Musty odors in your home may become a great problem. Using chemical deodorizing products can be both ineffective and harmful. If you want to avoid spending extra costs on them, consider bamboo charcoal bags. It is a natural way to eliminate all odors, and it is used in the household for many other purposes. Let us have a closer look at all the benefits of activated bamboo charcoal.
What Is Bamboo Charcoal?
You may know what common charcoal looks like, and you might have seen while making your barbeque. Bamboo charcoal is the product that is derived the same way by burning the wood pieces without oxygen, but it is extracted from Moso bamboo and used for many household purposes.
So, what is bamboo charcoal, and why has it regained its popularity? Moso bamboo is one of the bamboo plant species that grow very fast. Planted from the seed, it can achieve 60 feet in 2-3 months. It becomes mature in five years, so this source of charcoal is quite renewable and sustainable.
Another question is why bamboo should be used for household purposes such as deodorizing and dehumidifying. The matter is that Moso bamboo's mature plant is characterized by numerous tiny holes that provide the bamboo charcoal extracted from it with a fascinating ability to attract molecules of odor and moisture. This ability is provided by an extremely vast area created by these pores.
The use of bamboo charcoal has been known for many centuries. It goes back to the Ming Dynasty in China, where it has been utilized for more than five hundred years.
Nowadays, the popularity of bamboo charcoal is experiencing its revival.
What Are Bamboo Charcoal Bags?
After a specific heating and burning process, which will be described below as a part of a DIY process, you receive a fine and porous charcoal powder. This charcoal should be activated by some substances (the process will also be described further). It becomes applicable to the adsorbing of different pollutants and moisture from the air.
The most efficient way to use this charcoal powder is to put it into linen or burlap bags. The material should allow for air penetration into the bag. The best way of using such bags is by hanging them in places where they are needed. That is why they are provided with a rivet or loop.
Activated bamboo charcoal bags can be hanged everywhere in your bathrooms, kitchens, garages, or basements. They may be bigger or smaller. Small charcoal bags are used in the closets, footwear stands, wardrobes, sports kit bags, and washing machines. They are highly appreciated as an effective, natural, and non-toxic way to eliminate unpleasant smells and moisture.
How Do Bamboo Charcoal Bags Work?
As for charcoal bamboo bags' mechanism of performance, it is very simple. There is nothing inside them apart from pure Moso charcoal. Since millions of tiny pores inside the charcoal attract particles from the air, including odors, chemicals, excess moisture, and even bacteria - let us draw your attention to a very interesting feature.
Bamboo charcoal works by the process of adsorption instead of absorption.
Adsorption means that unwanted particles get stuck to the surface and are accumulated on it. Instead, absorption is about trapping particles inside the object and distributing them evenly there.
Adsorption is a specific feature for bamboo charcoal air purifying bags since they can be renovated easily when placed in the sunshine. This process is called recharging though it is also known as refreshing charcoal bamboo bags.
When you expose the bags to sunlight, the numerous little pores expand and release the harmful particles trapped within these pores. You need to repeat this procedure after every 30 days of bag use. Do this 'recharging' for at least 1-2 hours, or you may need more when living in a colder place without much sunshine. Please do not leave the bags on the window-sills to expose them to UV rays. Many types of glass do not allow UV to penetrate inside.
When you do recharging regularly, charcoal bamboo bags can serve you for about two years. The disposal process is also very easy and eco-friendly. You can open the bag and throw its content around the garden. It will do much good to the soil, improving its pH balance, and enhancing the ability to use nutrients.
Benefits of Bamboo Charcoal Bags
Let us speak in detail about the most common uses and benefits of activated bamboo charcoal bags.
Because of the versatility of their use, we have highlighted just several places and situations, such as:
- room deodorizing;
- footwear freshening;
- improving the air quality in the car;
- animal smell reduction;
- clothes and linen freshening in closets;
- reducing smells of used sports equipment, sports kit backpacks, or lockers;
- eliminating musty smells in the washing-machines;
- extracting moisture and smells from clothes kept in dresser drawers;
- refreshing clothes and household items in wardrobes and closets;
- natural and quick elimination of smells in bathrooms;
- adsorption of ethylene gas in a fridge or freezer to keep all the produce fresher and reduction of smells inside them;
- improving the air quality around the office desks.
These are just some uses of natural fresh bamboo charcoal bags. However, there are situations when the bags do not work or their effects do not last long. For example, using charcoal bags is OK for getting rid of the cigarette smoke smell from the sofa you have bought second-hand. Though you expose your sofa to constant excessive cigarette smoke, the charcoal bag may not help much. Just stop smoking while sitting on the sofa or give up smoking inside the house.
