There are many reasons to be concerned with the air quality within the home. Whether it be due to allergen irritants in the air, constant musty odors, or contaminated air, air scrubbers may be worth looking into for your home.
An air scrubber is a device that removes things such as air pollution, surface contaminants, pet dander, odors, VOCs, and dust using purification filters as the air within the space is circulated through the system. Several times each hour, the scrubber draws the contaminated air from the area while also pumping in the fresh air free of chemicals.
This process provides a cleaner, healthier, and more efficient home.
You can choose an air scrubber attachment that can attach directly to the ductwork of your HVAC system or a portable stand-alone unit for easy transportation.
The Different Types of Air Scrubbers
The two types of air scrubbers are wet and dry; they are differentiated by their method of removing particles. The primary function of both ways is to make air breathable after it has been contaminated by toxic fumes, chemicals, gasses, and pollutants.
Wet Air Scrubber
In the most basic form, water is encapsulated in a metal or composite container, contaminated gas is moved through the water, the water then absorbs the contaminates, and clean gas exits the scrubber.
Other liquids can also absorb solutions to remove various contaminants effectively. For example, wet air scrubbers can trap particles as gases, such as sulfur dioxide, chromic acid, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, chlorides, and fluorides.
Dry Air Scrubbers
Dry scrubbers remove pollutants from exhaust gases without the use of liquids. Instead, they utilize a dry reaction material known as “sorbent,” such as alkaline slurry. They are primarily implemented to remove acid from gas by moving the gas through the sorbent “dust” to maximize binding.
The primary use of dry scrubbers is to capture solvents and remove acidic gasses.
What Can It Eliminate?
There are many reasons to invest in an air scrubber. Here are some of the things it will eliminate from your home.
- Reduce contaminants – Every time we walk in from an outing, we bring pollutants into our homes. Air scrubbers can remove these from the air and surfaces.
- Rid of pollutants – volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and microscopic living organisms and particulates – such as dirt, pollen, chemicals, and pet dander.
- Banish lingering odors – Rather than spraying air fresheners that add chemicals and pollutants; scrubbers naturally freshen the air by removing impurities. In addition, the charged ions that the scrubber system creates kills odor-causing bacteria that come from pets, cooking, and spoiled food.
- Eliminate microscopic living organisms, including bacteria, viruses, mold, and mildew.
- Covid-19 viral particles – Some studies have proven air scrubbers have effectively removed these particles from the air and surfaces, mainly using a HEPA filter.
If these are the contaminates you wish to eliminate, it will be worth looking into adding an air scrubber to your regular air purification system. But, again, getting the air quality tested in your home will help you determine which air scrubber would be best for your home.
