The only place in the average person’s life that they are likely to have worse air quality than in their homes is in their car.  Not only do all the contaminants found in your home’s air also make their way into your car, you also have to deal with all the other contaminants and toxins in the air while you are out and about.  Normal air pollutants such as allergens, dust, VOCs and smoke are bad enough for you lungs but while you are out on the highway, you know have to deal with all the emissions from the exhaust (both your own car and others), you also drive through various pollutants as you go.

Luckily, you can purchase a car air purifier that will help with removing much of these pollutants from the air in your car.  Most models plug into the cigarette lighter and so work off the car’s own battery power but some are battery operated, as well.  Just as with larger air purifiers, the one’s you put in your car come in different levels of quality.  The best one to get would be a car air purifier ionizer with a high quality HEPA filter.  The HEPA filter traps airborne particles within it’s fibers and keeps them out of the air.  The ionizer helps with the efficiency of the car air purifier by generating negative ions.  These negative ions attach themselves to the contaminants and theoretically cause them to be heavier than the air and therefore removed more easily.

Using a car air purifier is much healthier than the standard car air freshener, especially for those with respiratory illnesses or allergies.  Most air fresheners actually pollute the air by filling it full of a chemically produced fragrance.  A car air purifier will pull contaminants out of the air instead, leaving the air smelling fresher without any chemicals.

There are some drawbacks to using a purifier in the car, however.  For one, the units are of necessity small, therefore it is hard for them to effectively clean a whole lot of air.  Another drawback is that the purifier will be absolutely useless if you use your air conditioner or open your windows as the purifier will never be able to keep up with that type of air flow.

For someone with severe allergies or who is stuck in traffic much of the time, a car air purifier may be a wise choice despite any drawbacks.