Personal Air Purifier
Why do you need an auto air purifier?
Your auto can contain many sources toxins and bad air. With people spending more and more time in their daily commute, it's important that you breathe in healthy air. Imagine how you'll feel when you start each morning off breathing in fresh pure air, thanks to your auto air purifier. Contrast that to the mix of smog, pollution and toxins you may currently be inhaling. Studies have shown that smog can induce stress and increase cardiac problems in people.
Toxic air sources
We run into many sources of toxins that affect our autos. Externally, there are other cars and trucks. Large pools of ozone and smog usually hover around congested busy highways. Trucks and other diesel powered autos can emit large amounts of pollution. There are also natural sources of air irritants. Allergens and even smoke from forest fires can affect an auto's air quality. Different geographic locations each have their own sources of air toxins. What's may not be so obvious is your auto's internal sources of toxic air. An auto air purifier can help remove toxins from cigarette smoke, mold in the air conditioning unit and that "new car smell". That's right, when you take a deep breath of that new car smell, you're actually inhaling dangerous toxins. See this report from CNN.
How do auto air purifiers work?
The auto air purifier work using the same mechanisms as personal air purifiers. The majority auto air purifiers use ionic air purification; this produces negative ions which attach themselves to particles in the air. These are affective against allergens and smog, but do little for odors. Neoair produces an auto air purifier that uses a HEPA filter, carbon and ultra violet. For an auto air purifier to be effective against odors, it must use a filter.
Filters, ion generators and other purification technologies only work if they can reach the toxic air. To this end, good auto air purifiers come with fans to circulate the air. Some air purifiers work close to your cars internal ventilation system, so if you turn your cars vents on high the auto air purifier can work without a fan. Of course, turning the vent up also increases the flow of outside (dirty) air, so the auto air purifier must be up to the task of dealing with large volumes of air. Auto air purifers are typically powered by the car's battery. They plug into the auto's cigarette lighter using a 12 volt adapter.
Auto air purifier finishes
There isn't a whole lot of variety as far as looks go. Most auto air purifers are plastic, which means a black or silver finish. There are also wood and stainless steel finishes available on some models.
Beware of ozone
One component of smog is ozone. Ironically, all ionic air purifiers emit ozone as a by-product of the ionizations process. This is typically a negligible amount, especially when used in a large space. However, a typical auto air purifier is used in a small enclosed space. This makes the effects of the ozone more harmful. So when purchasing an auto air purifier, be sure to buy one that emits as little ozone as possible.
Car ionic air purifier
Should you purchase a car ionic air purifier, make sure you maintain it. For some car ionic air purifiers, that can be as simple as wiping the dirt which has accumulated in the device. Check your manual for the rate at which you should clean it. By leaving the car air purifier dirty, it can render the purifier mostly useless. Of course for some air purifiers it might be best to replace the entire unit every so often.