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Best Air Purifier for Home
By Dr. Meg Christensen | Updated October 2025
I evaluate air purifiers on what actually matters: VOC adsorbent for toxic gases (not just particles), noise levels, and third-party tested PM 2.5 removal—no gimmicky ionizers, filters or smart features on my shortlist. Jump to my complete air purifier guide below for detailed advice.
Winix 5510: Best Air Purifier Overall
Winix’s new under-$200 model now tops my list. It does all three critical jobs an air purifier should do:
1. Large washable pre-filter captures pet hair and dust 2. True HEPA filter removes smoke, mold, pollen, and bacteria. 3. 0.5 lbs activated carbon adsorbs odors and VOCs—pet smells, wildfire smoke, cooking fumes
It's remarkably quiet, even on higher speeds. While 0.5 lbs is less carbon than Air Doctor or Medify, you can swap the carbon filter more frequently to maintain VOC removal.
The ionizer caveat: It includes PlasmaWave ionization (generates <0.01ppm ozone—technically safe but unnecessary). I recommend just keeping it off.
Best for: Budget-conscious buyers who want proven HEPA + carbon filtration.
AirDoctor 3500: Best Balanced Performance
The Air Doctor 3500 edges out most competitors with 1.5 lbs of activated carbon—triple the Winix and far superior to the thin carbon cloth in budget models. That matters for removing toxic VOCs from wildfire smoke, new construction off-gassing, and persistent odors.
It excels in third-party testing for PM 2.5 removal, and looks more polished than the Winix. While "UltraHEPA" is marketing fluff (all HEPA purifiers capture 100x smaller than 0.3-micron particles— read more in my guide below), I won’t hold it against them, because it is very effective.
Best for: Balanced performance at a reasonable price—more carbon than budget models but more affordable than the Austin Air. Great for most homes dealing with smoke, odors, or moderate VOC concerns.
Where to buy: Check the price and for discounts on the Air Doctor website directly (scroll down) or on Amazon.
Austin Air HealthMate Plus: Best for VOC Removal
This is what I use in my house. The HealthMate Plus is hands down the best at VOC removal with 15 lbs of activated carbon-zeolite—30x more than other purifiers. Zeolite specifically targets formaldehyde, a carcinogen that even carbon can't effectively remove.
Steel construction makes it the closest to a plastic-free air purifier available (important for avoiding plastic off-gassing). True HEPA handles particles; the massive carbon bed tackles wildfire smoke, cooking odors, and new construction VOCs.
Third-party tested to remove 90% of PM 2.5 within one hour. Runs very quietly at 42dB, and the filter lasts 5 years— lower cost-per-year than most twice-annual filter replacements.
Best for: Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), new construction off-gassing, formaldehyde concerns, or anyone wanting maximum VOC removal without plastic housing.
Where to buy: Use code FREEPRE25 for free pre-filter + free shipping (2025 only) on Austin Air’s website.
Medify MA-112: Best Medical Grade HEPA
The MA-112 uses a tightly-woven H14 medical-grade HEPA filter—a higher standard than typical H13 filters—without sacrificing airflow.
It also has 2 lbs of activated carbon for serious VOC removal: mold mustiness, wildfire smoke, cooking odors, and off-gassing. That's more carbon than the Air Doctor and significantly more than budget models.
What I like: true dark mode for bedrooms. It's essentially an upgraded Air Doctor with superior HEPA filtration and slightly more carbon capacity.
Best for: Mold sensitivity, immune-compromised individuals, or anyone wanting medical-grade filtration.
Where to buy: Accepts HSA/FSA. Get $15 off with code INTMED15 on Medify’s website here, or you can check Amazon pricing.
BlueAir Dust Magnet: Best for Dust & Allergies
The DustMagnet lives up to its name with dual large-surface filters and high airflow optimized for capturing dust, pet hair, and pollen—making it excellent for allergy sufferers.
The trade-off: Less efficient at smoke and VOC removal compared to Blueair's other models or my top picks above. The carbon-coated filter provides minimal VOC removal—fine for everyday odors, inadequate for wildfire smoke or off-gassing.
