DIY Air Purifier - Build in LESS THAN 5 MINUTES

[@jasonhsu4711]

I've built this air purifier. I had to use a small shop vac bag. I couldn't find the vacuum bags used here, and the ones I bought instead weren't as similar as I thought. The wood platform I use to mount the bath fan fixture is in a cross-shape for stability. I also use pads between the bath fan and the wood platform for cushioning, because the surface of the bath fan is rough. I use this air purifier in my bedroom. The loud fan means that this air purifier is a white noise generator, and this improves sleep by masking out the sounds from noisy neighbors, noisy people outside, firecrackers, etc. Thus, this air purifier/white noise generator has TWO functions instead of one.

[@TheCrafsMan]

I was hunting the parody video you mentioned, but watched this and wanted to let you know I enjoyed it. You’ve got a knack for providing clear, thorough instructions. Fabulous job!

[@sugargraham6868]

You just made my life a lot easier.

[@surgeman]

Nice idea, thanks for sharing. Question though - do you know if this fan type will work good to collect dog hair? My A/C unit is inside a bedroom closet (poor choice from prior owner 🙄) and dog hair tends to collect in this room where the unit is located, so I would need something with strong suction to pull the hair as the unit is also pulling air. Any info or suggestion will be appreciated.

[@rachellehr198]

Great 💡! I plan to make one for each floor in my home (built in 1895) I'll modify to use water as filtration in place of a vacuum bag. Nothing filters air better than water, much cheaper than the bags, no escape particles when changing water, you can add essential oils so your fresh air has lovely aromas.

[@MakerDIY]

Awesome idea! I think I’ll build one with water as well. Let me know how your build goes and any suggestions you have after doing so. Thanks!

[@CloggingSweetyG1]

Your water idea sounds interesting. If you've come up with plans for this I'd love to hear/read them :)

[@akmalfaiz9522]

You've done it ?

[@chiefgarrett]

Like a giant bong for air filtration 😂

[@MakerDIY]

Please consider subscribing and hitting the like button as it really helps the channel. Thanks for watching!

[@feliciaQ6859]

Thank you for a detailed video, how is it holding up and working

[@MakerDIY]

It’s holding up great. Simple build with little to go wrong and bags are easy to replace. Hope this helped you out.

[@HartzHomestead]

I'd suggest drilling a couple more holes on the intake side for best air flow. Very well made video, your style is a bit like mine - give clear instructions, show how to do it, don't waste time on unnecessary fluff. You probably don't even need the bucket, but it looks better that way. Yours might be quieter than the box fan method, depending on the fan. I'm working on a 2nd video too...

[@carpo719]

thanks man! I live in Wa. Getting ready for another year of fires, it sucks. Supposed to be one of the driest in a millenium. Sucks. though I feel that design would tend to recycle the same air, I thought you would pull the bag out of the side, that might be better.

[@MakerDIY]

I’m in Washington also and the Oregon fires are pushing lots of smoke this way so I have mine ready to go again. The air enters the bottom hole and is blown into and then out of the HEPA bag, leaving smoke residue and dust trapped in the bag while the clean air exits the top holes. I inspected the filter bag a couple of days after setting it up and there was lots of dust inside, but none on the outside so it seems to work great. Also got rid of a lot of the smoke smell in my house when the fires were close. Not something to compare against a big brand filter, but a great improvisation when someone can’t afford a store bought air purifier or when air purifiers are sole out everywhere. Thanks for watching and if you make one let me know how it works for you!

[@pattipuglia6687]

Would you happen to know if this would work for dust,mold or allergies? My daughter just moved into an apt and has a scratchy sore throat and stuffed noose. It is a very old house and they redid everything so I'm thinking it has a lot of dust around and maybe from just sitting for months it has some must or mildew?

[@MakerDIY]

I think it could help with this, but I really don’t know how effective it would be on a scientific level. HEPA filters are often used for that sort of thing, but I’m not making any miracle claims. It sure is affordable in comparison to the other alternatives though and I don’t see how trying it could hurt. Just make sure if she does try it to get the true HEPA bags not the “HEPA like” bags and let me know how it works out for you. Thanks for watching!

[@jasonhsu4711]

I see that you used the NuTone 696N bath fan, the cheapest bath fan at Home Depot. How loud is this fan?

