If you have ever been to a cigar shop or a lounge, or a big retailer like Cigars International, you already know that many of these places allow you to smoke indoors. While cigars smell great overall, smoke, especially stale smoke, does not. It also tends to seep into anything, fabrics above all. So, how do these places do it? How do they allow cigar smokers to smoke indoors without the places smelling abhorrent?
The answer is a reliable, powerful air filtration system. Not like the central heating and cooling you’d find in your average home. They’re commercial and they’re built out, specifically, to filter the air and help remove the odors that smoke leaves behind. Many of them use activated carbon or similar technologies, which naturally help extract the smoke particles and related odors. They also work in tandem with pro-grade ventilation systems, which cycle in fresh air from the outdoors, mingling it with the air from inside.
But what if you want to mimic these technologies at home? Would you have to install a commercial ventilation and filtration system? You could, but that would be very, very expensive. The next best thing is a capable air filtration system, like what Rabbit Air and similar companies offer. They are a great option for setting up a home lounge or a smoking room, usually because you’re working with smaller square footage — lounges and shops are often much, much bigger, for obvious reasons.
First, understand that Rabbit Air is a brand which offers a variety of air purification and filtration systems. If you’ve been active in the cigar community for a while, it’s likely you already know the name. If you haven’t, well, introductions are in order. There are alternatives, and competitors, but hands down, Rabbit Air is one of the best for filtering out aggressive and odorous sources like cigar smoke.
Of course, because Rabbit Air has a varied inventory, many of its purifiers utilize unique technologies and solutions. You can shop yourself, if you’re interested, and check some of the other models out. I’m going to focus on one model, in particular, which is the brand’s newest and most powerful yet — the Rabbit Air A3.
Capable of covering up to 1,070 square feet, the Rabbit Air A3 uses a six-stage filtration system, with a proprietary design, including the BioGS HEPA filter. HEPA filtration, if you’re not aware, is fully able to remove the smallest and dirtiest particles in the air, with a highly effective removal rate above 99%. That includes regular smoke and cigar smoke.
A “Dual-Hive” activated carbon filter uses a geometric lattice (honeycomb) design to capture and remove odors, chemicals, and other VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). Rabbit Air says the new and improved filter design boosts removal efficiency by 26.3%. Rabbit Air’s activated carbon tech is unique in that it employs carbonaceous ingredients, like coconut shell and coal, which naturally filters out contaminants. That new filter comes standard in all A3 models.
The Rabbit Air A3 is also whisper-quiet, meaning it won’t drown your cigar room in unwanted noise, so you can still listen to your tunes or watch some TV. Best of all, it’s low maintenance. It can run for an entire year, 24/7, at the cost of a single filter replacement kit, which is super easy to swap out when it’s time.
If you care about that stuff, it’s also smart and app-enabled, with plug-and-play support for Alexa, Android and iOS. You can use the app to monitor air quality remotely, control settings, adjust purification, and so on.
Believe it or not, the process is fairly simple. You will need to choose a room that you can properly seal off from the rest of the house. For example, in my house, my office is at the front of the house away from the other bedrooms, so it’s a great choice. If you do want to use something like a bedroom, you’ll just want to be extra vigilant at sealing it off. Furthermore, I highly recommend choosing a room that has hard flooring like wood, tile, or concrete, instead of carpet.
Some other examples include outdoor sheds, in-law suites, garages, and other areas that aren’t connected to your home.
Seal the room
The first bit of advice, if there is an air or A/C return in your room of choice, is to seal that off. You can do this in a few ways. I’ll leave it up to you. I know someone who used cardboard with duct tape. It’s not classy, but it worked. If you think you might want to use the room normally at some point, don’t seal it off permanently. Make sure you’re sealing the return vent and not a supply vent. Return vents pull stale air back into the ductwork, which makes sense why you wouldn’t want smoke making its way in there. Supply vents do the opposite, releasing cold or fresh air from the ventilation ducts.
The better and more professional way to seal off the return vent is to have an HVAC professional or team come out and deal with it. Several HVAC companies advise against sealing off return vents, because it may affect the performance of your cooling system, and may result in overheating. I shouldn’t need to explain why that could be dangerous and why you’ll be doing this at your own risk.
Once that’s done, you’ll want to make sure the seal around your door is secure. Because inside doors don’t create an airtight seal, you’ll need a sealant from a local hardware store. You can use non-expanding spray foam, caulk, waterproof flashing, or adhesive-based seals — though the latter aren’t as reliable.
Finally, install your air purifier like the Rabbit Air A3 in the room where you want to smoke. You can mount it on the wall, or place it on the ground. It depends on where you want it. Just be aware, even with the purifier, any furniture or fabrics you put in the room will most likely have a lingering smoke smell, so you want to leave those in the room, or keep them away from the rest of your home. Even washing those fabrics won’t remove the smoke smell, sometimes.
Why would you want an indoor smoking room or home cigar lounge?
I prefer to smoke outside, personally. Although, sometimes I would love to have an indoor spot with air conditioning, because I live in Florida where it’s hot and muggy. Alternatively, some folks might want a cigar room or indoor lounge when it’s cold. With the recent winters we’ve had, and how cigars react to extreme cold — not including our bodies — it makes sense why you would want some shelter. An indoor smoking room or home lounge would offer a more permanent and reliable place to relax and unwind than those temporary shelters and tents.
Also, a lounge is a fantastic place to entertain some company. Maybe you want to kick back with your crew and play poker, watch some sports, and smoke? You can hit up your personal lounge to do all of that. And the Rabbit Air A3 and similar air purifiers help make that a reality.
Briley has over 16 years in the publishing and content marketing business. He's been writing about cigars for nearly half that in various forms. What makes him a tour de force is he also smokes them.
Source: Rabbit Air
Source: Rabbit Air
Source: Rabbit Air
Source: Rabbit Air
Source: Alek Olson / Unsplash
