Air Purifier Smells (Causes and Solution)

Is your air purifier producing a bad odor? Air Purifier smell is a downside as it is creating the same problem that it was made and meant to solve.

Air purifiers are undeniably the perfect solution that helps you breathe clean and odorless air, and helps get rid of harmful particles from the air, but it becomes a problem when it smells.

If you’re reading this, you’re asking yourself – why does my air purifier smell? Ask no more as this article has got answers.

Read on to find out the causes of air purifier smells, solutions to getting rid of the smell, and tips to prevent bad odors from your air purifier.

Without further delay, let’s begin!

Table of Contents

Identify the Smell

The first step in solving air purifier smell is identifying the smell it is circulating into the air of your home.

Here are some common kinds of smells that may come from your air purifier;

Plastic smell: This kind of smell is associated with new air purifiers in their first days of usage. This is quite normal, as the smell will go away after a few days.
Burnt smell: This could result from a damaged component or burnt wires in the device. There is also a chance your device is overheating, which is a major problem if not handled fast. Switch off the device for some time and inspect it, and wait for some minutes before continuing usage.
Wet or Chlorine smell: This smell is the by-product of ozone emitting air purifiers. This is also a sign that the air purifier works properly and effectively. The only way to get rid of this smell is through proper ventilation, using a fragrance, or getting a new air purifier.
Sour Smell: This results from the usage of pesticides or herbicides at home. When you fumigate your compound and use your air purifier in the room, it sucks in the air when released back into the air. It becomes a sour smell. You can’t do much except wait for some days till the smell goes down or use an air fragrance.
Damp Smell: This smell can best be described as that of a wet dog. This could result from excess mist in the air of your home, from cooking, detergents, and other home equipment. Your air purifier just takes it in and amplifies it. The solution to this is to keep your room well ventilated or introduce some device to remove excess moisture from the air.

These are some of the common smells that you may perceive from your air purifier. Now let’s look at some causes of this smell, solutions, and troubleshooting tips to help remove this odor from your room or home.

Causes of Air Purifier Smell

Dirty Filters

This is the major cause of air purifier smells. Dirty filters can cause bad odors if not cleaned regularly. Dirty filters may release a sour-smelling odor which can be discomforting.

Air purifiers work by absorbing impurities and harmful particles from the air in your home. These particles can get stuck to the filters and build up over time to release a foul-smelling odor to your room instead of just purifying the air.

Cleaning the filters will remove this bad odor, or replace the filter. It is bad and can’t be cleaned and repaired. It is recommended to change filters regularly. If your filter is over 6 months in use, then change it.

Ozone Production

The chlorine-like smell you get from your air purifier, may be because of the production or emission of ozone.

Ozone is the byproduct of some air purifiers, which is why you need to know the type of purifier you’re getting during purchase.

There’s not much you can do about this except to use air fragrance to get rid of the smell or replace the air purifier with something new.

There are other purifiers out there with HEPA filters that don’t produce ozone, ask your manufacturer or local store for one.

Harmful Particles on the filters and devices.

When the air in your room becomes too misty, it becomes the perfect environment for molds, bacteria, and other harmful particles to grow. These particles often give off a foul smell.

Over time, the filters in your air purifiers take in these harmful particles and substances before releasing pure unadulterated air. The filters get clogged as these particles grow on the filters.

When it grows to a certain extent, your air purifier takes the smell of these bacteria and molds and spreads it into the room.

New Appliance Smell

Most new home electrical and nonelectrical gadgets have this new appliance smell that comes with them when you use them for the first time.

Sometimes changing or replacing faulty filters will still give off this plastic smell that can be discomforting. This is normal. You don’t need to panic.

This smell will go away in a few days, but if the smell is too strong, you can take the device outside and use air pressure to remove the odor. You can also use some sort of air fragrance to remove the smell.

Ventilation

When you place your air purifier in a room without enough ventilation, it will take the odor of the particles in the enclosed place. This usually happens if the air purifier in your possession comes with an activated carbon filter.

Without ventilation, your air purifier takes the odors of your home. The filters will become saturated with the smells from your home. Odors like paint, cleaning detergents, cooking, and several others.

Preventing and getting rid of Air Purifier Smells

Clean the Filter

Cleaning the filter of your air purifier is a sure bet for getting rid of the smells. Since the filter traps most of the odor-causing particles, it would fix the problem by washing the filter.

To avoid the smells in the first place, regularly washing of the filters will help remove dirt, bacteria, and molds that have clogged the filter.

Replace the Filter

It is recommended to change the filter of your air purifier once every quarter or in 6 months. That way, you prevent the build-up of odor-causing particles and germs.

So if you’ve never changed the filters before and you’ve had it for over 6 months, then it’s ideal that you change the filter if your air purifier produces bad odors.

Keep Your Air Purifier in a Dry and Well-Ventilated Spot

Place your air purifier in any spot away from any puddle of water as these breed molds and mildew which can be absorbed by your purifier and then later cause bad odors.

Avoid placing your air purifier in a room that is too moist as too much mist can cause molds which can be absorbed by the air purifier.

Molds

Also, placing your device in an enclosed place is a major contributor to it producing a bad smell. Ensure that it gets enough ventilation wherever you place it.

This would improve the quality of air indoors and the air coming from outdoors, getting rid of all the bad odors from your room.

Conclusion

Air purifier smells can be a nightmare since it is supposed to purify the air and not cause unpleasant smells. The good thing is that you can fix this problem by washing the device regularly.

Proper maintenance and regular change of filters can also help get rid of the unwanted smell. HEPA filters are the best for removing bad odors, so look out for one during purchase.

Since all air purifiers cannot be the same, always refer to your user manual when cleaning or changing the filters.