Quiet operation, bedroom-friendly with coverable indicator light, compact footprint, and reasonably priced.
Best for: Dust-heavy homes, pet owners, seasonal allergies—prioritizing large particle capture over smoke/VOC removal.
Where to buy: Check Blueair’s website or Amazon.
Coway AirMega AP-1512H: Best Budget Pick
The Coway is a bestseller every year for good reason—it's what I bought as a grad student and still run 24/7 in my bedroom years later.
The trade-off: Minimal VOC removal (just a thin carbon pad vs. pounds of activated carbon in premium models). But for particle removal—mold spores, dust mites, cooking smoke, candle soot—it's fast and thorough for PM 2.5 removal.
Exceptionally quiet and affordable, both upfront and for replacement filters. If your primary concern is particles rather than heavy VOC loads, this delivers excellent value.
Best for: Budget-conscious buyers prioritizing particle filtration over VOC removal. Great for allergies, dust, and everyday air cleaning.
Where to buy: Amazon
BlueAir 211i Max: Best for Large Rooms
This Blueair model now has a new high-carbon filter —not as intense as the picks above, but better than the standard filter, for tackling toxic VOCs from wildfire smoke and odors.
I was initially skeptical of their "HEPASilent" technology (it's not true HEPA—uses looser, electrostatically-charged fibers instead). But unlike gimmicky HEPA alternatives, Blueair is AHAM certified for PM 2.5 removal, proving it performs equivalently to true HEPA for mold, dust mites, smoke, and fine particles.
Exceptionally quiet and designed for large spaces (up to 600+ sq ft at 5 air changes per hour).
Best for: Large rooms or high-ceiling spaces. More affordable than the Austin Air, and more aesthetically pleasing than the most others on this list.
Where to buy: Check BlueAir’s website or Amazon.
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Are Air Purifiers Worth It? Do They Actually Work?
Do air purifiers actually work?
Yes. Air purifiers with true HEPA filters work, and can both improve your health and the health of your home.
Indoor air is 2-100 times more polluted than outdoor air, even if you can’t smell or see how bad it is. Air purifiers reduce your indoor air pollution by removing Particulate Matter (like wildfire smoke, mold spores, and pollen.) Air purifiers with adsorbents can also remove VOCs (like formaldehyde). Lowering your daily exposure to particulate matter and harmful VOCs can help reduce your risk of long-term health problems.
Are air purifiers worth it?
Yes. If you’re like most people, you spend around 90% of your time indoors, and a lot of that at home. While you can’t control the outdoor air quality, you can control your indoor air quality. As long as you choose one that actually works, an air purifier is one of the best investments for your overall health.
Are probiotic air purifiers worth it?
No. While I love the idea of probiotics incorporated into homes, this is not an effective way to remove fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) or VOCs, which can have serious consequences for cardiovascular, lung, and cognitive health, from your air. Until I see third party testing showing one of these can truly remove PM 2.5, I consider these a form of healthwashing, or wishful thinking.
Are moss air purifiers worth it?
No, unless you had the equivalent of 680 house plants worth of moss. The 1989 NASA study that’s often referenced as proof that plants can purify the air is wildly overstated. While it’s true that plants can remove some VOCs and carbon dioxide, this study only applies to a small, sealed, space station style environment. In a regular house, you would need about 680 plants to replicate those results. See my short video about it here.
Until I see third party testing of PM 2.5 reduction by moss, I consider moss purifiers a form of healthwashing. They may be pretty, and certainly aren’t doing harm, but aren’t protecting you from dangerous particles, either.
Are water air purifiers worth it?
No. These are a gimmick. Until I see third party testing showing that PM 2.5 can be captured effectively by water, I consider these a form of healthwashing. They aren’t protecting you from dangerous particles.
How Air Purifiers Work: The Science Behind Clean Air
Air purifiers use a three-stage filtration system to remove different types of pollutants from indoor air. Understanding how each filter works will help you choose the right air purifier for your specific needs—whether that's allergies, pet dander, smoke, or odors.
