And for for many people who live with someone who smokes, or those of us who suffer from allergies and asthma, having clean, breathable air is a year-round problem. Whether you need an air purifier to deal with an emergency situation, you are dealing with second hand smoke, or you just don’t want to fork out up to $800 for a top end unit, you can solve all your problems with a homemade, DIY air purifier.
Keep in mind that a DIY air filter will be most effective in a small room – like your bedroom. But a homemade smoke filter can it will be just as effective as a commercial unit in a small apartment. You can make a DIY air purifier from readily available items found at your local hardware store. As long as you make sure you get a HEPA furnace filter, you will be able to remove smoke, tobacco smoke, allergens and pollutants from the air that you breathe at home.
Materials needed for a Homemade air/smoke purifier
- 20 inch x 20 inch box fan. They usually run between $12 to $15.
- A HEPA furnace filter – it must have a MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) of 13 or higher. (It might also say FDR 10. It means the same thing).
- Tape (optional, but handy)
How To Assembly A DIY Smoke Eater
Take the filter and tape to the back of the box fan. You don’t have to tape it, because the suction of the fan will hold the filter on, but the tape will keep the filter from falling on the floor when you turn the fan off. There are arrows on the filter to indicate the direction of the airflow, so just look for those when you put your new homemade air purifier together. Your new air purifier/smoke eater will now trap and remove the pollutants in your room or apartment. And at this price, you can create several DIY air purifiers – one for each room in your house.
Yes – it really works
- Studies have shown that using a DIY air purifier in a closed room can clean the air in a closed room of 90% of smoke in a 14 x 14 foot room in just three hours
- Your homemade air purifier will work to remove smoke and smoke particles from the air in an emergency situation when the air has become hazardous due to wildfires, but it will work on everyday pollutants and allergens as well – just as well as a commercial air purifier.
- You will need to keep your windows and doors closed when you are using your DIY air filter.
- The filter needs to be changed when it changes color – from lovely white to beige or nasty brown. Don’t worry – when the filter gets dirty and brown, that just means that it is doing its job.
- Put your homemade smoke purifier on the floor – not in a window.
- It is most effective in your bedroom (where you spend the most time). Keep the doors closed to keep theair as purified as possible.
A homemade air purifier can change the air in a closed room or apartment from hazardous and smoke filled to 90% pure within about three hours. You can literally go from a smoke filled room to a room free of allergens, smoke and carbon black particles from wild fires, second-hand tobacco smoke, dust, pollen and other contaminates. It could literally be a life saver for people with respiratory issues during an emergency due to wild fires or prolonged period of exposure to unhealthy air due to other environmental issues. And it will certainly be a perfect solution for people who live with smokers (or who aresmokers) and who want to remove the second hand tobacco smoke from their homes. Anyone can put one of these together. All it takes is a quick trip to the hardware store and a little bit of tape.
