Abstract: Disclosed is an air cleaning apparatus having a rectangular enclosure with air inlet and outlet passages and internal lower and upper baffles which sequentially direct inlet air through lower and upper water curtains which are provided by a recirculating water system. The apparatus also has a separate scrubbing water system to wash the internal surfaces of the apparatus. In operation, the scrubbing system is periodically activated and the reservoir of the recirculating water system is periodically drained and refilled with fresh water. Also disclosed is the method of using the apparatus.