Best Air Filtration for Pollution in Los Angeles

The iconic Los Angeles skyline makes for a beautiful picture during sunsets, but a closer look reveals a sky with pollution. Air pollutants can find their way inside your home, but with the protection, your heating and cooling system can filter it out. With several options available, which air filtration for pollution should you choose?

At Monkey Wrench, we’ve seen how air filters can quickly become dirty with dust, debris, and pollutants. Whether it’s a simple air filter replacement or installing an air purification system, our technicians have decades of combined experience improving a heating and cooling system’s ability to filter out pollutants like smog.

If you’re looking for ways to improve your home’s indoor air quality, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll review the following solutions for dealing with Los Angeles air pollution.

• Air scrubber
• High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters
• Air quality monitor

Once you’ve read this article, you’ll have a better understanding of what each option offers and be able to decide whether you want one or all three to protect your home from outdoor air pollution. 

Let’s do this!

What Are the Common Air Pollutants in Los Angeles

Before we jump into the top air filtration solutions for your home, we will review what air quality can be like in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. The most common sources that contribute to bad air quality are,

• Vehicle emissions: In a city with notoriously bad traffic, it’s no surprise that vehicles emitting carbon dioxide (CO2) gases from burning fossil fuels can negatively affect air quality.
• Industrial buildings: A lot of buildings from different industries can release pollutants that roam in the air.
• Fires: Large-scale fires throughout Southern California can contribute to Los Angeles’s air quality by carrying wildfire smoke. 

Some of these pollutants, like car smog, can negatively impact the environment since they contribute to greenhouse gases. Even though improved efforts have been made to curb and reduce air pollution, the air quality in Los Angeles may not always be the best.

Air quality is measured using the air quality index (AQI), which posts daily forecasts in real-time so people can act accordingly. Smog, among other pollutants, can negatively affect a person’s health if they’re sensitive to respiratory problems. 

Common airborne pollutants include

• Particulate matter, specifically PM2.5 and PM10, which pose health risks if inhaled
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as chemicals emitted from household products and industrial processes
• CO2

Pollutants may roam mostly outside but can enter your home through open windows, vents, and other openings. This can decrease the indoor air quality, but next, we’ll highlight how to combat air pollutants entering your home.

What Are the Best Air Filtration for Pollution?

Any effective air quality filtration for pollution are efficient at filtering pollutants, but a well-maintained HVAC system is also helpful. 

A heating and cooling system that has gone through preventive measures and routine ductwork inspections is less likely to have issues filtering pollutants than a neglected system that has gone years without filter changes and maintenance work.

Scheduling professional maintenance also allows technicians the opportunity to inspect the accessories designed to protect your home’s air quality from pollution and ensure they’re working correctly. The first of these systems is an air scrubber, one of the best solutions available. 

Air Scrubber

An air scrubber is an air purification system designed to remove pollutants inside a home. It uses ActivePure Technology, a proprietary design that uses special light waves in a process that creates special molecules that target airborne contaminants like pollution. 

It’s not just pollution that air scrubbers remove, but a range of other pollutants and even stinky odors. Some of the contaminants removed include.

• Dust
• Bacterial growth 
• Pollen
• Dirt 
• Allergens
• VOCs
• Smoke particles from cigarettes or wildfires
• Pet dander
• Viruses and bacteria such as E. Coli, Influenza, SARS-CoV-2 (Covid), among others

With an air scrubber installed, any airflow circulating within your heating and cooling system will be disinfected, deodorized, and purified. This system requires little maintenance, although its enclosed UV light bulb should be replaced every one to two years with the help of a technician. 

These air purifiers are so effective that they’re highly regarded that they’re installed and used in hospital settings to provide clean, indoor air quality. Another solution for pollution that is seen in hospitals as well is HEPA filters.

HEPA and MERV Filters

High-efficiency particulate air filters are designed to catch 99.97% of contaminants entering a home, such as pollen, dust, smoke, and pollutants. Like air scrubbers, these filters offer hospital-grade protection, meaning they offer a solution for Los Angeles pollution as well as other contaminants that can trigger allergies.

HEPA filters are usually replaced once to twice a year, but it’s best to inspect them monthly to ensure they’re still effectively filtering out pollutants.

You can seek out highly-rated filters even if you don’t have a HEPA filter. These air filters are categorized using the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) ratings. The higher the ratings, ranging from 1 to 16, the more effective they are at capturing pollutants. But high ranking MERV-rated filters aren’t recommended for residential heating and cooling systems because they can restrict airflow.

Air filters between MERV 8 and MERV 13 are still highly effective at capturing pollutants. Even though their effectiveness is slightly lower than HEPA filters, they’re still highly efficient at protecting your home from smog and pollution. 

All air filters are rated through Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) ratings. The higher the rating, the more effective they are at capturing extremely tiny particles.

Air Quality HVAC Monitor

Although there are online sources that can inform you of the day’s air quality in your area, you can install an air quality monitor device with your heating and cooling system to receive real-time alerts and pollutant detection. 

These systems can provide data on the levels of pollutants in your home, such as CO2, carbon monoxide, VOCs, and particulate matter. 

It’s important to note that this device doesn’t stop pollution from entering your home; it only informs you of the air quality. 

Choosing the Best Solution for Pollution

Ideally, choosing a high-quality air filter and an air scrubber can provide the ultimate protection against the infamous Los Angeles smog. But having just one of these systems can make a massive difference in the quality of air inside your home. Now that you’ve read what these systems offer, you can determine whether one or both meets your home’s needs for air filtration for pollution.

Since 2007, we’ve replaced thousands of air filters from heating and cooling systems. Even as air filter technology has improved, we’ve seen how pollutants can negatively affect indoor air quality, so we always recommend an air scrubber or HEPA filter so homeowners can protect themselves from harmful pollution. 

If you’re interested in an air scrubber or have questions about HEPA filters, contact us using one of the buttons below. You can also book an appointment directly through our online HVAC scheduler.