Carbon monoxide is a gas that has no color or smell. And most of the time, we don’t know about its accumulation in our houses because of its hidden nature. There are various health risks involved with the extended contact of this gas. When we inhale that gas, it lowers our body’s oxygen level, leading to a lack of concentration and thinking. In most cases, the high accumulation level also reports the results as unconsciousness.
We are continuously generating carbon monoxide by using the stove and other daily use appliances. Though there are various ways to lower the accumulation level like opening the windows, stop using the appliances, or stay outside the home, these are not that feasible that we could do all the time. We have to burn the fire inside and use appliances, and we cannot keep the windows open all the time. And most of the time, there are some places in the house which has no direct access to the window.
Here comes the air purifier to rescue. Manufacturers of these filters claim that these devices lower the carbon accumulation level in the home by providing you with pure, fresh, and cleaner air with the help of an activated carbon filter. But the million-dollar question is, do air purifiers clean carbon monoxide?
Before getting more information about the air purifiers, let’s know something as from where carbon monoxide accumulates in homes.
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Carbon monoxide sources
Whenever in your hours, you burn some material or use an appliance. As a result, you get the work done and create a substantial amount of harmful carbon monoxide gas.
The appliances and devices responsible for the gas are:
- Grills
- Generators
- Power tools
- Lawn equipment
- Wood stoves
- Furnaces
- Boilers
- Fireplaces
- Water heaters
- Tobacco smoke
- Gas stoves
- Ovens
- Motor vehicles
- Clothes dryers
Is there a safe level of carbon monoxide?
It is not the case that you can’t use the appliances and stoves inside of the house. There is a safer level that is not harmful to people’s health, and that is 0.5 to 5 parts per million (ppm). This level is also found around the properly adjusted and functioning stove.
What are the ways to remove carbon monoxide from the air?
You can use various ways to decrease the level of the accumulated carbon monoxide in your home. The most common ones are:
- Ventilation systems: Beware that most of the ventilation systems throwback the air from the inside. The air filled with carbon monoxide remains there in the system, and you get no benefit from it. But when you use the radiant or forced air system, you ensure the decreased level of carbon monoxide inside the building.
- Design of the home: This is what you can do when you are going to construct a new house. You can go for ways to increase the fresh airflow in the building to reduce the accumulation of harmful gas.
- Decreasing the use of open flames: When you use open lame for an extended time, it will burn the oxygen in the air, and you will get an increased level of carbon monoxide in your house that will be enough to cause problems and health-related issues.
- Plants: These natural air purifiers remove the excess carbon monoxide from the earth and provide all human beings with clean and fresh air. You create your tiny ecosystem inside the house; you will get clean, fresh, and pure air for a healthy life.
- Buy an air purifier: buying an air purifier is always a convenient option, which most people opt to increase the air quality for breathing inside the house. The air purifier removes harmful particles, bacteria, and dander from the air inside. But do air purifiers clean carbon monoxide? The answer is yes: with the help of an activated carbon filter; you can also decrease the level of harmful carbon monoxide gas.
How my house gets an elevated level of carbon monoxide, and where it comes from?
The house and rooms are mostly built to protect from the factors outside like sun, dust, extreme weather conditions. It reduces the airflow, and the trapped air inside fills with the elevated carbon monoxide level. In the house, various sources add to the already accumulated carbon monoxide. The most famous and common ones are:
- Stoves
- Open fireplace
- Portable generators
- Almost all major home appliances
- Your portable generators
- Vehicles in the garage
- Smoking inside the house
Do air purifiers really clean carbon monoxide, or is it a myth?
You don’t need to be a scientist to find out do air purifiers clean carbon monoxide or not? Scientists and experts have already busted this myth. The air purifiers with activated carbon filters have shown significant results in reducing the house or office’s carbon monoxide level. The regular use of the air filter with activated carbon will keep the carbon monoxide level to the normal rating and provide you with safe and pure air.
