New Car Smell- Use an Air Purifier in Your Car

Use an Air Purifier in Your Car- Get That New Car Smell

Today I used my Shop Vac to vacuum out the grime that had accumulated in my car over the winter.  I also used some Lemon Pledge furniture cleaner to clean the dashboard and plastic trim.  I was out of Armor All, and the Lemon Pledge worked great.

When I was done, my car was pretty clean inside, but it didn't smell clean.  My dogs enjoy going for rides, and my car smelled sort of doggy and stale, and a bit lemony from the Lemon Pledge spray.

I decided to bring out the big gun.  I just got a New Comfort 6 stage air purifier for my house.  It has 6 stages of filtration and can handle a 3,000 square foot area.  I decided to use this in my car.  I cracked the window just enough to get an extension cord in.

How to Use an Air Purifier in Your Car- Run an Extension Cord Through the Window
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Next, I folded down the back seat so the air from the trunk could circulate as well and turned it on high.

Home Air Purifier Running in the Back Seat of My Car
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Get the New Car Smell Using an Air Purifier

The best way to address odors is to eliminate the source of the odor.  I vacuumed all of the fur and dust that I could, and got rid of some winter mittens and other gear that can hold odor.  Running the air purifier will remove odors from the air using its charcoal filter and some of the other filters as well.  As odor is released, the air purifier absorbs it and over time the source of the odor is exhausted.

Of course, you can buy an air freshener for your car for a couple bucks, but the chemical smell gives me headaches.  I wanted my air to actually be clean, so I cleaned it using my house air purifier.

Use an Air Purifier to Get that New Car Smell
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

If your car has cigarette odor, you can use the ozone setting on an air purifier.  I did not use the ozone production on mine- ozone is hazardous and can damage plastic parts.

You can learn more about the New Comfort air purifier here.  This air purifier moves a lot of air and has filter stages that remove pollen, dust, germs and odors from your air.  This air purifier even has a UV light that kills viruses and bacteria.

Air Purifier for Cars

If you want to purify the air in your car all the time when you are driving, you can get air purifiers for cars that run on 12V power.  Some of these filters have features similar to home air filters, but are smaller and have less air circulation capacity.

What is the New Car Smell?  Is it Toxic?

The "new car smell" in a new car is actually the smell of formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds off gassing from the upholstery, glues, and plastic materials in the new car.  People think of the new car smell as a good thing since it is associated with new cars, but it is not very healthy to breathe.  If you have a new car- or a new house-you might want to use an air purifier to absorb the harmful chemicals or leave your windows down to let that new car smell air out.

Recommended Reading:
The Sales Pitch: How to Sell Anything is an article about how a great sales pitch can get people to buy things they don't need and can't afford.  How do great salesmen get you to buy things?

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