Stage 1: Pre-Filter (Captures Large Particles)
The pre-filter is the first line of defense, capturing large airborne particles including:
Pollen and allergens
Pet hair and pet dander
Dust (including larger dust mite particles)
What to look for: If you need an air purifier for allergies, pets, or dust removal, prioritize a large pre-filter with high airflow capacity. Choose models with washable, reusable pre-filters to reduce long-term maintenance costs. Regular cleaning (every 2-4 weeks) keeps your air purifier running efficiently.
Stage 2: True HEPA Filter (Removes 99.97% of Microscopic Particles)
The True HEPA filter (High-Efficiency Particulate Air filter) captures ultrafine particles, including:
Wildfire smoke particles
Mold spores and mycotoxins
Dust mite allergens and feces
Bacteria and some viruses
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5)
Key fact: True HEPA filters must meet strict standards—removing 99.97% of particles 0.3 microns in size, and particles much larger and smaller. This is the gold standard for air purification. Don't be fooled by "HEPA-type" or "HEPA-like" filters, which don't meet these requirements.
Stage 3: Activated Carbon Filter (Absorbs Odors, VOCs & Gases)
The activated carbon filter (or gas adsorbent layer) removes gaseous pollutants too small for HEPA filters to catch, including:
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Cooking odors and kitchen smells
Smoke odors from cigarettes or wildfires
Formaldehyde from new furniture, carpets, and building materials
Chemical fumes and off-gassing from paint or cleaning products
PM2.5 vs PM10: Understanding Particulate Matter and Air Quality
What is Particulate Matter?
Particulate Matter is basically a fancy word for particles. They come from pollen, dust mite fragments, mold spores, and sources of combustion— like cooking, natural gas heaters, or using a toaster. Wildfire smoke is a mixture of particulate matter and gasses.
What is Particulate Matter 10?
Also called PM10, this refers to pollens, molds, dust, and dust mite fragments are particles that are below 10 microns in size, but above 2.5 microns in size. Their main effect is irritation of the throat and lungs. They can cause coughing, wheezing, and exacerbations of asthma, and reduced ability to remove bacteria and viruses from the lungs.
What is PM 2.5?
These are very small particles that can pass through your lungs and directly into your blood stream. This includes smaller fragments of smoke, mold spores, and particles formed by chemical reactions of gases like sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX), soot, and airborne metals.
Why is PM 2.5 bad?
PM 2.5 can increase the risk of heart attack and worsening of heart failure, increase ER visits, hospital admissions, and premature deaths, and is increasingly linked with dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. It’s a major global health concern, both outdoors and indoors.
How do you remove Particulate Matter from home?
With a true HEPA filter. All regular HEPA filters are capable of removing particles 100 times smaller than 0.3 microns at nearly 100% efficiency— it’s boring, but true. HEPA means High Efficiency Particulate Arrestance. Due to complicated physics, 0.3 microns is the hardest size of particle to capture. It’s actually easier to capture particles both larger and smaller than this!
Cooking Air Pollution: How Much PM2.5 Does Cooking Actually Create?
Cooking creates surprising levels of indoor air pollution—even when you can't see smoke.
I did a real-time air quality test— watch the video by clicking on the photo, or read the results here.
PM2.5 levels (fine particulate matter) spiked from 1 to 57 during normal dinner preparation—that's over 6 times the EPA's safe outdoor limit of 9 micrograms per cubic meter. Simply sautéing chicken and boiling noodles generated dangerous levels of airborne particles linked to heart disease, asthma, and cancer risk. Even with a kitchen exhaust fan running on high and an open door, indoor air quality remained hazardous at 44 PM2.5 immediately after cooking. It took 30 minutes for particle levels to naturally drop back to 9, while VOCs (volatile organic compounds) remained elevated. This demonstrates why kitchen ventilation and air purifiers are essential for healthy indoor air—cooking pollution happens daily, even when your air looks clear. Running your range hood every time you cook and using a HEPA air purifier with activated carbon filtration can protect your family from these invisible cooking fumes and particulate matter.
