Secondhand smoke is a mixture of smoke, from both the burning of the tobacco and the smoke exhaled from the people smoking the cigarette or cigar. The EPA has categorized secondhand smoke as a known cancinogen that claims the lives of nearly 40,000 people each year. People that are exposed to secondhand smoke are 25% more likley to have cancer and/or heart disease. It is for these reasons as well as the fact the secondhand smoke is very irritating to non-smokers, that there has been so much public rage over allowing smoking in public places.

It seems like most urban areas have either implimented a non-smoking policy or will soon impliment one. Part of the blame has to be put on the shoulders of the bar and restaurant owners who did nothing for years to protect their employees and patrons from secondhand smoke. While no smoke eater, or any other method of air purification or exhaust, can completely rid an indoor area of smoke, smoke eaters can greatly reduce the exposure and the complaints.

It is proven that disallowing smoking in bars, greatly reduces business. Many bars have found loopholes, by declaring themselves private clubs. Bar owners in areas that have not yet outlawed smoking should take serious steps to show their customers and their city council members that secondhand smoking is a concern that is being addressed. I personally know of several bar owners who have presented their local government with information about the steps they have taken to reduce secondhand smoke exposure, some of them have stated that they felt it made a difference.

I urge any bar and restaurant owners who have not yet taken steps, to do so. For the good of your employees, your health, the health of your patrons and… for the good of your business, at least check into taking steps to reduce secondhand smoke. If you don’t do it now, you soon will be sorry.

A few weeks ago a gentleman from the Miami area called me to ask some questions about smoke removal. He was in the process of building a wine cellar, cigar room and cafe/bistro style home bar (I’m jealous). He just called me back to let me know how pleased he and his wife are with the smoke eaters they purchased. It’s always nice to hear back from customers, it’s nice to know that when some people are happy with their purchase, they take the time to actually make a call and thank me for helping them.

Anyway, when he first called me he was clear that he and his wife were very picky and are looking for something that will get rid of the smell as well as the smoke. I spoke with him about the different smoke eater technologies and informed him that the best way to get rid of the odors would be by selecting units which have several pounds of deluxe carbon blend. He was concerned about replacement filter costs and wanted something that would not be obtrusive, loud or clash with his decor.

Based on his preferences and the fact that he had a false ceiling, I recommended the Smokeeter LS 3×3 concealed smoke eater system which has washable electronic cells. The Smokeeter LS installs above the drop ceiling and offers 3 returns and 3 supply vents. I also recommended the carbon plenum option so that odors would be removed. Installation is fairly simple and the LS comes packaged complete with a wall remote, the ceiling tile vents and of course, the unit fully loaded with filters. This is the same system that is put into every Applebees restaurant.

People are always asking me: What is the best way to clean electronic smoke eaters cells?

There are some differing opinions on this topic. Some manufacturers direct you to mix a concentrated detergent in a container and to take the cells and soak them for a couple of minutes, then rinse with hot water or put through a commercial dish washer. This is a good method if you have space to store the container so that you can reuse the solution 10-12 times.

If you do not have the space to do this another good option, and my personal favorite, is to put the detergent concentrate into a spray bottle, spray the cells down thoroughly, let the cells sit for a few minutes and then rinse with hot water sprayer. You may need to go back and respray the detergent to stubborn areas. Once the cells are clean and rinsed, simply let them drip dry and put them back into the unit.

IT IS IMPORTANT to note that you must use an aluminum safe degreaser for cleaning!

Replacement cells cost between $250 and $1,000 so you should always handle them with care and never use caustic chemicals to clean them. When cleaning your cells, make sure to check to see if any ionizing wires are broken, if you are missing ionizing wires, you need to replace them or your smoke eater will not function properly.

I recommend cleaning the prefilter and the cells every 2-4 weeks. The more often you clean the cells in your smoke eater, the easier they are to clean. Smoke Eater cells will lose efficiency once they become loaded, so that is another reason to clean them often.

Smoke is made up of both particulate and gaseous contaminates. Today I am going to discuss the particle removal aspect and save the gasses, odors and vapors for another time.

The particulate contaminates make up the visible smoke, the cloud or haze that tends to hang in the air. The two most common and effective types of particle filters are media and electrostatic.

Media filters are most common

ly either a pleated or bag style filter. HEPA is probably the best known type of media filter. HEPA is an option on most media based smoke eaters, but we tend to prefer a 95% DOP type filter, due to the fact that it allows more air to flow through the filter than a HEPA and still offers enough efficiency to effectively remove the smoke particles. While media filters do not require regular cleaning, they do need to be occasionally replaced.

Electrostatic filters offer a cost effective and efficient way to remove particulate contaminates as they do not require replacement however, electrostatic filters do require regular cleaning. The way an electrostatic filter works is, the dirty air first passes through an ionizing section which charges the particles, the air then moves through an electronic cell, which attracts the particles like a magnet. This is proven technology that is used in many types of commercial and industrial air cleaners and is sometimes referred to as electrostatic precipitators or ESP.

These two types of smoke eater technologies are very comparable as far as particle efficiency. There are other technologies such as ionizers and ozone generators that may claim to be smoke eaters, but the fact is, they do little or nothing to remove smoke particles. I talk to customers every week who have wasted money buying ionic air cleaners and ozone generating machines only to find that they do not work, do yourself a favor and stay away from "magical" technologies that make claims about removing smoke and stick to the proven technologies that will get the job done.

If there is a technology that you would like me to review/discuss or if you have questions, post your comments and myself or someone on staff will respond.

I would like to start the review section off by talking about the AQE Everclear CM11 Deluxe. This is a media based flush mount unit that is very popular with upscale commercial customers, such as country clubs, cigar bars, champagne bars and fine dining restaurants, as well as upscale home rec rooms and bars. The unit is designed to fit into a 2′ X 4′ T-Bar type drop ceiling and requires 20 inches of clearance above the ceiling. The Everclear smoke eater is a self contained system, so there is no additional ducting to install. It utilizes the coanda airflow pattern, to create effective air circulation to help pull smoke into the smoke eater.

Because of its flush mounting and size, it is not possible for many applications, but for those who have the clearance, this is an awesome air cleaner and one of my very favorite to recommend. I know each time a client of mine purchases these smoke eaters, they are going to be impressed.

So you may ask why I like this particular unit so much?
Well, for starters it has 44 lbs of VOC blend gas phase media! That’s more than twice the amount in any competing air cleaner. The special VOC blend is made up of granulated, activated carbon and potasium permanganate. This enables the Everclear smoke eater to remove a wide range of chemical fumes and odors. Upscale customers expect the best results and combining its huge 95% DOP particle filter with 44 pounds of gas phase media, this smoke eater delivers every time.

I personally like the control mounted remotely (away from the unit), preferably at the lightswitch level, either behind the bar or in the kitchen. The remote control of offered with the Everclear smoke eater hooks up with a low voltage 5 wire lead, the same way that a thermostat hooks up to an HVAC unit.

If you have any questions about the unit, or if you are in the air purification field, I would be happy to hear your questions, thoughts and opinions.