Air purifiers are trendy devices used in homes and workplaces. As cleaners, their job is simple – refining polluted air and making it healthy for you and your family. However, if you love spending more time driving than staying home, you might be considering getting this device.
You can put an air purifier in your car, especially if you love to travel a lot. Just like standard purifiers, they eliminate pollutants from the air. Installing one of these devices in your vehicles is relatively easy and doesn’t need expertise.
If you’re in for putting an air-cleaning device in your car, there’s a lot you must consider. This post answers questions you might have concerning car air purifying machines. Here, you’d also learn all the factors to put in place before hitting the market for a purifying device.
Is an Air Purifier Really Necessary?
Many might consider why they have to use air-cleaning devices when they can open the windows. Of course, you can open the glasses wide and let in as much fresh air as you need. Plus, you must regularly keep this natural air coming into your space.
However, remember that such natural air doesn’t get purified, especially in polluted areas. So instead of getting 100% clean air, you get one filled with smoke, dust, and pollen. The worst thing is that you can’t even see how much dirt is getting into your home.
With an air purifier, you’re sure that the air you breathe within your space is healthy for your system. These devices serve to rid the polluted air of these pollutants, and it does this seamlessly.
Some purifiers function by drawing the air through its vents and passing it through layers of filters. These fibers trap the dirt, even tiny ones, before letting the air back into the room.
Others might not require a filter, but they release ions into your area, which attaches to the dirt. Once these ions chemically bond with the pollutants, they fall to the ground because they’re too heavy to float. The moment you carry out your cleaning, you wipe them off your surfaces, and they disappear.
Even better, these purifiers require no experts to install them in your area. Instead, many of them only need to plug into a power outlet to start working. Plus, you can pick them up from the market for only a few dollars (except you want more expensive options!)
Can I Put an Air Purifying Device in My Car?
These devices are fantastic for homes, but do you know they’re perfect for cars? If you didn’t, now you do.
The best part is that the car versions of these devices are as simple as the ones for homes and other places. In other words, they’re easy to maintain and very cost-effective.
Car air purifiers function like their counterparts. This means that they are built to eliminate dust, pollen, and other bacterial elements from the air. Some of these devices are also good for removing odors like smoke.
Sources of Air Pollution in a Car
Poor air quality in a vehicle results from several factors. The most common of them is exhaust from other cars.
Imagine being stuck in traffic for several hours and having to inhale carbon monoxide pumping from other cars’ exhausts. People who love to smoke in that same traffic may be compounding the situation further.
In some cases, you find yourself driving along a dusty path. Other times, you might be taking a long trip with your dog or pet.
All these factors cause pollution. The worst is that you might not feel the impact of these harmful elements until later on. Some side effects that might come with this include lung infection and the development of allergies.
If you already suffer a respiratory illness, the situation only worsens as a car driver. This is because you’re more exposed to polluted air when driving than when sitting at home.
What Does a Car Air Purifier Filter?
As mentioned previously, car air purifiers function like your average air cleaning device. Hence, they remove contaminants and large particles from the air. These particles could be as large as pet dander and tiny as bacteria.
Aside from this, some devices replace the foul smell in your car with a clean natural scent.
What Are the Best Air Purifiers for Cars?
To be suitable for usage in your automobile, you’ll need a compact and lightweight air purifier. These two characteristics are critical for on-the-go use.
Some automotive air purifiers plug into the cigarette lighter of your vehicle, while others fit in the cupholder.
Car air purifiers that plug into the cigarette lighter of your vehicle may include extra features such as built-in USB ports. This allows you to charge your electronics while driving. The catch is that they will only work in your car.
If you want to take your air purifier out of the car, go for an upright standing air purifier. These devices usually fit into the cupholder and can be brought with you once you arrive at your destination. With this, the air cleaner can serve in multiple places like your bedroom or study.
When shopping for the best air cleaner for your automobile, keep the battery life and charging method in mind. Of course, if you commute for an extended period, you’ll want longer battery life. Other features to look for include display displays that show the air quality and multi-level fan settings.
Below are car purifying devices you should buy for your vehicle:
Wynd Essential Smart Air Purifier
Incredibly lightweight and small, this portable air purifier can be stored in the cupholder of your car. If you prefer to use it in another setting, you can set it on a desk.
One of the things you’ll love about this air cleaning device is its efficiency. According to the manufacturer, it removes 99.9 percent of impurities in your car. Furthermore, it carries out this function in less than 15 minutes after turning on the device.
The device is controllable through an app that allows you to monitor the air quality, modify the settings, and perform other functions. It has a strong battery life of eight hours, making it suitable for long road trips or long flights. The rechargeable automotive air purifier is powered by a USB Type-C connector allowing you to charge easily.
