Less Fumey Commute
December 21, 2005 3:28 PM Subscribe
Aside from not driving behind other vehicles, how do you keep ambient exhaust fumes out of your car cabin during a commute? Filters? Ionization? Impossible?
set yr a/c slash heater to RECIRC. close all windows. if you have a sunroof, close it and the sunroof-cover-thing, too. that's about the best you can do.
many modern cars have air filters for the cabin. these are particulate filters, and not good for keeping said fumes out of yr car. rarely, i think, will they have an activated carbon layer. you can buy aftermarket ones that have this layer, but i don't believe it does anything to get rid of the noxious stuff in exhaust.
of course, if you had superpowers, you could find out what cars in front of you don't have catalytic convertors or have ones that haven't warmed up yet. when cold, they don't do squat.
posted by herrdoktor at 3:43 PM on December 21, 2005
many modern cars have air filters for the cabin. these are particulate filters, and not good for keeping said fumes out of yr car. rarely, i think, will they have an activated carbon layer. you can buy aftermarket ones that have this layer, but i don't believe it does anything to get rid of the noxious stuff in exhaust.
of course, if you had superpowers, you could find out what cars in front of you don't have catalytic convertors or have ones that haven't warmed up yet. when cold, they don't do squat.
posted by herrdoktor at 3:43 PM on December 21, 2005
A cabin air filter should do just dandy for diesel fumes (which are largely soot), and that's the stinkiest thing I usually smell. Most of the other noxious automotive emissions don't actually smell (well, burning oil smells pretty bad, and a truck that's not fully burning its fuel can be horrible, but diesels are a lot more common than either).
posted by kindall at 4:32 PM on December 21, 2005
posted by kindall at 4:32 PM on December 21, 2005
as a side note: if yr windows are fogging up, by all means, TURN THE A/C ON! recirc on, windows closed, heat if it's cold, and A/C! full blast!
b1tr0t's idea is good, too, and i never really thought of it before. i mean, the scent of dog poop that wafts across fields travels across state lines on moist spring days, right?
posted by herrdoktor at 7:14 PM on December 21, 2005
b1tr0t's idea is good, too, and i never really thought of it before. i mean, the scent of dog poop that wafts across fields travels across state lines on moist spring days, right?
posted by herrdoktor at 7:14 PM on December 21, 2005
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posted by kindall at 3:40 PM on December 21, 2005