Control of airborne microbial contamination in wardrobe microenvironments using a built-in smart air purification system: Performance evaluation under high-humidity and long-term residential conditions

The degradation of stored garments becomes a concern when airborne microbes are present inside wardrobes. Conventional solutions such as dehumidifiers and absorbent materials may be insufficient, particularly given the structural characteristics of typical household wardrobes. This study presents the development of a prototype Smart Wardrobe Air Purifier (SWP), designed as an integrated system within standard residential wardrobes. The proposed system combines real-time air quality monitoring with automated internal air filtration to reduce airborne microbial contamination, including fungi, bacteria, and yeast. System performance was evaluated under extreme high-humidity conditions for 7-day and through 75-day reliability testing under representative residential conditions. The three SWP installation configurations exhibited different levels of microbial control performance, with changes in microbial deposition ranging from ΔCFU = −3.50 to +4.68 CFU/dm 2 /h. The best-performing configuration achieved an 84% reduction in microbial deposition, whereas the least-performing configuration remained within the “Good” category according to the IMA classification. These findings suggest that the SWP system may contribute to maintaining lower airborne microbial deposition within wardrobe microenvironments under typical household conditions; effects on stored garments were not assessed in this study.