Well, I’m not sure a VOC filter is needed just for smoke. Any HEPA filter should be fine for removing smoke—that’s why it has been around since the 1950s.
I’ve heard of Molekule a few times since these California wildfires started, but I’m a bit of a skeptic. I just did some research to see what other opinions I could come up with.
Wirecutter
This Wirecutter review where they compared air purifiers, but Molekule didn’t a review that wasn’t suprvised.
We requested a model because we were interested in testing its effectiveness on micron-scale particulates and VOC reduction, but Molekule requested that we agree to conditions around the testing—asking that a Molekule engineer or a consulting researcher they’d worked with in the past monitor and advise on our work if we conducted testing on our own.
Hacker News
This comment thread on Hacker News. Particularly the comment by chaostheory.
I had one. It has multiple issues:
CADR is really low to the point where the unit is near useless due to #2
In addition to a low CADR, it has the highest noise. It looks and sounds like a jet engine when you have this thing on high, which is needed due to the low CADR. This is the loudest air purifier that I’ve ever owned
If you get a defective main filter, the unit will emit an unpleasant metallic smell. I haven’t tested the particles yet but I doubt the air is clean.
Unlike other smart air cleaners in the same price range, it’s app and smart features don’t work. You can’t even create a schedule for it
It’s a very flawed device
And there are a few concerning reddit threads—like this one titled What has your experience been with Molekule?
From sAfuRos:
I had a lot of back and forth’s with Molekule CS as an original Molekule pre-backer over a year ago because the filters reek and continue to do so.
Molekule says this is due to “contaminants that may enter the filter during the packaging and transit process” but that sounds like BS to me. I had no less than 5 filters sent to me total (for free, so props to molekule CS for that) and they all had the horrible smell. The smell goes away over time but never fully leaves, such that in a small room the smell will permeate the entire room even months after the same filter has been running 24/7.
After my own research, I believe this is due to the fact that it’s very difficult to bond TiO2 molekules (which is what Molekule is using on the nanofilter) as a coating; you’ll almost certainly get offgassing for the entire life of the filter, as small nano-particles essentially ‘fall-off’. I believe this lines up very strongly with the evidence that others have posted about VO2 levels not decreasing or even increasing; the decrease in other Vo2 compounds is offset by the Molekule’s own offgassing.
From specikk:
Now, on to the Molekule. The first thing that struck me as odd was that the Molekule contains no sensor to monitor air quality-- at least not ones that are exposed to the app or used by the device itself. Perhaps they are in the hardware and will be enabled by a software update? It seems like quite an oversight to not include a basic air quality sensor for a device at this price point.
Molekule is a fairly new company and hardware is hard. However, I can’t recommend spending $800 on this thing. That’s hardly an affordable air purifier. And the reviews and comments so far seem pretty critical.
I hope they can figure it out, because it seems promising.