How Air Purifiers Can Help Remove Smoke and Odours During BBQ Season

August 8, 2024

As the weather continues to get warmer there’s nothing better than getting outside and cranking on the BBQ, but while the smell of sizzling sausages wafts into the house, so does the smoke…

Smoke Exposure Health Risks

The harmful pollutants in smoke can have various negative impacts on our health. Short term effects of smoke exposure can include respiratory irritation, discomfort, and shortness of breath. Cardiovascular issues or chronic respiratory disease are just serious two long term health risks associated with smoke inhalation.

Smoke particles are typically measured as PM10, or 10 micrometres and below, and PM2.5, or 2.5 micrometres and below. PM10 particles are associated with eye, nose, and throat irritation, while PM2.5 can cause more serious internal issues and affect your heart and lungs.

How to Remove Smoke Particles from The Air

Air purifiers can be used to remove smoke from the air and prevent the negative health effects of smoke exposure, and they also keep your air clean and fresh. Filters that can effectively remove PM10 and PM2.5 particles can aid in smoke removal, particularly purifiers with HEPA filters or odour reduction capabilities.

Particle Size and HEPA filters

HEPA filters are designed to remove particulates as small as 0.3 microns in size almost all the time (99.97% to be precise!). Smoke particles are typically below 5nm, meaning the majority of them can be captured within a HEPA filter.

Odour

Activated carbon can be used to remove odours and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the air. Carbon is treated under high temperatures and pressures to create a porous surface that dramatically increases the surface area of the activated carbon. Because of its large surface area, activated carbon can adsorb VOCs and odours from the air.

What is Adsorption?

Adsorption is the process of a gas or liquid accumulating on the surface of a solid, in this case, the gaseous odour on the activated carbon (like condensation from the shower sticking to the mirror). This is different to absorption, which is when the gas or liquid enters into the solid to become part of its volume (like water in a sponge!)

More than a BBQ

Smoke isn’t just a problem because of summer BBQs; wood burners in the home, wildfires, or even burning your dinner can produce smoke that you don’t want to be breathing in. Using an air purifier means you’ll be prepared for these events, and you can keep your air clean and smoke-free!