What is a True HEPA Filter? How HEPA Air Purifiers Work
What does HEPA mean?
HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air. For an air filter to be called a HEPA filter, it must be capable of removing at least 99.97% of particles that are 0.3 microns in size, like pollens, mold spores, bacteria, and others. HEPA filters easily capture particles 10x smaller and much larger than 0.3 microns, at about 100% efficiency.
How does HEPA filtration work?
The graph below/to the right looks a little complicated, but if you’re interested, it’s very cool to see how HEPA filters remove mold spores, particles, dust, and other particles.
On the left hand side, the particle removal efficiency ranges from 0 to 1.0. A value of 1.0 means 100% of the particles are removed. Along the bottom is the particle diameter, which ranges from 0.01 to 10.00 microns.
The curved lines are the MERV ratings— MERV means Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value. You may have seen MERV 13, 14, or 15 filters for your furnace, for example. MERV is a measure of how good an air filter is at trapping particles.
The dip in the middle of each MERV curve happens right around 0.3 microns in particle size— every level of MERV has a hard time capturing this size. This comes from a building retrofit paper, but the same concept applies to HEPA filters.
For a filter to be called HEPA, it must capture 0.3 micron particles with 99.95% efficiency (so, better than what is shown here). HEPA filters easily capture particles 10x smaller and much larger than 0.3 microns, at about 100% efficiency.
Source: Persily, Andrew & Chapman, R. & Emmerich, Steven & Dols, William & Davis, H. & Lavappa, P. & Rushing, A.. (2007). Building Retrofits for Increased Protection Against Chemical and Biological Releases, here.
True HEPA vs HEPA-Type vs ULPA Filters: What's the Difference?
Are HEPA-style or 99% HEPA filters the same as regular HEPA filters?
No! The terms HEPA-style, HEPA-like, 99% HEPA, and others, are not real HEPA filters. These do not filter particles with the same efficiency as HEPA filters, and may not filter small particles at all. HEPASilent is the exception so far; it is a more loosely woven, charged filter made by BlueAir and importantly, third party testing and its CADR numbers back up its effectiveness.
Is HyperHEPA or UltraHEPA better than regular HEPA?
No, these are marketing tactics. If you look closely, these filters are just H12, H13, or H14 HEPA filters. They all remove particles 100 times smaller than 0.3 microns— that’s the definition of HEPA. Due to complicated physics, 0.3 microns is the hardest size of particle to capture. It’s actually easier to capture particles both larger and smaller than this. Some of the brands listed above make the claim their HEPA filters are better than others, but I’ve decided not to hold it against them because their machines work really well in third party testing to protect people from dangerous particles and gasses. Big of me, I know! ;)
What is an ULPA filter?
ULPA filters are Ultra Low Penetration Air filters. They can actually capture even more particles than HEPA, but, they do not work as well as HEPA filters, because they are so tight, that air has such a hard time getting through them. They have a very low CADR (clean air delivery rate). They may sound better, but they are not recommended, because they clean very small amounts of air.
Ionizers, UV-C Light & PECO Technology: Do You Need Extra Features?
What is a PECO air purifier?
PECO stands for PhotoElectroChemical Oxidation. It oxidizes micro-organisms, effectively killing them. This technology has been around for decades, but in 2016, was added to the Molekule air purifier. Unfortunately, it was found in multiple tests unable to filter out harmful particulate matter like PM 2.5 or other gasses nearly as effectively as regular HEPA filters can. The Molekule company was forced to retract these claims. While it is an interesting technology, with potential future applications, it remains just not as effective as regular HEPA filtration. The Molekule filter now has a HEPA filter and a PECO filter. This is a major and well-publicized version of healthwashing.
What is UVGI?
UVGI stands for Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation. This technology does have the ability to kill microbes, however, in most home air purifiers, the air flows by it too quickly, leaving inadequate contact time for it to be effective. UVGI also does not address the main issues in most homes, which are particulate matter and VOCs, rather than microbes.
What are air purifiers with ionizing technology?