[@jamesjirik]

Awesome video I did the cheap box fan with the air filter now I’ll try this cause it’ll be nice and quiet and take up less space and then all I would need to replace is the vacuum filter bag.

[@MakerDIY]

Hey James! Thanks for watching! Did you try this build? Would love to hear how it worked out for you?

[@stefanoc3891]

Thanks for sharing your idee with us but I have a question 😜 Why you didn't fixed the fan on the bucket lid, leavig full space inside the bucket for expanding the HEPA bag? The way you made you are also recalling the same air already inside the bucket and the efficiency is very very low.

[@MakerDIY]

Thanks. The air flow is actually pretty good, especially for how little noise it makes. You can feel the air coming in the inlet holes and out the outlet holes just fine. I thought about fixing it to the lid, but the point of this design was to make it easy, quick and cheap to build with minimal tools and parts.

[@erik7452]

Simple Fast tip number 2. A simple tip for reducing smoke and odors at home. If you have a cheap large 24"x24" box fan or other smaller type, they can also be used. Buy some carbon filter sheets that are available to buy as replacement sheets for air cleaners, they are usually around 5 -10mm thick. Choose what you find at a good price. They don't have to be exact measurements for your fan - you can use smaller pieces to cover the entire surface. The trick is that you place them on the side of the fan that sucks - then they stick by themselves and you put the sheets there so that it covers as much of the suction surface as possible. If it overlaps do nothing. Double layers give an even better effect - and you get a quick solution for cleaning. When the carbon sheets start to give off a different smell than they do when new - then it's time to throw them away.

[@sugargraham6868]

Great video my friend. New subscriber here. Thank you!!!

[@bisoo82]

Great video 👍 does the fan noise bother you at all?

[@MakerDIY]

No. It’s a low white noise. A few people that built my design have told me it’s actually soothing and helps them sleep. I used it when there were fires and heavy smoke in my area so any noise was secondary to having clean air.

[@pippysmom207]

Awesome diy!

[@MakerDIY]

Thanks for watching! I’m working on the version 2 right now. Completely reworked. HEPA and Activated Carbon filtering in a two gallon bucket. Stay tuned!

[@thecreativetake]

Great simple design! Nice job!

[@MakerDIY]

Thanks for the compliment! Will have version 2 out soon. Take care.

[@wanderingidiot9742]

Genius... the proprietary nature and cost of the market stuff is ridiculous. I’m building one for sure!

[@MakerDIY]

Thanks! Let me know how your build goes!

[@jluke6861]

Thank you for sharing

[@fitspirit]

Dumb question but do you even need the bucket? I mean, apart from making it look nice.

[@MakerDIY]

Thanks for the question. Yes, you need the bucket for many reasons. The filter and fan need to be contained somehow and this keeps them off the floor and neatly stored away.

[@fitspirit]

@@MakerDIY Thank you. I guess if they aren't contained the fan will just blow the air around the filter instead of through it...... duh, I wasn't thinking, thanx

[@MakerDIY]

No worries. Questions are great and allow ourselves the ability to think better. It’s funny you said “duh”. I just put that in the title of my latest video and then 30 seconds later I noticed your reply. Anyway, thanks for watching. I was thinking of putting together another version of this bucket air purifier and making a part two. Is that something you think would be interesting to watch? Thanks for any feedback!

[@FutureArmySoldier]

How big is the ventilation fan?

[@HalfAhBean]

How long would these Hepa vacuum bags last running all day?

[@MakerDIY]

Thanks for the question Toko. Unfortunately there’s no easy answer for this. I suppose it would depend on how dirty the air was where it was being used. I used mine for probably about 10-14 days when the air quality in our area was at its worst because of fires. The inside of the bag was filled with brown soot so I switched bags. In normal conditions I’m sure it would last a long time. Could always check the bag now and again and just swap them out when they look too dirty. Good luck.

[@yardfront]

Nicely done.

[@MakerDIY]

Thanks for watching!

[@jcaleca60]

My opinion is getting more surface area it'll do a faster job

[@1982bling]

I think if you would put some padding to the bottom of the bucket it would eliminate a lot of the noise too especially on the wood floor it's a lot of vibration

[@MakerDIY]

Thanks! That’s a great idea. I’m making a version 2 right now and I’ll implement that as well as activated carbon filtration. Look for it soon. Thanks for watching!

