Do those air purifier things work?

[Perpetual Change]

So my neighbors in my apartment building must be chronic smokers who smoke multiple packs a day. Even though I don't smoke, every day I come home and my apartment has that nasty residual cigarette smell. Usually this isn't noticeable once I light a candle or something, but the slap in the face when I walk in the door is pretty disappointing.

Smoking is such a disgusting habit.

Do those air purifier things work? I've been thinking about getting one, or multiple, but they seem pretty expensive.

[El Barto]

A good smoke-sucker will work great. The problem is that they're expensive to buy, and even more expensive to feed. Replacement filters don't come cheap. The other downside is that they're usually pretty damn loud.

Bottom line is that dealing with smells is just one of the tradeoffs of living in an apartment. My neighbor keeps weird hours, and seems to be Italian. I'll occasionally notice garlic wafting through the vents at one in the morning. 

[Chino]

You could murder your neighbor.








I kid.

[kirksnosehair]

My company installs hundreds of these things throughout the year.   Look for units that have a clean air delivery rate (CADR) of 350 or higher.  CADR is the measurement of how fast a unit can clean the air in a given space based on the dimensions of the space.  Another piece of information that is helpful when you are evaluating which unit to buy is something referred to as "minimum efficiency reporting value" (MERV) - the best units have a MERV of 10 or higher.  The rule of thumb that we typically follow for smaller installations is this: 


Cubed Footage x 1.5 = Unit Spec


Basically, you want to buy a unit that is rated to handle 1500 cubed feet if your space measures 1000 cubed feet.

[kirksnosehair]

Oh, yeah, sorry, to answer your question:




Question: Do those air purifier things work?


Answer: Yes, if they are properly sized for the space they will be working in.

[Perpetual Change]

My company installs hundreds of these things throughout the year.   Look for units that have a clean air delivery rate (CADR) of 350 or higher.  CADR is the measurement of how fast a unit can clean the air in a given space based on the dimensions of the space.  Another piece of information that is helpful when you are evaluating which unit to buy is something referred to as "minimum efficiency reporting value" (MERV) - the best units have a MERV of 10 or higher.  The rule of thumb that we typically follow for smaller installations is this: 


Cubed Footage x 1.5 = Unit Spec


Basically, you want to buy a unit that is rated to handle 1500 cubed feet if your space measures 1000 cubed feet.

Good info 

Bottom line is that dealing with smells is just one of the tradeoffs of living in an apartment. My neighbor keeps weird hours, and seems to be Italian. I'll occasionally notice garlic wafting through the vents at one in the morning. 

Yeah, but this is just ridiculous. I think my neighbords on both sides as well as my neighbor downstairs are all smokers. How could that happen? I was under the impression that smoking was way down.

And the smell isn't the worst problem - a candle or some incense is usually enough to negate it. Really, it's waking up with that scratchy feeling in the back of my mouth, which I remember hating from when I was a smoker. I just don't like it at all. Also if I'm going to get all the averse effects I might as well just start doing milds again, since those smell way better anyway.