Re: Low Emissions Auto Cabin Air Purifier: E. L. Foust 160AN

A Reader writes:

Hi Ed,

I have just been looking at your website which I have found very useful - thanks.

I was wondering if you could give me a bit of advice.

I am looking to buy an air purifier for my car to reduce the build up of fumes and VOCs and I was looking at your review of the 'amaircare roomaid' and I seemed to think that was the best one for use within a car.

However I have just looked at the Amaircare website as well as another site and they are both saying not to buy plastic cased purifiers and ones with foam parts as they actually emit VOCs!.

As far as I can see the Amaircare Roomaid has a foam pre-filter and plastic casing unit.

Do you think that will pose a problem?

Could you recommend a portable unit (for a car) that is not plastic?

Thanks very much for your help and all the advice on your site.

Ed's Reply

Hey Reader;

You have hit on two very difficult areas - auto cabin air and VOC emissions from air cleaners.

First, it is very difficult to get truly clean air inside a car.

New cars are born toxic, then as VOC emissions (that wonderful new car smell) declines with age, new problems arise.

For those new to this idea, a section of this site has nine pages on AUTO CABIN AIR QUALITY.

So the main point is that car interiors and freeway air are soooooo dirty that emissions from foam and plastic from decent quality air cleaners are insignificant in context.

But air cleaners vary widely in outgasing. I recently bought a Winix 5300, a low priced Korean export. I was very disappointed in the strong insecticide odor from the "antibacterial" prefilter, and did a rework with a carbon bag and different prefilter.

Despite the small volume, flow through vents make the car cabin a continuous source emission environment - difficult for any air cleaner.

So room size ratings for household use are irrelevant, and the typical "auto" air purifier is far too weak to cope with the load.

Amaircaire's cute little portable is not real strong.

A serious attempt to build a low emission car air cleaner, the AllerAir Cab Protector Car Cabin Air Purifier, is no longer listed on AllerAir's web page. Several vendors still show it.

The problem was that AllerAir's auto product had a retail price of $2,000, no typo!

For a powerful, and fairly priced, 12 Volt system - with the lowest possible emissions - look at E. L. Foust 160AN.

Foust specializes in ultra low emissions air cleaners for the chemically sensitive. They are a small niche market outfit with excellent products numerous options, and very attentive customer service.

However, note the optional adapter to run the 12 Volt 160an on household 110 Volt current. You could just as easily buy a 12 Volt to 110 inverter, install it in the car, and use it to run any air cleaner or other household appliance in your car.

The car is a long term commitment. I have been shopping for a new car for a couple years! I bought a Mazda MX5 in 2006, but my old pickup, loaded with rural Texas road dust, approaches the 200K mile mark.

Try as I might, I can't find an acceptable car for the money I have.

New cars with cabin air filtration tend to be luxury models.

Some builders of less expensive autos have not solved the VOCs-in-new-cars issue.

For instance, GM and Hyundai cars are worse than Hondas, while Volvo, despite being downscaled by Ford's ownership, was a leader in low VOC cabins.

Used cars are a nightmare. Who knows what chemicals the non-smoking friendly previous owner used in the car. And any car that has passed through a dealer's "detail" shop has been sprayed for sure.

I had a Ford pickup that leaked oil from the valve cover gaskets. This small oil leak was a chronic issue with the model and there was really no fix. Oil slowly oozed to the hot exhaust pipe, burned off and filled the cab with poison. I eventually gave away the truck, running well with 4 wheel drive, as a reward to a guy who had done me a small gratuitous favor.

He thought I was nuts.

Though I have no first-hand experience with the 160an, I have purchased some supplies from E. L. Foust, and found them extremely easy to work with.

Best wishes,

Ed