Best Air Purifier for VOCs

Harmful effects on VOC pollution

Before looking into the best air purifier for VOCs it is important to know what are VOCs. VOCs known as volatile organic compounds are harmful gases emitted to the environment from various forms of items and processes. VOC chemicals can be omitted from simple household items as well as high-grade construction goods; these gasses are considered to be dangerous and can contain the potential to cause cancerous cells in humans. 

These gasses have the ability to easily be airborne and react with other chemical compounds to form dangerous contaminants in and out. VOC gasses are not limited to indoors. They are also present outdoors and continuous emissions can happen if they are not controlled. Some of the popular VOC emissions are toluene, formaldehyde, and benzene.

It is important to be vigilant of our surroundings if there is a risk of exposure to VOC chemicals. Normal household items such as cleaning detergents can have VOC chemicals inside that emit in our daily life. Therefore, it is crucial to follow procedures to keep the indoor air clean at home without taking a risk to our health.

If you are exposed to VOC gasses, then your eyes, nose, and throat can irritate and cause problems in breathing. It will create a high-risk environment for cancer and the failure of vital organs. The threat of VOC is the same outdoors as well, where it reacts with nitrogen oxides, causing ozone pollution, and is commonly known as the most popular pollutant in the world, therefore keeping a vigilant eye on your environment, as well as avoiding exposure to these gasses, can decrease the risk for your health and well-being.

Importance of an air purifier at home

An air purifier brings a lot of safety factors into your home, and especially air purifiers can benefit individuals who are suffering from asthma, and allergies to a great extent. Modern air purifiers are manufactured to capture 99.97% of air pollutants that have a diameter of 0.3 µm, therefore these handy appliances can be useful when maintaining a healthy breathing space. 

Additionally, air purifiers have many levels of filters, which are commonly known as pre-filter, HEPA filters, and activated carbon filters with additional features, such as ionizers and UV lights. Pre-filters, HEPA filters, and activated carbon filters have been researched extensively and found that they are extremely efficient and helpful in creating a healthy breathing environment especially if there are individuals with breathing problems and allergies. 

However, further research has ruled that air purifiers with ionizers and UV lights can be harmful to health as they generate by-products that can cause long-term lung problems. Therefore, when purchasing a new purifier, it is important to research the said appliance in order to determine the capacity and the quality of filtration it provides.

Best air purifiers for smoke and VOCs

This article reviews the best air purifiers for smoke and VOCs. Extensive research was done after a number of factors, considering the filtration process of the air purifiers. The filtration will extensively discuss the carbon filters of these air purifiers as it is the main filter that gets rid of harmful VOCs in the air.

Austin Air HealthMate

Overview

Renowned as one of the best smoke and VOC-eliminating air purifiers is the Austin Healthmate air purifier. The Austin Healthmate air purifier is known for its filtration of VOC chemicals and smoke. People with a high risk for allergies and common sicknesses prefer the Austin Healthmate as the room air purifier as it delivers, efficient purification when it comes to VOCs.

Technical Specifications

Filtration of the Austin Air Healthmate

Pre-filter

The prefilter of the Austin Healthmate is the same as what you get from most modern air purifiers, mostly the outer fabric. It is tasked with removing the relatively large particles which can be easily stuck on the fabric, so it provides a good cleaning efficiency to other filters that follow it.

HEPA filter

The Austin Healthmate HEPA filter is a true medical-grade HEPA filter that is tasked with removing particles such as mold, dust, selected viruses, etc. It is wrapped in the combination filter. It is the last filter that air meets before going out as clean from the center of the air purifier outlet.

Marketing techniques have conquered HEPA filters with silly terms and a true HEPA filter is tested and approved to capture particles that have a diameter of 3 µm. It is also able to remove 99.97% of particles that tries to travel through it. Speculation of true HEPA filters is common and with Austin Healthmate you get the industrial standard HEPA filter that assures great filtration.

Carbon-Zeolite Filter

There is no air purifier better than the Austin Healthmate for filtering VOCs and smoke. If you are looking for the best air purifier for gas filtration, then look no further than the Austin Healthmate. It delivers your wish and is currently the best in the market for the task.

The gas filter is in the middle of the pre-filter and the HEPA filter. The gas filter of the Austin Healthmate is a combination of carbon and zeolite. The quantity of carbon and zeolite adds up to 15 pounds and this is the most amount of gas filter, ratio volume that can be found in an air purifier, and the chemical zeolite assist in providing a good filtration efficiency for VOCs and smoke.

The filtration happens by the volume of the carbon and zeolite mixture which creates a strong bond with VOCs and creates a large surface area. The 15lb weight of the carbon filter is an advantage when this factor is considered. VOC such as formaldehyde is a common chemical that easily gets through carbon filters and the availability of zeolite will restrict this chemical and filter it from the air. 

The mechanics of gas filtration in Austin Healthmate is the best that you can purchase in the market at present. When considering the primary purpose of an air purifier is to filter harmful substances in the air, in many ways, Austin Healthmate can be picked as one of the best air purifiers currently.

IQAir GC Multigas

IQ where is one of the most renowned brands in air purification and has consistently delivered effective beautification models throughout the years. From different types of models, we review the IQ air, GC, and multigas air beautifier, which is known for purifying orders, smoke, and general VOCs.

Technical specifications

Filtration of IQAir GC Multigas

Pre-filter

With many air purifiers you are getting three or more filters, the IQAir GC multi-gas carries two main filters in two sections. The first filter is hyper HEPA pre-filter, which is basically the standard HEPA filter that has three levels of capturing particles, which are coarse, fine, and ultrafine. The IQAir HEPA filter standard is guaranteed to perform at the recommended levels of filtration. 

Multi-gas Cartridges

The next filters are known as GC multi-gas cartridges which hold four cartridges on the top. These cartridges, are manufactured with activated carbon and also contribute to capturing and controlling ultrafine particles that may escape from the HEPA filter. These filters have what is called a filter sleeve which allows them to do this.

Containing 12 pounds of activated carbon the air purifier stays slightly low compared to the Austin Air Healthmate. The volume of the carbon directly relates to the purification of harmful VOCs. However, there are replacements in the market that has an overall 17 pounds of carbon volume on all cartridges. Also, these replacements mostly come from coconut carbon and are considered more effective than regular coal.

Carbon filters; Austin Air Healthmate vs IQAir GC MultiGas

Getting to the business end and comparing the two giants as air purification and filtration our pick slightly would edge towards the IQAir GC multigas as it has a better CADR and the fan speeds actually provide a great delivery rate compared to the Austin. 

However, in the event, that VOC filtration may take precedence Austin Air is the better fit with a good level of CADR, stock carbon volume, and the addition of zeolite to the mixture. 

Both air purifiers are quality picks in any air purification category and if you can afford them then you’ll certainly get the value for your purchase.