NASA-inspired air purifier is next-level odour banisher

The VentiFresh ECO uses a process called photocatalytics to remove bad smells and harmful particles
air purifier Ready to get your home as clean as a space station? (VentiFresh ECO)


From kitty litter to gym socks, fish scales to wet fur, bad smells can really ruin the vibe in a home. All you want to do is relax and read a book or play a video game, but THAT SMELL. JUST. WON'T. GO. AWAY.

(And it doesn't matter if the source of that smell is a beloved pet. Sorry Mr. Chuckles, you need a bath.)

Generally, your options to kill the odour means either masking it with sprays or trying to remove the offending particles from the air with some kind of air filter. But there's a piece of new tech that claims to give your nose a break while using neither of those options.

It's called the VentiFresh ECO, and it actually uses some pretty awesome, NASA-inspired science.

Photocatalytics! Break it DOWN!

Take a look inside the device. (VentiFresh ECO)

What separates this cool puck-sized device from other odour killers is that it doesn't trap offending microbes and particles in a filter (which is what a standard air purifier does). It changes them into harmless natural compounds of CO2 and water. This is done through a process called photocatalytics. This is actually a cousin of photosynthesis, the process that allows plants to turn sunlight and CO2 in glucose, or energy (in that case, the byproducts are water and oxygen).

Photocatalytic technology is actually now being used on the International Space Station (ISS) as a way to make self-cleaning surfaces in the orbiting laboratory. It's ideal given how the crew on the ISS can't walk around spraying disinfectant on surfaces all of the time. And apparently, someone took a look at the science of photocatalytics and thought, "If it works in space, why not in your bathroom?"

Why not indeed? The VentiFresh is easily charged via a USB cable and can be placed wherever you need a quick freshening up—by the garbage, near the cat box, in your backpack, anywhere stinky. And though it's not exactly the kind of device that can keep an entire home fresh, its portable nature makes it a really neat tool to have in your extreme odour-fighting arsenal.

Who's ready to attack some odours?


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