Ionization is a very popular technology add-on for air purifiers. If they are strong enough, they emit ions, which stick to particles in the air, and cause them to become “heavier” and stick to items in the room. Sure, the air is cleaner temporarily, but now the particulate matter is settled on your stuff. Worse, if an ionizer is strong enough to do this effectively, it is also generating ozone, which is toxic to your lungs and causes inflammation.
Why are air purifiers with ozone generation unsafe?
Ozone, O3, is the free radical version of oxygen. It is highly reactive with particles in the air, and also highly reactive with cells in your body. Breathing in ozone can cause lung inflammation and respiratory issues.
Do Air Purifiers Remove Odors? VOCs, Smoke & Gas Filtration Explained
What are VOCs? Why are VOCs harmful?
VOCs are Volatile Organic Compounds, or odors. They are super tiny chemicals that are lighter than air. They are easily released from their sources into the air around them. Importantly, “organic” refers to carbon-based chemicals, not what you might normally think of (natural or organically grown foods, for example).
They are gasses, and many have harmful properties— formaldehyde is the most dangerous example (it is a carcinogen) and is found in the home in glues holding furniture together, new carpet or vinyl flooring, sealants, stains, and finishes on wood furniture or flooring, engineered wood and particleboard, paints, area rugs with synthetic backing and glues, and cleaning products. Formaldehyde and benzene are VOCs released from daily indoor products and are both known carcinogens. There are thousands of other VOCs which contribute to asthma, allergy, frequent headaches, and lung issues.
The “new house smell” is simply VOCs off-gassing into the air. Interestingly, you can’t always smell them, because your nose gets used to certain scents, or can’t detect them at low levels.
Do air purifiers remove VOCs?
Yes, if it has activated charcoal, zeolite, or another gas adsorbent. Gasses are not particles, and therefore cannot be captured by a HEPA filter. An adsorbent is used instead. Adsorption is a chemistry-based process that works when a gas clings to the surface of the adsorbent, where it stays trapped. Activated charcoal is very good at capturing a wide range of odors (also called VOCs) from the air.
A simple carbon cloth will not capture much, but if a pound or more of activated carbon is added, that increases the ability to adsorb odors. Sometimes, mineral mixtures are added to activated charcoal to increase the types of VOCs that can be adsorbed from the air. Potassium iodide, potassium permanganate, and zeolite are three different mixtures that are commonly added because each has a different pore size that can adsorb different chemicals better than charcoal alone. Zeolite is capable of adsorbing formaldehyde, which is important, because charcoal cannot do it on its own.
I also recommend removing VOCs from the source— purchasing low-VOC furniture and decor, and not using scented products (or choosing safer ones).
What is the best air purifier for VOCs?
The best air purifier for removing VOCs, smells, odors, and harmful gasses is the Austin Air, listed above. It adsorbs VOCs with 15 pounds of activated carbon-zeolite — which is important, because zeolite adsorbs formaldehyde, a carcinogen. This is the best air purifier for odors, chemical sensitivities, off-gassing new-build homes, and smoke smells.
Air Purifiers for Mold, Radon, Pet Dander & Dust: What Works
Does air purifier remove radon?
No. A VOC adsorbent like activated charcoal might capture a very tiny bit of radon, but the only way to truly remove radon is to have it removed by a professional company. They usually install a radon release tube. Radon is very dangerous and is the second leading cause of lung cancer, so this is a life-saving point! Read my guide radon testing and recommended radon detectors here.
Can an air purifier help with mold?
Yes, an air purifier can help with mold in three main ways. First, it can capture mold spores that are floating freely in the air, reducing the chances they will land and overgrow on a humid or damp area. Second, if you’re allergic to the mold, it can reduce your exposure as it captures these spores. And third, an air purifier with activated carbon or minerals can adsorb mold-associated VOCs and odors from the air, making it smell less musty during recovery from a mold problem. Removing the source of mold is also very important; having a mold inspection and remediation done, or using a dehumidifier to prevent excess dampness are good ideas in conjunction with using an air purifier for mold.
Do I still need to dust with an air purifier?
