Will An Air Purifier Help With Ferret Smell?

Ferrets are naturally prone to having a very strong, musky, and pungent odor that is very reminiscent of the one produced by skunks. This fact has given ferrets, an otherwise fantastic pet, the somewhat negative reputation of being a stinky animal.

And while there are ways to deal with the smell, ferret owners often find themselves looking for deodorizing methods that help control the beloved ferrets’ smell.

If you are thinking of buying an air purifier for your home and are wondering if, in addition to clearing the environment of pollutants, it also helps eliminate odors, read on, because we are going to explain everything you need to know about this type of device and if you can count on them to help eliminate the bad smell of your ferret.

So, Will An Air Purifier Help With The Smell of Ferrets?

Yes, an air purifier will get rid of ferret smell. Air purifiers cycle through several phases of air filtering and purification, and this includes the removal of a multitude of odors, including those from your pet ferret.

To better understand how an air purifier can help you with removing ferret smell, it is important that you understand how they work.

How Do Air Purifiers Work?

Air purifiers work by suctioning the air from an enclosed space and running it through an internal filter that captures a wide variety of airborne contaminants such as dust, mold, pet dander, and bacteria. Some air purifiers can even remove more difficult contaminants such as gasses.

The basic operation and function of an air purifier are to filter out pollutant particles and impurities that are found floating freely in the air that fills our homes. The air is sucked inside the machine by a fan and then run through a special filter that can eliminate unwanted particles.

Some of the filters found in modern air purifiers qualify as High-Efficiency Particulate Air filters, which are effective in eliminating up to 99% of pollutants that are larger than 0.3 microns.

This has the immediate effect of significantly improving the quality of breathable air and cleansing the most unpleasant odors regularly found inside homes.

It is important to note that more basic filter models will not be as efficient at reducing or eliminating unpleasant odors. This is a characteristic of high-end air purifiers.

One feature that you should look out for is the inclusion of an activated carbon filter layer. While HEPA filters can significantly reduce the total amount of airborne pollutants, the added help of an activated carbon filter is what will make a difference to the way your home smells and remove the stinkiest of odors.

Ferret Smell

The characteristic ferret smell is produced by a series of glands that are distributed throughout the animal’s body which secrete an oily substance that gives off a pungent, skunk-like smell.

This substance serves an important role because it allows ferrets to identify each other. If you think that all ferrets smell the same, you are wrong.

Ferrets can differentiate minute differences in their musk which permits them to develop strong and complex social bonds. In other words, each ferret has a signature smell that no other ferret produces and which plays an important role in each animal’s identity.

Curiously, most other animals that possess a similar trait only have perianal glands, which are found along the base of their tails. Ferrets, on the other hand, have glands in several spots of their long bodies at a subcutaneous level.

This is the reason why ferrets tend to smell so strongly, and why they have developed the reputation of having a particularly stinky scent compared to other types of pets.

The types of things that would work with other pets, like cleaning the cage and litter box, will only really help if you are already neglecting such things.

While not all people take offense to the way ferrets smell, most ferret owners would agree that the ferret smell is one of the animal’s most difficult characteristics to deal with.

Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to prevent your ferret from secreting this smell. Even after an invasive surgery that removes some of the glands, the ferret will still smell like a ferret.

If you keep your ferret in good health and in a clean habitat, an air purifier with a HEPA filter and activated carbon is going to be your best aid in reducing the intensity of your ferret’s smell.