What are Air Purifying Bags? Does Bamboo Charcoal Work?

What Does an Air Purifying Bag Do?

At least once in your life you’ve experienced entering a smelly room, bathroom, or car. It’s annoying, right? Apart from that, it makes you wonder if the air you’re breathing is safe and clean. Humans tend to think that the air is dirty when they smell something bad. While this is not always true, it’s always a good precaution to make sure that the air you breathe is clean. This is where air purifying bags are handy. 

Air purifying bags, as their name suggests, are bags that purify the air. The bag contains activated minerals such as bamboo charcoal to filter the air in its space. It does this by absorbing the chemicals, toxins, and odor and it gives off a fresh scent. However, an air purifying bag does not work like aerosol sprays that make the air smell good. In fact, it doesn’t even give off a distinct smell. If your room smells better after you placed the air purifying bag, then that’s the smell of clean air.

Benefits of an Air Purifying Bag

Not sure why you need an air purifying bag? Here are three reasons why you need one. 

1. Removes harmful pathogens

Bacteria is everywhere but that doesn’t mean you can just be complacent about it. If you or your relatives have a weak immune system, it is important that you have an air purifying bag that cleans the air off of these pathogens. The existence of an air purifying bag also reduces the chances that airborne diseases will stay in the air and spread from one person to another. 

2. Removes allergens

Allergens and pollen are part of the substances that an air purifying bag can remove. Whether it comes from pets, flowers, insects, and other furry objects, the air purifying bag can help make your home safer for those with allergies. It’s also a natural way of removing unwanted substances in the air that will not trigger any allergies and respiratory problems. 

3. Non-toxic and chemical-free

Most air purifying bags contain a natural mineral. In most cases, it’s bamboo charcoal. If you’ve been hearing noise about air purifying bags, then that’s because they are slowly replacing the conventional aerosol sprays. Unlike air-purifying bags, aerosol sprays are filled with chemicals that are toxic to people. Sure, they won’t exactly kill you, but they’re also not healthy for you. Plus, these sprays are very expensive for a can of toxic chemicals.

What is Bamboo Charcoal?

Are you one of those people who has seen and heard bamboo charcoal everywhere? If you are, welcome to the club. Only a handful of people know what bamboo charcoal is. Don’t worry, you’ll know more about it in a while. 

So what is bamboo charcoal? Bamboo charcoal, also known as activated charcoal, is a popular filtration method in Asia. It comes from bamboo residue that gets compressed and carbonated. It’s subject to high temperatures that yield the actual bamboo charcoal. During this stage, it’s not yet considered to be activated charcoal. 

The activation only happens after the bamboo charcoal has gone through high temperatures. Oxygen is applied to the actual bamboo which causes the “activation”. Hence, it becomes activated bamboo charcoal. 

Benefits of Bamboo Charcoal

Still hesitant on bamboo charcoal? Here are its top three benefits.

1. It’s sustainable.

As you already know by now, bamboo charcoal is made from bamboo remains. Similar to coal, it has a lot of carbon present in its composition. But unlike coal, bamboo charcoal grows naturally and it doesn’t have harmful effects on the environment. Besides, bamboo grows a lot faster than trees, so you will have enough supply to meet the world’s needs.

Did you know that you only need a few grams of bamboo charcoal to purify a room? Unlike aerosol sprays that require you to spray a generous amount on every corner, bamboo charcoal doesn’t. 

2. It doesn’t give off any scent.

While some people would think that bamboo charcoal is not useful because it doesn’t give off a scent, it’s actually one of the benefits of using it. Why? Bamboo charcoal doesn’t attempt to cover bad scents by spraying it with perfume or other artificial fragrances. It doesn’t use chemicals to produce scents which makes it one of the best choices for air purification. It’s allergen-free, non-toxic, and all-natural. 

3. It lasts long.

To add to the growing list of bamboo charcoal benefits, another thing to love about it is the length of time that you’ll be able to use it. If you maintain it regularly, a bag of bamboo charcoal can last up to two years. Yes, you’ve read that right, it takes at most two years of air purification before it’s rendered useless. This saves you money from buying and replacing air purification bags. 

How to Use Bamboo Charcoal Air Purifying Bags

So how exactly do you use a bamboo charcoal air purifying bag? To activate the bamboo charcoal particles, you have to place the bag out in the sun for an hour for it to absorb the ultraviolet rays. The UV rays serve as the activating agent that “turns on” the purifying properties of the bamboo charcoal. If your place doesn’t have a lot of sunlight, extend the exposure to another hour.

After you’ve exposed the bag to the sun, you can hang the bag in the bathroom, room, or car. You can also place it in shoes and gym bags to remove the odor. To maintain its effectiveness, regularly place it under the sun every month to recharge and activate the charcoal. 

What’s great about this is you don’t have to do anything else except for taking it out for some sun. No, you don’t have to heat it, wash it, or any other extra maintenance to keep it working. 

How the Bamboo Charcoal Air Purifying Bags Work

Here’s another fact - bamboo charcoal doesn’t absorb the substances in the air. Instead, it goes through adsorption. No, it’s not absorption but adsorption. 

Adsorption is the process where the charcoal attracts the chemicals in the air. When the chemicals get near it, they stick to the surface of the bag making it heavy. Since bamboo charcoal is incredibly porous, a lot of chemicals can easily get adsorbed into those pores. You’ll notice later that one of the pieces of evidence that it works is when the bag gets heavier. 

Does Bamboo Charcoal Actually Work?

Now that you know what it is and how it works, there’s another important question people ask all the time - is it effective? If you’re looking for quantifiable data and proof if it’s working, you’ll be disappointed because the air purifying bag doesn’t come with a sensor that tells you how much of the air it has been purified. Nonetheless, there are other things you can look at to know if it’s effective or not. 

First, you’ll notice the scent of the room. While it doesn’t give off a distinct scent, it does remove the odor in a room or space. That in itself is your most obvious proof that it’s working well. If your room used to smell like stinky feet and it suddenly smells like fresh air, then the bamboo charcoal is working. 

Second is the weight. Over time, you’ll notice that the bag gets a little heavier. That’s another sign that it has already adsorbed a lot of chemicals and toxins. When it’s heavy, all you need to do is to leave it under the sun for an hour. The adsorbed chemicals will evaporate by then and your purifying bag will be ready for use.

If you’re still iffy about the effectivity of bamboo charcoal, you can also look into the study conducted by the Nagaoka University of Technology in Japan about the science of bamboo charcoal. The study states that bamboo charcoal is a good countermeasure for harmful gasses and toxins found in the air. It can also adsorb formaldehyde and toluene which are unsafe for humans.

Conclusion

Should you buy a bamboo charcoal air purifying bag? Of course, you should! It’s safe, all-natural, and effective in removing bad odors and dirt in the air. Plus, it works up to two years so you don’t have to shell out a lot of money. It’s also low maintenance and all you have to do for it to work is to let it stay under direct sunlight for an hour.