The human sense of smell is dulled by millennia of civilized life, nutritional deficiencies (zinc.), and habituation to very foul air. Possible combinations and intensities of VOCs and odors may exist.įor particulate air pollution, consumer grade laser particle counters are available that provide accurate measurements.īut with odors and chemicals, subjective smelling will continue to be the prime metric of user satisfaction. There is no question that Mosos really do work, when installed as described below.īut I must take issue with marketing claims made for Moso Natural Bags and bamboo charcoal products in general.įirst, there is no scientific way to test the effectiveness of a small passive chemical air purifier in residential settings, where thousands of I am all in favor of the Moso concept, but have some reservations about marketing claims made by the company and some vendors. I bought a 200 gram bag, and my hyper-sensitive nose (long time MCS) finds no offense from a new Moso Natural bag. They are non-toxic, and have no odor of their own. Moso bags use 100% bamboo charcoal from China. Polar molecules, those with unbalanced charges, are more difficult to retain.Īldehydes, with their characteristic sweet odor, are among the most difficult to adsorb over time.Ĭharcoal is available in a wide range of grades and is made from several substrates, like cocoanut shells. There is a constant coming and going of bats, with some leaving and some coming back to roost.Īs the filter ages and becomes saturated, the equilibrium of coming and going slowly shifts to favor more molecules escaping. VOC and odor molecules hang in these pockets like millions of bats in a cave.īut not all charcoal is created equal, and various pollutants are held more tightly than others. The best way to visualize activated carbon is as a huge cave with thousands of small chambers. Most air purifiers use some form of porous activated carbon as the adsorption medium.Ī 200 gram Moso bag has approximately 50 acres of interior surface area. Gas molecules, "Volatile Organic Compounds" (VOC), are generally less than 0.001 micron in diameter, far smaller than the particles captured by HEPA filters. Many buyers have trouble visualizing the tiny size of odoriferous pollutants. Mosos come with attractive packaging, the linen bag is available in multiple colors. Let's delve into the reasons why with a closer look at the marketing claims and actualĬapabilities of the Moso Natural Air Purifying Bags. Numerous buyers have expressed dissatisfaction. However, over 20% of these reviews are negative one and two star reviews. I found almost 100 online user reviews of the Moso bags, with an average rating of four stars. Moso's market penetration includes The Container Store, and carries the "natural" bags. "Passive" also means the bag requires little effort from the user, other than occasional airing out and sunning the bag. The correct term is "adsorb," which means molecules attaching to a surface by electrostatic (ionic) attraction. Many vendors and numerous user reviews use the term absorb to describe the process of odor molecule retention. Moso's bags are passive air purifiers, meaning they have no fan to propel air through the adsorbent media. Small Mosos, sized nicely for insertion into stinky boots or hanging on a cat litter box, are two for ten bucks. With the largest Moso Natural bag (500 grams) selling for about twenty bucks, here is an option for folks whoĬan't pony up for a motorized air cleaner, many of which have less carbon than the Moso bag. I join other indoor air quality experts, who universally recommend against using chemical air fresheners/deodorizers of any kind.Īt least as bad are things that burn, such as scented candles, covering the odor with a new scent and filling the air with tiny black spheres of carbon. Most of the billions spent on indoor odor devices, found in three quarters of American homes, goes to unhealthy scent-maskers that just fool the nose into thinking air is clean. Moso introduced their bags to the American market in August 2010, creating a new product category.ĭespite the company's overstated "green" marketing and somewhat exaggerated claims, I like this product as an alternative to the popular, and often toxic, "air fresheners" and other chemical responses to the indoor odor problem. Moso Natural offers a natural odor control product, the Moso Air Purifying Bag. The number one principle any indoor air authority will cite is "attack the source before installing the air cleaner."īut there are many odor sources that cannot easily be removed.įor several years, I have been advising people to "just put some carbon near the odor," without stumbling onto the products from Moso. Unpleasant odors - from cigarette smoke, cooking, pet litter, cleaning chemicals, and mold - are a social embarrassment and a health problem.
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