PureZone Mini Portable Air Purifier
This automotive air purifier has four fan settings, a two-stage filtering system, and a single adjustable handle. This is in addition to its powerful filters that keep the air in your car pure.
Since the device is best for travel, the air purifier reduces common pollutants and odors while on the go. It also removes irritants that may cause cold and virus symptoms.
The device keeps the air clean and fresh for up to twelve hours before it needs to be recharged again. Furthermore, the design makes it a comfortable option that fits into your car’s cupholder.
4WDKING Car Air Purifier
This automotive air purifier is so tiny that others might not notice it at first. However, you only have to plug it into the vehicle‘s outlet, and it quietly begins purifying the air within.
The purifier emits 5.6 million negative ions, effectively removing impurities such as smoke, pollen, dust, and dander. You’ll find that it swiftly dissipates unpleasant odors from your car. Additionally, it features two USB connections for charging your phone while driving.
UVLABS Intelligent Air Purifier Ionizer
This portable air purifier cleans the air in your automobile by producing 15 million negative ions. These ions remove allergens such as pollen and mold spores. Additionally, it utilizes highly effective UV-C LED technology to eliminate up to 99.9 percent of viruses and odor-causing germs.
This portable air cleaning device enables real-time monitoring of the air quality. It utilizes four distinct LED light colors to indicate different conditions.
These lights tell you if the air is of high quality, acceptable quality, moderately foggy, or excessively cloudy. This way, you can make more educated health decisions and know which air purifier settings to use.
You’ll also appreciate that it fits well in the cup holders of your car. Despite its four-hour battery life, it’s easily rechargeable.
Common Technologies Used in Car Purifiers
Air purifiers have several technologies which it uses to function. The same technologies apply to car cleaning devices.
The following are some of the most frequently used technologies you’ll find in most car air purifiers.
- HEPA filter
- Negative Ionizer
- Activated carbon filter
HEPA Filter
A HEPA air filter is the most effective technology for removing airborne particles safely. The issue with HEPA filters in automotive air purifiers is that they are either significantly too small to be efficient or are not authentic HEPA.
If you find one with this filter, you must get the best size for your car. In most cases, the larger the filter and the greater its effectiveness, the faster it works.
If your vehicle is smaller, then you can get a portable-sized filter. It will be useless to purchase a HEPA device that’s too small for your car.
These devices have fans powerful enough to force air through a HEPA filter. Unfortunately, HEPA is ineffective against gases, which are the primary reason to purchase a car air purifying system. For instance, the HEPA filter will capture the smoke particles but not the odors when removing cigarette smoke.
Negative Ionizer
The negative ionizer generates a negative charge while it’s in use. As a result, it has no filtering system to catch the particles like HEPA filters. These devices are simple and work once you connect them to the vehicle’s cigarette lighter. It also does not affect your battery life as it consumes very little energy.
Negative ions purify the air by clinging to dust, pollen, or mold spores, making them more easily drawn to a surface. However, this doesn’t solve the most common issue: removing gas, smoke, and odors.
A negative ionizer can only remove gas if it generates ozone. This is a problem, as ozone is a lung irritant. In addition, breathing ozone can lead to several dangerous medical conditions; thus, you should avoid it at all costs.
Activated Carbon Filter
A filter made of activated carbon effectively removes various gases like smoke automobile exhaust. The issue is that it takes a significant amount of energy and airflow to function. Some manufacturers don’t produce these air purifiers with enough carbon to effectively remove contaminants.
Additionally, carbon filters don’t work alone. You’ll have to combine them with other filters for it to clean the air. Most times, you get these filters with HEPA devices. This will only result in a bulkier air cleaning device that might not suit your automobile.
Why Should I Use an Air Purifier?
The use of these devices in any space has proven beneficial to both humans and pets. For instance, HEPA filters have no adverse effect because they only run the air through filter layers. With this, they can help reduce allergies and asthma symptoms.
The best part is that these devices require little maintenance. Once you clean them every week and change their filters every few months, they’re good to go. Some can even last as long as three years and might only need filter change four to five times.
Consequences of Using Automobile Purifier
There are car air purifiers available, and some of them truly work. Unfortunately, car air purifiers rarely perform as effectively as air purifiers used at home or work. As a result, it’s critical to keep your expectations in check for automotive air fresheners, cleaners, ionizers, and similar devices.
Most of these devices are ionizers, which operate differently than the HEPA filters found in most homes and offices. The fact is that ionizers don’t filter out large particles from the air. They perform their intended function of cleansing the air, but only for minute particles.
Other automobile air purifiers operate via ozone generation. While these devices effectively eliminate some strongly baked-in odors, they are unhealthy.