Dec
Formaldehyde, the chemical also known as “new house smell”, is emitted by some types of wall paint and furniture. The chemical can linger in the house for weeks to years after renovation depending on its concentration. When humans are exposed to high levels of formaldehyde over a long period of time, it may have harmful effects to their health as it can cause cancer.
Can room air purifiers remove formaldehyde? The short answer is yes, but it depends on several factors.
In this post, we will assume that the level of formaldehyde from renovation work doesn’t significantly exceed safe limits and mainly comes from wall paint.
1. Activated Carbon Filter
First, the room air purifier must have an activated carbon filter. Unlike HEPA filters, activated carbon filters can remove chemicals and odors, including formaldehyde, from the air.
Thus, it’s important to purchase a room air purifier that supports activated carbon filters.
2. Clean Air Delivery Rate for formaldehyde
Second, you need to find out what a room air purifier’s Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) is for formaldehyde.
CADR is a metric that tells us how well a room air purifier is able to remove harmful contaminants from the air. In Singapore, CADR is listed in m³/h, or cubic meters per hour.
Usually, manufacturers will publish the CADR at the highest speed. The CADR that is typically listed by manufacturers is the smoke CADR, which tells us how well an air purifier is able to filter smoke particles. Some manufacturers may also list their CADR in particulate CADR, which is usually higher than smoke CADR as all of the particles in that range are easier to filter than just smoke particles alone.
Compared to smoke particles, formaldehyde particles are much harder to capture, hence the formaldehyde CADR is usually several times lower than the CADR listed by manufacturers. Without knowing the formaldehyde CADR of a device, you won’t be able to tell its effectiveness at cleaning the room.
Most companies in Singapore do not list the formaldehyde CADR on their product listings, so you should ask the manufacturer for test reports and more information.
3. Air Changes per Hour for formaldehyde
Once you find out what the formaldehyde CADR is, you can calculate the Air Changes per Hour for formaldehyde (ACHf) and subsequently figure out how many room air purifiers you need.
We recommend aiming for at least 1 ACHf throughout your home.
You can calculate this by using the following formula:
Clean Air Delivery Rate (m³/h) / ( Room Area (m²) x Room Height (m) ) = Air Changes per Hour
TIP: The floor-to-ceiling height in most HDB flats and condominium units is 2.6 m.
Assuming a studio apartment is 45 m² with a floor-to-ceiling height of 2.6 m, and you’re using the AirFanta 3Pro which has a formaldehyde CADR of 192 m³/h, the ACHf would be 1.64.
If you wish to clear out the formaldehyde much faster, consider adding more air purifiers (at least one per room) throughout your home.
4. Ventilation is also a good way of clearing formaldehyde
Opening the windows fully (aka natural ventilation) is also a good way to disperse formaldehyde particles in the air, however it may take a longer time than clearing out formaldehyde through a room air purifier depending on weather conditions and the extent to which the windows are opened.
You can use both natural ventilation and room air purifiers to speed up the removal of formaldehyde.
We recommend the AirFanta 3Pro for removing formaldehyde
At dokuki, we strive to offer highly innovative products that substantially help to improve our customers’ quality of life without breaking the bank.
If you’re looking for a good room air purifier, we highly recommend the AirFanta 3Pro as it can help you effectively remove formaldehyde:
- A single unit will help you easily meet our 1 Air Changes per Hour for formaldehyde recommendation in a 45 m² apartment (formaldehyde CADR test report can be found on the third-party test reports page)
- Besides removing formaldehyde, it is highly effective at removing harmful contaminants such as viruses, bacteria, dust, pollen, allergens, and pet dander from the air
- It has a very high CADR for a consumer product, providing up to 702 m³/h of clean air in a room
- The AirFanta 3Pro (High Efficiency filter option) has the best cost performance among all room air purifiers in Singapore at 3.60 m³/h per Singapore Dollar. You’re paying S$195 for an air purifier that usually retails for S$1,000 or more.
Find out why the AirFanta 3Pro is so powerful or order yours below:
Room Air Purifier