Yes, but less often. Air purifiers are very efficient at capturing airborne dust, but are not strong enough to lift dust that settles on surfaces in your room off into the air.
Best Air Purifiers for Allergies: Do They Help with Symptoms?
Can air purifier help with allergies?
Yes, an air purifier can help with allergies in three ways. First, it can trap large particles like pollen and pet hair on its pre-filter. Second, an air purifier with a HEPA filter is great at capturing smaller particles like mold spores, dust mite debris, and even cooking or wildfire smoke particles that can irritate the lungs, nose, and throat. Finally, an air purifier with activated carbon or minerals can remove irritating VOCs from the air, which also contribute to allergy.
Air Purifier Certifications: AHAM, CARB, & Verified Reviews
Why is it hard to find a good air purifier?
Air Purifiers are high tech, expensive, increasingly important for people to have, and work on an invisible level. Unfortunately, this creates a perfect storm for healthwashing, and the number of air purifier companies making false claims to trick customers into thinking they’re buying a superior product has been well-documented as a problem.
What are the best air purifier reviews?
Interior Medicine has the best air purifier reviews. :)
The majority of air purifier reviews are based on anecdotal in-home use (“I noticed less dust,”) aggregate customer reviews, ease-of-use, aesthetics— and sometimes favor unproven, or even harmful technologies (ozone generation, for example). While of course some of these things are practical, air purifiers ultimately are a health tool, so I think the standard for ratings should be higher.
There are a handful of air purifier testing platforms and news outlets that actually conduct systematic testing of air purifiers using high-precision particle counters, which is great. They’ll typically pump the same amount of smoke in a closed room of a certain size and time how quickly the purifier filters the air. This kind of testing is crucial because air purifiers aren’t regulated in the United States, and the effectiveness of any given purifier depends not only on the kind of filter it contains but also how efficient it is as actually bringing in dirty air and re-dispersing clean air back into the room. For example, filters with new technology sound best— but regular HEPA H12 filters with good air flow often outperform them. Real-life testing allows us to know this.
For Interior Medicine, the ability of an air purifier to filter particulate matter from a room, as above, is a baseline starting point for what makes a good pick, as the health risks of particulate matter, the main thing HEPA filters capture, are high. However, I also think more attention should be paid to filtering Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from indoor air, which also contribute to asthma, allergy, frequent headaches, lung issues, and can even contribute to cancer (like formaldehyde and benzene). And, there are features included in air purifiers that can negatively impact on health: generating ozone, emitting excess blue light, operating at a high noise level. I prefer air purifiers without any of these health annoyances, or ones that are easily avoided.
Can I depend on 5-star reviews to find a good air purifier?
Ratings that rely on 5-star customer reviews, or blogs that aggregate customer reviews, are uniquely unreliable for air purifiers because the placebo effect comes in to play — buying something expensive certainly has the power to make you feel like your air is cleaner (even when it isn’t). For example, the $800+ Molekule had great reviews before it was discovered to be one of the least effective air purifiers on the market— likely because it was aesthetically pleasing and had great marketing. They have since been forced to retract their claims and have added a regular HEPA filter to their machines. 5 star reviews are not based on particles, science, or effectiveness. Instead, they’re based on experience, which isn’t super reliable in this area.
Are there any 3rd party certifications for air purifiers?
Very few. And, the ones that exist are voluntary. Air purifiers are a very inconsistent and unregulated industry, especially for portable in-home air purifiers that the majority of people need.
CARB (the California Air Resources Board) and UL (Underwriters Laboratories) are third parties that verify that air purifiers don’t generate ozone.
AHAM (Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers) has standardized the clean air delivery rate (CADR) but it only applies to how well a purifier can clean air with dust, pollen or tobacco smoke (not VOCs, viruses, or other contaminants).
HEPA is not a 3rd party certification, but legally, a company can only say their filter is a HEPA filter if that is indeed true.
What do CADR and CFM mean?
CADR = Clean Air Delivery Rate. CFM = Cubic Feet per Minute. These are two metrics commonly used to measure how effective an air purifier is.