What to Look for in an Air Purifier for Carbon Monoxide while Buying One
When you want to buy an air purifier for carbon monoxide, there are few implications which you understand and look for the following feature:
Activated carbon filter
An air purifier without an activated carbon filter is of no use to you. The activated charcoal can absorb carbon monoxide and provide you with clean air in the room. Always go for the option which has a higher number of activated carbon pellets in it. A thick and robust activated carbon filter is crucial to remove the accumulated carbon monoxide from the room.
HEPA filter
A High-Efficiency Particulate Air filter ensures clean and pure air free from allergens, dust, and harmful bacteria or viruses. An air purifier with the HEPA filter will protect the health of the people inside.
Clean Air Delivery Rate ADR
It is measured in cubic meter per hour, and the standard defines the productivity of the air purifier in your home. Always choose the higher CADR level product to ensure the quality of air.
Air Change per Hour
How many times an air purifier can clean out the air in a closed room is measured in ACH. If you have a product that provides 2 ACH, this means half an hour; the filter will clean the air inside the room.
Best Air Purifier for Carbon Monoxide which You can Buy
The Silver Onyx Air Purifier is undoubtedly the best because of the 5 stage filtration system and a robust HEPA filter. This high-end performing air purifier is lightweight and compact allows you to place it anywhere you want in your home or office.
The HEPA H13 filter is the latest generation of the air filters that uses the best quality material, and robust performance cleans 99.97 % air inside. The filter catches all eh dirt and dust particles. When this device is turned on, it will catch the fine particles, and you get the clean air removed of all smallest particles ranging to 0.3 microns.
You also don’t have to worry about bacteria and viruses when you have placed this robust filter in the place the UV sanitation and ionization allow the product to capture and kill all the bacteria and harmful viruses in the air and provide you with eth dust and disease-free air to increase the quality of air and your life.
The most important thing which you get from this product is an activated carbon filer. This filter allows the product to remove the harmful carbon monoxide from the area and provide you with fresh and oxygenated air. The clean air increases the oxygen level in your blood circulation and saves you from the harmful effects of carbon monoxide accumulation in the system.
Pros:
- It can be used for large rooms
- HEPA H13 Filter
- It comes with UV sanitation
- Activated Carbon Filter
- PM2.5 sensor
- Easy to use
- Five-speed fans
- Sleep mode from noise-free sleep
- UVC Light
Cons:
- Not good for halls or larger areas
Recommended Reading : Do air purifiers emit radiation?
FAQs about the carbon monoxide and HEPA air filters:
Do HEPA filters remove carbon monoxide?
HEPA air filters run on technology that removes all the harmful bacteria, pollutants, and parties from the air ranging 0.3 microns. They are not equipped with the technology to remove harmful carbon monoxide from the air, which is 0.001 micron on average.
Can you filter out carbon monoxide?
HEPA air purifiers cannot trap the carbon monoxide particles if they are not equipped with the activated carbon filter technology. The activated carbon can filter out the smallest gas particles by trapping them. The cheap filters which use spray-on technology are not equipped with the capacity to remove carbon monoxide.
The important thing to remember is that the heavier the carbon filter is, the more it will reduce carbon monoxide.
Do air purifiers need to be cleaned?
The filters in the air purifier run on the technology to pass the air form. It can get it cleaned. But the dust particles and dander clog the filter and reduce the efficiency and productivity of the device. If your family member has to rely on the air purifier to reduce the effects of asthma or another respiratory disease, you must clean the filter regularly for maximum air to pass through the filter and get cleaned of harmful particles and gases.
How long does it take to air out carbon monoxide?
Most of the time, you need a minimum of 4 to 5 hours to take out the air from your home and your body. The fresh air in your house or lungs will take 4 to 5 hours in making the carbon monoxide out of the system.
Final Thought
The air inside the house is mostly trapped, and we cannot make our house to outside air all the time because of the dirt, pollution, and extreme weather conditions. The trapped air inside fills with carbon monoxide that is harmful to the people’s health inside the building. When we use appliances, burn fire, and stove, we keep adding to the already escalated carbon monoxide level. The air purifier with an activated carbon filter is the lifesaver that reduces the carbon monoxide level and provides you with safe and pure air for a healthy life.