Often referred to as charcoal filters, an activated carbon air filter is the most effective option for removing common odors from the household air. Installing a carbon air filter in your furnace or air conditioner can help eliminate pet odors, cigarette smoke, garbage odors, and many other common households smell that we find unpleasant.
Activated carbon air filters are particularly helpful for those who are sensitive to many of the unnatural air freshening solutions available. These filters are used to filter out bad smells and flavours, and chemicals. Activated carbon is a porous substance that allows many things in but does not let much out. It can be used even to soak up chemical spills and absorb poisonous mercury.
Many people have chemical sensitivities and don’t even realize it. A carbon air filter eliminates the need for chemicals which can cause allergic reactions.
How An Activated Carbon Air Filter Works
An activated carbon air filter removes pollutants from the air with a process called adsorption. Charcoal that has been put through a high heat process causes millions of pores to form. This increases the surface area of the carbon significantly and produces pockets where gas molecules and particles are trapped. These pores form between the carbon atoms, which results in a material that bonds very well with contaminants.
Carbon air filters are available in a pleated design for use in your furnace or air conditioner. The best carbon air filters available for use in your HVAC system have a MERV 8 rating and perform well. Although these filters perform well and are your best defence against odors they are not as good at removing dust as some of your more efficient pleated filter options.
If odor control is important to you, carbon filters are a very good solution and worth a try. Pleated carbon filters are easily found in your local hardware stores and an online store such as Amazon.com.
Carbon pads are available as an add on option when you purchase media air filters. These activated carbon filter pads are installed with your regular filter pads and usually last for two media filter pad changes, but they don’t do as good a job as the Odor Ban filters mentioned above.
Charcoal has long been used for water and air purification because of its ability to adsorb chemical impurities, and activated carbon filters have been used for a long time in commercial and industrial heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems.
If you wish to clarify off chemicals, gases, cigarette smokes as well as other odors, then activated carbon air filters are your finest alternative. Activated carbon filtration is your best option when dealing with gases and odors.
