I live in a pretty warm part of the country. This means that when the sun’s out, which is most days of the year, I’m constantly looking at ways to keep my small room nice and cool throughout the day.
On top of that, my city is also pretty polluted. And so, keeping the window open isn’t the best of ideas since I don’t want to breathe in the heavily polluted air all day long.
When I first started looking for an air purifier, everyone told me to go for options that had HEPA filters. Whether it was my friend, the salesperson, or some person on Reddit, almost every person I went to for advice couldn’t stop talking about HEPA filters.
And while I was ready to listen to their advice, there was one small problem: air purifiers with HEPA filters are expensive.
Before getting my first air purifier, I had a lot of questions.
First of all, I wanted to know how it would help me. But as a person with severe seasonal allergies, it didn’t take long for me to figure out the biggest benefit I could get from my air purifier.
That said, I wanted to learn what else the air purifier could do for me. And that’s when I looked at whether an air purifier could help with humidity.
I’d be lying if I said that setting up my first air purifier was a smooth experience.
At the start, I was pretty lost. While I understood the benefits of an air purifier, I simply didn’t know how to use one.
With my first air purifier, I clearly remember messing up the placement, settings, and other things you need to keep in mind when using an air purifier. But one thing that had me confused was whether or not I should sleep next to it.
Don’t worry; I knew that keeping my air purifier on while I slept was the best way to use the machine, but I wasn’t sure if sleeping next to it was okay.
That’s when I decided to dive into forums and message boards and ask people who regularly use their air purifiers for some guidance.
I was excited the first time I got my air purifier.
I clearly remember the second it arrived, I took it out of the box, placed it in the corner of my room, and turned it on. I gave it around an hour or so to start working.
I expected the air purifier to take care of my allergies as I bought it during allergy season when I was sneezing uncontrollably at home.
To my disbelief, it wasn’t really doing much, so I gave it a few days, and still, despite the air purifier staying on 24/7, not much had changed regarding my allergies.
At first, I thought I had bought the wrong air purifier for the job.
After realizing that air purifiers actually clean the air, buying my first air purifier was probably the best investment I ever made. From dreading the allergy seasons, I now get to enjoy it to the fullest without suffering for days at a time.
That said, when I got my first air purifier, I didn’t know that you had to clean it.
So, after a few months, I noticed that my air purifier wasn’t working as well as it once did. And I thought the reason for this was because there was something wrong with the unit.
I asked my good friend for some advice (he’s owned air purifiers for years), and he asked me if I had cleaned it recently.
I said no and instantly knew it wasn’t the air purifier at fault but rather my lack of care for it.
As someone that has asthma and seasonal allergies, I need to protect my lungs and respiratory system at all costs. This is especially true when I can feel that I start wheezing, as it usually lasts a fair amount of time and can be pretty uncomfortable.
After I’ve had enough from all of my wheezing symptoms, I decided to conduct a very extensive amount of research and find a solution to my respiratory problems once and for all.
And that’s when I found air purifiers. I have to admit that I was highly skeptical about air purifiers and thought they didn’t work. However, when my friend told me how her air purifier helped her with her allergies, I quickly got intrigued.
This led me to ask, “can air purifiers help with wheezing?”. After all, this was the problem I struggled with the most, and if an air purifier could help me out with my condition, that would be a huge plus and enough reason to buy one for myself.
Before buying my first air purifier, I did a lot of research to make sure that the air purifier was safe for my plants, my pets, and myself.
I did all that research by reading some stories online accusing air purifiers of causing respiratory problems.
And since my respiratory system isn’t the best (I have a lot of allergies), it only made sense for me to dig deeper and find the answer to my question.
It’s been several years since then, and I know that plenty of people out there (you included) are wondering whether their air purifier can be the cause of recent respiratory issues.
There was a point in time when it seemed like everyone in my life was buying an air purifier. And while it took some time, I eventually got around to owning one myself, and I have no regrets about it.
The second I turned on my air purifier and let it run for a bit, I felt a difference. My air purifier is essential for a person who struggles with seasonal allergies. However, one day, the power went out for a couple of hours, and I immediately noticed the change in air quality.
Since I bought an electric air purifier, this was about expected. But it also got me wondering if there was a way to use an air purifier without electricity. After all, these machines are just fans with filters. So, it wouldn’t be far off to think you can use an air purifier without electricity.
I don’t regret buying an air purifier one bit. However, I can’t say that taking home my first air purifier was a smooth experience.
To start, I didn’t buy the right air purifier for my space.
So, I had to return it and get another air purifier that could do the job. And when I finally got the right-sized air purifier, it gave off a smell for the first couple of days.
I figured this was just off-gassing, so I let it be for a while, and it eventually faded.
However, a couple of months later, I noticed that the air purifier started to give off a “fishy” smell.
This was something that drove my family and me crazy. So, I had to get to the bottom of the smell.
After doing the research, I learned a lot. And as I did, I realized that a fishy smell from electronics and appliances could indicate something wrong with the electronics, which is a major concern.
If you have a similar problem with your air purifier, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, I’ll be discussing why an air purifier can give off a “fishy” smell, what you can do about it, and other reasons air purifiers start to smell.
Why Does My Air Purifier Smell Like Fish?
When I went online to find out why my air purifier smelled like fish, it turned out that this was a pretty common problem.