[@dastanharris]

@@MakerDIY still waiting for the video..

[@Sarah-lr6fq]

Is it incorrect that hosiery aka stockings are a great filter with a fan to fight impurities & toxins in the air? I'm kinda short on resources & in a desperate situation.

[@MakerDIY]

Hi Sarah. I don’t think stockings will be any help with toxins and would recommend looking into proven alternatives. I’m sorry to hear you’re in a desperate situation and hope you find a solution. Best wishes and be safe!

[@agostinhobh]

Vera good idea!

[@MakerDIY]

Thanks! I’m working on another version right now so stay tuned!

[@DudeOfTheWeek]

This was a really smart and cool idea! Thank you for this video!

[@MakerDIY]

Thanks! I appreciate the kind words!

[@hfvhf987]

Running the cable against bare metal like that is a serious risk, always add some kind of extra insulation, ideally a grommet.

[@MakerDIY]

Thanks for the advice. If I ever make another one I’ll consider it, but hopefully I won’t need to. Have a great day!

[@steveum7630]

Can you put a carbon filter in this too ?

[@MakerDIY]

I don’t see why not. I’m thinking of building an alternative version 2 as well. This design was designed to be made with accessible parts that are affordable and easy to out together. If I make a new design I’ll put out a video on that one too. Thanks for watching and please subscribe if you haven’t already for updates!

[@erik7452]

Tips ! In an emergency situation - and you don't have time to build something - you can simply put in a new bag for your vacuum cleaner - if you don't already have them at home, buy them for future needs. Disconnect the hose - and VOALA! DONE! You can count on more noise and more electricity consumption than a fan, but it does the job. You may not need to run at full power - or at least not all the time - test yourself, for the best results. Note. Your vacuum cleaner may have a HEPA filter on the exhaust and you have regular bags at home. Clear! But if you manage to buy real HEPA bags - even better.

[@Teknisi_otak_atik]

I like it..

[@bfgbfg6515]

Why do you need the bucket at all ?

[@MakerDIY]

Keeps the outside of the bag cleaner, looks better, easier to move around and store, keeps kids from messing with sharp edges, etc. But also, maybe I’ll build one without the bucket and modify the design! Thanks for the question!

[@jcaleca60]

I think it's easier to get a 20-inch box fan put a Merv filter 13 duct tape the filter to the fan

[@MakerDIY]

I agree. The problem is that when there are major fires, like we had here, every store within hundreds of miles were sold out of ever box fan and ever merv filter. They did have plenty of buckets and ventilation fans however. This video is to help people in those situations like I was in. Also, it’s a little less ugly in my opinion. Thanks for watching!

[@jcaleca60]

@@MakerDIY ok

[@michaelwerbick]

SO.... why have the fan completely enclosed. Air flow would be restricted as using four openings and none what are clearly in or out. A better design would be to use a square bucket and place and secure the vent fan to the lid of the bucket and create four large openings on each side to allow air to escape, then to the rest of the same set up. It will be a little louder, but the airflow would be much improved.

[@MakerDIY]

Cool idea. Have you built one like this?

[@alexandermccloskey4744]

Why wouldn't you make the lid the intake

[@MakerDIY]

I’m actually working on a design that utilizes the lid right now. Using it as the outlet though not intake. Mounting the motor below the lid so the motor gets hit with clean filtered air, not constant dirty air causing buildup. Also, pushing air out the top distributes better. Good point though! Thanks for the suggestion!

[@aceb7638]

What a great idea when you have no other options.

[@MakerDIY]

Thank you for the compliment!

[@aceb7638]

@@MakerDIY no worries, I'm hoping to remember it in case I ever need to. Filters seem to be In and out of stock

[@tobiaskarl4939]

This plastic may give off small amounts of pollutants so this has to be also filtered. I prefer all in metal. Plasticizers, flame retardants etc etc

[@MakerDIY]

The bucket I used was food grade so I don’t think those pollutants will be a concern unless you’re using a bucket that contains those. Good point though.

[@キタムラトモヤス]

Mm I Jo Jo