It is quite beneficial that a product has such a wide range of utilization. The most obvious benefits of activated bamboo charcoal are the following:
- Bamboo charcoal bags do not mask odors – they eliminate them. Most chemical air fresheners mask an unpleasant odor, while bamboo charcoal copes with the cause of this odor. Smells trapped by charcoal will not return. This way is also cost-effective and friendly to your health.
- The absence of chemicals in bamboo charcoal allows for the prevention of health problems. There are no synthetic dyes or perfumes, either. Most chemical air fresheners contain a terpene, which, if mixed with ozone, produces formaldehyde. This chemical is very carcinogenic and irritant to the respiratory system. On the contrary, bamboo charcoal bags help eliminate such pollutants as formaldehyde from the air. People with asthma and other respiratory issues feel much better.
- The product is completely safe for children and pets. It is non-toxic, so your little ones will be secure and protected against skin irritation, eye irritation, allergies, intoxications, and other life-threatening issues. Such bags do not use compression and are not inflammable which reduces the risk of fire danger considerably.
- Bamboo charcoal is eco-friendly and sustainable. Such bags are the most eco-friendly solution for improving air quality. As a type of grass, bamboo is a very sustainable material that grows very fast and can be harvested many times without replanting. Moreover, bamboo traps carbon efficiently. Bamboo charcoal production is carbon-neutral. No electricity is used for producing it either. It can be replaced easily by spreading the charcoal around the garden. Hence, it is considered biodegradable.
- Bamboo charcoal bags are not expensive at all. Smaller bags cost about $5, and bigger ones are priced at $10-15. So, their use is quite cost-effective.
The most important advantage of bamboo charcoal bags is that you can make them at home.
Some other uses of this product include bamboo charcoal toothpaste for whitening, skin and hair care products, filtration of water, or some medical uses.
How to Make Bamboo Charcoal Bags at Home?
If you have decided to use activated bamboo charcoal in your household, you have two options – either to buy ready-made bags from a store or make them yourself. The process of doing it at home is not too complicated. To receive the high-quality bamboo charcoal, do the following:
Step 1. Choose a small metal tin and put dry pieces of bamboo into it.
Step 2. Light up the fire inside the tin.
Step 3. Cover the tin tightly as soon as the fire starts burning. That will not allow oxygen to get into it. The carbon will not burn out without oxygen.
Step 4. Let the fire burn for 2-4 hours. Look out for the flames – they should be put off if you don't want everything to turn into ashes.
Step 5. When the time passes, your charcoal is ready. Take away all the non-burnt pieces, and pure charcoal will remain.
After all these manipulations, you may think that the process is over. It is not exactly like that. You need to activate the charcoal to get more benefits from it.
So, first of all, your charcoal should be grounded to a fine powder. Then, use zinc chloride or calcium chloride for activation. Mix the substance with water 1:4. You will receive an exothermic reaction, so be very careful. When the water becomes clear, the reaction is over. Add the charcoal to this solution and mix it. Strain the mixture using some cloth. Your charcoal is activated now, so leave it in sunlight for about 48 hours.
The charcoal is ready now. You can put it into previously sewed bags. Though, if you do not know how to sew properly, you can make sachets. Put some charcoal in the middle of the piece of cloth and fold the edges to its center. Use a ribbon or thread to tie it off. You can locate this small sachet anywhere you need it.
Bamboo Charcoal Bags FAQ
How to use bamboo charcoal bags?
It depends on the situation. Place the bags where you need them – somewhere in the bedroom, basement, kitchen, or laundry room, in the car, gym bag, or just in shoes. They are also good for cigarette smokers and pet owners. Medical and some other uses are possible, too.
Do bamboo charcoal bags work?
Sure. Bamboo charcoal has perfect adsorption features. It is very effective because it has four times more pores than common wood charcoal. It is great for many household uses, such as air or water purification.
Where to buy bamboo charcoal bags?
First, check well-known and reputable online stores to see whether charcoal bamboo bags are available. It is also possible that some brick-and-mortar stores have this product in stock.
Are there any side effects of using bamboo charcoal?
If you use it for household purposes, it is completely harmless and safe. Be careful using it on your body. It may cause some damage to your teeth or gut imbalance.
Conclusion
As you can see from the bamboo charcoal bag review, this natural substance has various uses and a lot of benefits. You can enjoy a better quality of water and air, natural freshness, and get rid of unpleasant smells and harmful air particles for the sake of your health. There is one more perfect thing about bamboo charcoal bags – you can make them at home without putting too much effort.
