Smoke in your home can cause serious respiratory health issues for you and your family. Over 4,000 harmful chemicals are in ash, air particles, and chemicals from different types of smoke that can trigger allergies, asthma attacks, inflammation, and more health concerns. To capture the harmful particles and chemicals in smoke effectively, you’ll want an air purifier with a combination of HEPA and activated carbon filters that eliminate harmful chemicals, trap dangerous particles, kill allergens, and remove the smell of smoke.

Read our updated review of the Best Air Purifiers for Smoke

Carbon is key to odor and smoke remediation. The more carbon you have in situations with serious smoke concerns, the better it will be. Carbon works like a sponge and absorbs smoke particles. The downside to carbon filters is that once they become “full”, they stop working. The simplest way to identify if the air filter needs to be replaced is to use your nose and smell the filtered air. If the air smells fresh and clean, the filter is probably good.

HEPA filters with true high efficiency can capture at least 99.97 percent of fine airborne particles, the common and most dangerous smoke components. This includes wildfire smoke, cigarette smoke, cigar smoke, and firewood smoke. You should avoid ionic and ozone air purifiers as these aren’t as effective at removing fine particles, so focus on the quality of HEPA and activated carbon filters to find the best air purifier for smoke for you and your family.