- October 23, 2021
How Do I Remove Weed Smoke from My Home?
With more states legalizing weed for medical and recreational use, pot sales are rocketing to the moon. That means more people are using the drug, and one of the primary places where people smoke or vape marijuana, is in the home.
Like tobacco smoke, weed smoke increases levels of airborne pollutants in the room. Weed smoke is nowhere near as harmful to the body as the effects of cigarette smoke. However, weed smoke also causes some respiratory issues in people with allergies and sensitivity to smoke.
If you smoke weed at home or your partner enjoys a joint from time to time to relax, you need to ensure it's not impacting the air quality for the other person or persons in the household. Not only is weed smoke psychoactive, but it penetrates fibers in upholstery and curtains, causing the room to stink like pot.
That's not too attractive when guests come over to the house, especially if they don't smoke weed. This post looks at ways to remove weed smoke from your home.
Why Do People Smoke Weed?
There are several reasons why people smoke weed. The primary reason is for recreational use, meaning most users are smoking it on the couch at home to relax. There is significant research shows the benefits of smoking weed of the brain and nervous system, allowing the user to de-stress and unwind from the pressures of life.
It seems that the trend is still picking up steam. Weed stores were labeled essential businesses during the 2020 pandemic.
As a result, they saw record sales in all states that allow recreational use of the drug. Many newcomers to cannabis culture experimented with the plant during the pandemic. These individuals used the drug to manage their anxiety and pass the time at home under lockdown.
Is Weed Smoke Bad for Your Health?
Many activists state that smoking weed has no harmful effect on the body. However, while some doctors agree smoking weed may positively impact physiology, breathing in smoke in any format is not good for your lungs.
Smoke kills off the cilia, the tiny hairs in the back of your nose, and the lining of the lungs. These tiny hairs remove dust and other particulate matter from the air, preventing it from entering the lungs. With smoke burning away the cilia, there is a greater chance of the smoker developing respiratory problems linked to the inhalation of dust and particulate matter.
Studies also show that inhaling cannabis smoke increases levels of inflammation in the respiratory system, leading to the onset of respiratory issues in sensitive individuals. The research also notes that marijuana smoke has similar qualitative properties to tobacco smoke. However, it contains up to double the concentration of carcinogenic polyaromatic hydrocarbons as those found in cigarettes.
Therefore, inhaling weed smoke isn't doing your respiratory system any good. People who smoke cannabis also report more incidences of bronchitis and respiratory illness than those that don't use the plant. The second issue with weed smoke is that it's psychoactive. When we breathe in the smoke on an average draw, we're only removing around 40% to 60% of the chemicals in the smoke.
The rest go out into the air in the room. Anyone else that's sitting in the room may experience a "contact high" from being present while the smoker enjoys their joint. While some people might have no problem with that, others may not enjoy having their perception altered just by sitting next to you.
Studies also show that cannabis smoke also contains harmful compounds and 33 carcinogens like benzanthracene and benzopyrene. Since weed smokers typically breathe in deeper and hold the smoke in the lungs for longer, they are at risk of overexposure to these chemicals.
Typically, joints have no filter, and the smoker inhales greater quantities of tar than they would with cigarettes, deeper into the lungs.
Choosing an Air Purification System to Remove Weed Smoke from Your Home
When selecting an air purification system to remove weed smoke from your home, you need to understand the different models of air purification systems and the filtration features and functions offered by the manufacturer.
Air Conditioners and HVAC Systems
When choosing your air purification system, you have the choice of going with a whole-home HVAC solution or a portable model.
Portable Models Vs. Fixed Units
Whole-home solutions are the best choice for efficiency and convenience. You can control the entire climate inside every room in the home with a touch of a button.
However, HVAC units are expensive, and some people may choose a portable unit that's within their budget instead. Portable units have their advantages. You can wheel them between rooms in the home, and they have similar functionality to HVAC systems.
Ozone Generation Functions
Some air purification models produce ozone and negative ions to help remove particulate matter from the air. However, it's advisable to avoid these models if possible. Ozone is a stratospheric gas protecting us from the sun's harmful UV rays. However, at ground level, it's an air pollutant.
Ground-level ozone contributes to the formation of smog, which is a serious problem in many high-population cities around the globe. There are several sources of ground-level ozone, including vehicle emissions. However, air conditioning produces this pollutant right in your home.
The idea behind ozone generation and ions are that they trap particles in the air, forcing them to the ground where they stay trapped until you clean them away. However, the ozone created by the air con is an issue, and it may cause the onset of respiratory problems in people with allergies or asthma.
Carbon Filter Units
Carbon filters are the best choice for removing the smell of weed smoke from the air. These filters pass the air over activated charcoal or carbon particles which scrub the smell out of the air. Carbon filter units are extremely effective at removing odors, and many coal power plants and paper mills use carbon filters on the top of smokestacks to reduce the presence of VOCs in the air.
Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs) are liquids that quickly turn to a gaseous state when exposed to air and room temperatures. Some VOCs, like formaldehyde, are harmful to your health and need removal from the air.
Carbon filters effectively remove the smell of weed smoke and other VOCs from the air, but they are not beneficial for reducing levels of particulate matter like pollen and dust from the air. To remove particulate matter, you'll need a HEPA filter system attached to the carbon prefilter.
HEPA Filters
The HEPA filter is the benchmark standard for air purification systems. This filter removes up to 99.97% of all particulate matter from the air, including pet dander, pollen, and dust. It's a very efficient filter, provided it fits correctly into the filtration unit.
Scientists first invented the HEPA filter back in the 1940s to collect nuclear material from the air in labs. Today, HEPA filters are common in all locations where you need to control air quality. They are commonplace in commercial settings like hospitals, and many HVAC and air conditioning systems use them to filter particulate matter out of the air.
HEPA is the gold standard for particulate removal, but it's not a good choice for removing odors and smoke from the air. HEPA filters only remove particulate matter down to 0.3-microns in size. Smoke is much finer than that, and it escapes the filtration unit.
As a result, you'll need to link the HEPA filter to a carbon scrubber for the best results with maintaining the air quality in the room and removing weed smoke from the air.
Hybrid Filters are the Best Solution for Removing Weed Smoke from the Air
If you're looking to remove weed smoke or any odors from the air in your home, you need a hybrid air purification system.
Hybrids work using a carbon prefilter to remove the weed smoke from the air. The purifier shuttles the air through a second-stage HEPA filter to remove particulate matter like dust and pollen before sending it back out into the room.
A hybrid solution blends the best of carbon and HEPA technology to ensure you remove any trace of weed smoke from the room. The air that comes out of the filtration unit is clean and odorless.
Get An Air Inspection for Your Home with MI&T
Before installing an HVAC or portable air conditioning unit in your home, contact MI&T for an air inspection. MI&T visit your premises with the latest technology in air detection. We'll analyze every room in your home and inspect it for mold and other allergens.
Understanding the baseline for the air quality in your home allows you to see if an air purification system is doing the job of removing the pollutants from the air.
A few weeks after installing the HVAC or air-con, call MI&T back for a repeat test to compare the difference in air quality between the current and previous reports. Contact us for an inspection today.