The CFM is how much of a room’s air volume is filtered each minute. A general rule of thumb is to look for at least 100 CFM for every 250 square feet of space.
The CADR is the CFM multiplied by the efficiency of the filter. It only applies to particulate matter (it does not measure how well VOCs or microbes are filtered). The CADR is a fine measurement if the purifier has a true HEPA filter. It is not useful for a purifier with a very high CFM but a non-HEPA filter: this would mean that air moves through rapidly, but doesn’t actually get clean. A good rule of thumb: choose a HEPA air purifier with a CADR 2/3 of your room’s area. A 20 x15 square foot room has an area of 300. So, a CADR of 200 minimum would be ideal.
These are important measures to consider, and typically play in to how well an air purifier does in testing. But, it’s not the whole picture: the HEPA filter density matters, too. This is why I rely on real-world testing rather than exclusively on these numbers.
Air Purifier Placement Guide: How Many Do You Need Per Room?
Where should air purifiers be placed?
Prioritize placing an air purifier in your bedroom, where you spend 1/3 of your life. Sleep is also when your body goes about repairing cells and healing, so having clean air and a healthy environment is important to support this process. If you can consider two air purifiers, placing one between the kitchen and living area is ideal because it will help capture cooking particles and odors and make the air in your living area, where you likely spend the second-most amount of time, safe.
How many air purifiers do I need?
I recommend considering both the square footage the air purifier is certified to clean, as well as the unique shape of your floor plan and home’s air flow. There’s a bit of an art to it. For example:
If you have an open floor plan, choosing an air purifier can be as straightforward as checking the square footage its rated to clean, since air will move freely on an unobstructed path toward the air purifier, then evenly distributed back throughout the room once its cleaned. Air doesn’t have to work its way around walls or door openings in this case.
If you have a house with lots of separation between rooms, you can still get one air purifier with a large square footage rating, but I would also consider helping the air move between spaces a little better by keeping doors open and using ceiling fans or other quiet fans to encourage air movement. If that’s not possible, you might consider two smaller air purifiers to focus on better on cleaning the air in each room separately.
If you’re not sure about your setup, I recommend using an air quality monitor placed in the room or area farthest away from your purifier to see if it’s purification reach is adequate for you. Relying on a purifier’s built-in air quality sensor isn’t useful in this situation, since it’s only sensing the air immediately around it. I have several highly accurate air quality monitors listed here.
How often do I need to change air purifier filters?
It will depend on the size and type of filter you have, and if you go through any poor air quality events like a wildfire or other thick smoke. Every air purifier brand and model will tell you how often the filter needs to be changed based on regular use, and will often have an indicator light go off. However, I recommend always replacing the HEPA and carbon filters after smoke events.
How often do I need to turn my air purifier on?
Air purifiers are meant to be run 24/7 on their low setting, unless during times of high air pollution (wildfire, burning food indoors, or acute off-gassing from new furniture, for example.) If you want to save energy, turn air purifiers on whenever you get home, and start the one in your bedroom 20 minutes before you go to sleep so it has a chance to thoroughly clean the air.
How quiet of an air purifier should I look for?
I consider anything under 50 decibels (dB) to be quiet enough for bedroom use. For reference, 50dB is about the sound you’d hear in a quiet office, or coming from a quiet refrigerator. It is generally considered a reasonable and safely quiet level for sleep.
When sound is unwanted, and affects the health and well-being of people or other living creatures, it meets the definition of noise pollution. The EPA confirms that it’s not just an annoyance, but is as important to your health as other types of pollution are, like air or water pollution. Excess noise, especially at night, can actually contribute to heart attack, and have negative impacts on cardiovascular health, including high blood pressure.
Best Air Purifying Plants: Do They Actually Clean Indoor Air?
680 of any plant you like! The 1989 NASA study that’s often referenced as proof that plants can purify the air is wildly overstated. While it’s true that plants can remove some VOCs and carbon dioxide, this study only applies to a small, sealed, space station style environment. In a regular house, you would need about 680 plants to replicate those results. See my short video about it here.
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