Another filter option is the toxin absorber replacement filter, designed for homes in areas of high smoke or smog. It’s completely perforated around the outside to pull air in from any direction. To keep it at peak performance, you’ll want to ensure no sides are obstructed.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, plus an increase in wildfire activity, we are all becoming more aware of air quality. Beyond being one of our favorite machines to operate, it has a soft, modern aesthetic that integrates into a space better than some other air purifiers in the bunch. Air purifiers help you filter out allergens and other pollutants from the air, and they can help make life easier for those with allergies or other respiratory conditions. Even if you don’t have any issues breathing easy, having an air purifier for your home can offer peace of mind that you’re breathing the cleanest air possible within your specific living conditions. Ever since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, I’ve taken time to reevaluate my habits during cold, flu and indoor allergy season.
All s in this review have a filter indicator button icon on the control panel that shows when it’s time to replace the filter by glowing red LED light. There are several ways to measure how effective an air purifier is at cleaning the air in a room, as well as what capacity or size of room it can handle and how quickly it does the job. Air change per hour, or ACH, is the rate of how many times all of the air in a room or area can be changed or purified in one hour.
The numbers listed in the table above represent the performance of each air purifier after an hour of running in a closed room. The air quality in our living room has stayed within the Very Good range, with the exception of the one night when my husband accidentally included a stowaway roll of toilet paper with the laundry in the washing machine. As I was shaking out all the particles of the brand-new, very, very full roll of toilet paper from all the clothing items one by one and vacuuming the dryer filter and floors, the air quality dropped to “Good.” This air purifier successfully removed the food smells from all that cooking in about 3 hours.
His apartment has become a de facto HouseFresh test lab where he pits the latest clean air technology against the perils of city center life. When he’s not putting a purifier through its paces, Paul likes to endlessly dig through dusty record shops (making his dust-free apartment even more important). In 2017, we tested the Dyson Pure Hot+Cool Link HP02 for particulate performance in the lab and in our
real-world New York apartment. It offers two distinct fan functions—diffuse and focused—and we tested it on both functions in the lab and in the real world. John Holecek further tested it for VOC removal in the lab, considering that Dyson had implemented an upgrade of its VOC filter since our 2016 test of its predecessor. In every case the HP02 offered disappointing performance relative to our top pick.
A model that scores well for dust removal should perform comparably for pollen. The Levoit LV-PUR131S is an excellent option for those looking for a powerful machine, capable of cleaning the air in a medium-sized room. With a pre-filter, H13 HEPA, and Activated Carbon filter under the hood, this unit makes light work of ultrafine particles, capturing 99.97% of pollutants as small as 0.3 microns. If you simply need to remove particulates from your air in a large space, the Blueair Blue Pure 211+ is easier to live with—it’s quieter, smaller, and better looking, which is why it’s our main pick for large spaces. If you have specific concerns about VOCs, the HM400 is by far the best portable air purifier we’ve ever found. However, it has excellent clean air delivery rate (CADR) certifications from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, which in some ways is a more rigorous measurement.
The fourth and final layer involves the capturing and containment of viruses and bacteria. As for specific features I appreciate, filling the water tank from the top is a huge plus and it’s large enough that it doesn’t have to be refilled every day. I also appreciate the night mode setting, which makes everything a little quieter and less bright. There are only four buttons, so operating the air purifier and making minor adjustments are a breeze.