# Do air cleaning machines make your home smell better? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 6, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-air-cleaning-machines-make-your-home-smell-better/685493 "2014-04-06T18:26:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-air-cleaning-machines-make-your-home-smell-better/685493/1 "2014-04-06T18:26:33Z")
I live in a small condo, on the top floor of a building that contains about twelve units. Whenever my neighbors cook, the food smells find their way into my place. Of course, I can open windows and air the place out, but that isn’t feasible year-round. I’ve tried air fresheners, scented candles, and spraying Febreze everywhere; no dice. So it’s either ask my neighbors to stop cooking, or face the music and get a home air-cleaning machine. My question is: is this worth trying? Will getting one of those machines help the situation? Do they really make your home smell better, or are they mostly for getting dust and other allergens out of your air? Are there types or brands of air cleaners that work better than others? ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-air-cleaning-machines-make-your-home-smell-better/685493/2 "2014-04-06T19:33:52Z")
In my experience they worked while I was in apartments under 1000 sf. But in homes that are twice that size or more, you’d not get a great result unless you ran more than one. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-air-cleaning-machines-make-your-home-smell-better/685493/3 "2014-04-06T20:07:37Z")
Purely anecdotal: I have three dogs in a small house and have an Alpine Air purifier. It makes a huge difference, zero “doggie smell.” Note that there are [some concerns](http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/heating-cooling-and-air/air-cleaners/ozone-generators-not-acceptable/overview/ozone-generators-not-acceptable.htm) about ozone air purifiers. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-air-cleaning-machines-make-your-home-smell-better/685493/4 "2014-04-07T12:39:18Z")
If the smell is due to airborne particulates (i.e. smoke), then filtration can help. If you have a large residence, then a portable unit may be inadequate. Assuming you have your own forced-air heating/cooling system, it can be fitted with high-quality filter element, and you can just run the circulating blower full-time until the odor has been eliminated. My wife has significant spring allergies, and we use [3M Filtrete](http://www.filtrete.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/FiltreteNA/Filtrete/Products/~/Filtrete-Products?N=4315+3294529207+7568680&rt=r3) filters in our house. I think ours are the [1500 grade filters](http://www.filtrete.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/FiltreteNA/Filtrete/Products/~/Healthy-Living-1500?N=3294469068+4315+3294529207&rt=rud). I see now that they have an [“odor reduction” filter,](http://www.filtrete.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/FiltreteNA/Filtrete/Products/~/Clean-Living-Odor-Reduction?N=3294573945+4315+3294529207&rt=rud) which might be what you’re looking for. This has an activated charcoal component to it so it can retain odorous gases in addition to the particle filtration. ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-air-cleaning-machines-make-your-home-smell-better/685493/5 "2014-04-07T13:24:29Z")
I have one of these: [http://us.blueair.com/air-purifiers/400-series](http://us.blueair.com/air-purifiers/400-series) They certainly work well. I have part of my main living room designed with a breakfast bar/kitchen area and I was worried about lingering cooking smells. I’ve had the air filter for a few years now. It is essentially a box with very quiet fans inside and large replaceable air filters. It is simple thing, but well designed. It does not add anything to air, it just filters. On a low setting it almost silent. It was one of my better purchases. You need to work out the size of your room to find the appropriate sized model for your room.