And the most common cause of this problem is bacteria or mold in the air purifier.
When there is a lot of bacteria and mold in an air purifier, it can give off a foul, fish-like scent.
Using an air purifier for an extended period can start gathering a lot of bacteria.
This is why many people find mold, mildew, and yeast in their air purifiers, which is why they can start smelling.
To fix this, all you have to do is check the filters. If you notice mold, bacteria, or anything else growing on it, it’s time to change the filter. And once you do, you’ll notice an almost immediate change.
While this is the most common reason for an air purifier’s “fishy” smell, it’s not the only reason.
If you find that no bacteria or mold is growing on the filter, then the fishy smell could indicate an air purifier issue.
But on top of that, a lot of people also report that their air purifier smells fishy during an electrical fault.
If this happens, unplug your air purifier immediately and bring it to a professional for repair.
This is the safest way to fix the air purifier.
And since many models on the market nowadays have a warranty that can cover these defects, it won’t even cost you that much.
Other Reasons an Air Purifier Starts to Smell
Okay, so now that we’ve gotten to the bottom of why air purifiers can give off a fishy smell, it’s important to remember that this isn’t the only smell that can come from your air purifier.
Since air purifiers directly impact the air quality in a room, it has a major effect on the room’s scent.
So, here are some other reasons your air purifier might be smelling and the type of scents it can give off.
That way, if you smell something off in the air, you can immediately figure out whether or not it’s coming from the air purifier.
Off-Gassing
Off-gassing is a very common issue with new air purifiers, especially plastic ones.
This is because plastic goes through many different processes before it’s used for the casing of an air purifier. And a lot of the time, the plastic can retain a lot of the odors that come from the different processes.
Don’t worry. The scent isn’t permanent. While some of the odors can stick, they will eventually go away. The problem, however, is that when the scent escapes the plastic, it enters the air and can cause a room to smell “off.”
This process is called off-gassing and is present in many different appliances. As long as a device uses plastic, there’s a chance it can retain odors from the manufacturing process.
Most of the time, off-gassing produces a plastic-like odor. Luckily, after a couple of uses, the odor will go away, so all you have to do is be patient if this is the reason your air purifier smells.
Poor Ventilation
Ventilation is crucial if you have an air purifier with an activated carbon filter. This is because activated carbon filters don’t fare well when left in poorly-ventilated environments. Over time, the filter will absorb different scents and odors, as this is what it’s designed to do.
However, in poorly ventilated areas, scents can stick around much longer.
This means that the filters have to absorb more odors, which quickly saturates the filter. When this happens, the air purifier can start giving off odors in the room, such as tobacco, curry, cooking, and smoke smells.
Ozone Generators
One of the major recommendations I give anyone looking for an air purifier is to avoid options with an ozone generator.
There are many air purifiers with ozone generators, but these aren’t the best option for people looking to improve the air quality in their indoor spaces.
This is because ozone can be dangerous and irritate the lungs. Manufacturers add ozone generators to their air purifiers because it can give off a “fresher” scent that often feels more artificial but gives off the illusion of cleaner air.
This could be why you notice a weirdly fresh smell when using your air purifier.
How to Stop Your Air Purifier from Smelling Like Fish
It can seem hopeless once your air purifier starts giving off a “fishy” odor.
The scent is enough for many people to leave their air purifiers off constantly.
However, there are more than a few ways to eliminate that “fishy” smell from your air purifiers, making it easier to leave them on to purify the air in your space.
Some of the methods I found to be the most effective include:
Improve the Ventilation
Air purifiers improve air quality by removing harmful particles from the air. However, they are not designed to improve the ventilation in a room. So, if you have poor ventilation, there’s a high chance something can go wrong with your air purifier, which causes unpleasant odors.
So, one of the best things you can do to eliminate the air purifier’s odor is improve ventilation.
This could be by adding a fan, HVAC system, vents, or busting open a window to encourage airflow.
If you do that, your air purifier will not only stop smelling bad but also help it last longer.
Remove All Plastic Coverings
Modern air purifiers come wrapped in a lot of plastic, which I didn’t appreciate, but I understand that it’s unavoidable in modern manufacturing.
However, I highly recommend checking extra closely to ensure that any plastic covering on the air purifier is removed.
If you leave plastic coverings on, they can melt on the air purifier, which causes a foul and fishy smell.
This is especially true for those with new air purifiers, as you would want to reduce the off-gassing odors as much as possible.
Get the Air Purifier Repaired
If there’s something wrong with the electronics of the air purifier, I recommend bringing it to a professional.
This is because using a DIY approach can be costly and can result in you damaging the air purifier.
So, if you suspect something’s wrong with your air purifier’s electronics, bring it to the shop right away.
Clean Your Air Purifier
Cleaning your air purifier regularly and changing the filters as needed is another great way to eliminate foul odors from the air purifier.
Doing this doesn’t require much effort and does the air purifiers a lot of good.
Noticing a fishy smell from an air purifier can be annoying.
After all, these machines are designed to improve air quality and remove harmful odors. So, seeing your air purifier add to the foul odors in a space can be very frustrating.
With that said, this is a common problem with a fair number of solutions.
Many other people share this problem with you if you notice a fishy scent from your air purifier.
But don’t worry; many ways to approach the problem and eliminate the scent as soon as possible.
