Air purifiers - what actually works?
Whenever I search for posts on this, it seems to be mostly long AI generated lists in the replies (or even the body of the post itself) and I can't help but wonder if it's just all a big marketing. Would appreciate to hear genuine experiences/reviews from…
Whenever I search for posts on this, it seems to be mostly long AI generated lists in the replies (or even the body of the post itself) and I can't help but wonder if it's just all a big marketing. Would appreciate to hear genuine experiences/reviews from people who have had long term success with a certain brand/model purifier. I'm in an apartment, mostly concerned with having one in my living room and another in my bedroom. Budget is ideally around $500 or less - I don't need to purify large spaces. If my budget is unrealistic I am open to stretching it if needed. On the flipside, if there are options that work really well for less than that I'm all ears.
Collected discussion
I've got 5 levoit units around my house. One large, two medium, two small depending on the rooms. Levoit has been around forever, huge company, loads of data behind their products. They circulate tons of air. Are quiet. And based on the filters they're removing a lot of dust and particles. Also have two levoit humidifiers in our bedrooms and have noticed measurable improvements in sleep quality (fitbit/Garmin)
I have the exact same setup - small BlueAir in each room (I think the 511i) and it works great. They are not too expensive and they're small/quiet enough to be in all of your main rooms. I used to have a Levoit but the specific sound it made was annoying to me. Extremely stupid reason, but I rehomed it to a family member who loves it.
Not a stupid reason at all. I hybrid WFH from either a little corner L-desk bedroom office, or a (kind of ridiculous) ergonomic couch setup in my living room. Either way, it's quiet and even some subtlety-annoying machine whirring sound would probably throw me off.
My only issue with Levoit is that they require relatively frequent filter replacements. Like every couple of months, vs. 6 months+ for some other brands/models. OTOH, my wife notices when the filters are getting dirty before the light even comes on, so it's not that they're asking for replacement sooner than they need to (at least in our house w/ 2 cats). I just wish the filters were cheaper and/or lasted longer.
The living room is roughly around 200 sqft. Couldn't find my tape measure. But good to know, thank you.
Appreciate the idea - a few years ago I probably would have done that. But now I'd prefer to have a nice balance of aesthetics - if I'm forking over some cash for a quality purifier I'd like it to look decent/blend in within my space as well.
Someone else mentioned the noise their Levoit makes annoys them - can anyone attest to this? Are they noisier than most other units?
How much was it? I'll add it to my list to look in to.
Thank you for sharing. Which Winix model do you recommend?
Wirecutter has done great reviews with relatively scientific testing including measurements of power use, filtration speed, etc. so I would look up their work. My personal preference is towards a brand called Blue Air. The outer filter is just a stretchy fabric that I can throw in the wash, so it catches normal dust, pet hair, etc. I'm able to use the inner filter, the more expensive one, for a year then - the device will tell you to change it sooner, but I reset the reminder and just change the filters every fall. If it were me in your shoes, I would get a pair of them, and run them at a reasonable speed 24x7. I run my bedroom one at the highest speed overnight and the lowest speed during the day. In my office and other areas, I just use it at a low speed or medium speed all the time because I don't want as much noise there. I don't mind the noise at night. The bigger the device you get, the more space it takes, but the more effectively and quiet it can clean the air.
Sounds great. Do you have a specific unit you recommend for those an average sized living room and a bit smaller bedroom? All good if not, I'm happy to dive into a bunch of research and reviewing/comparing specs. Just wanted a starting point from real peoples' experiences. Of note (which I should've mentioned in my post) I have 2 cats as well.
I just saw an ad from them which is what actually prompted me to post this (although I've been researching them on and off for a couple months, but fell into "analysis paralysis" with an overabundance of information)
r/airpurifiers
If you’re looking for best bang for your buck and aesthetics aren’t a huge concern, I’m pretty sure that the diy air purifiers where you just tape air filters to a box fan are just as effective as the more expensive ones
"Clean Air Kits" makes good small space units. They're just prebuilt Corsi-Rosenthal enclosures that accept your choice of HVAC filters and use computer fans for low noise and energy efficiency. They work great, especially if you get a DIY kit, get some better noise normalized static pressure 120mm fans, and the right filters.
US made Austin Air purifiers, they have a junior size and full size Canada made AllerAir purifiers Both brands have UVC lights for the output, and small/portable/car models available. Both made of steel, not plastic, safer for chemical sensitivities. I prefer the AllerAir, but the Austin Air is a solid purifier.
I think it goes Winix, Coway, Dyson, and Levoit. Levoit is better for the price of filters which is nice. The goal is to have one that is rated for the space of the room. 5-6 air changes per hour (ach) is ideal for people with allergies and this is based off the square footage. The most popular Levoit one The Levoit Core 300 delivers 4.8 ach in a 222 square foot room. So if the room is 160 square feet the ACH would be 6.0.
I have an AirFanta 3Pro. Look it up on YouTube, it’s amazing. They are releasing a new product (AirFanta 5Pro) in September that will perform similarly but look much better aesthetically and have an air purity sensor built in. Highly recommend.
Winix 100%! Look up Project Farm's video on YouTube. He did a lot of good testing and found Winix to be the best. I have it and the Coway recommended by Wirecutter and the Winix is noticeably much more sensitive, which I like.
I’ve used a Veva 9000 for over 5 years with no issues, it’s not a large device so depending on size of your home you may want 2-4 spread around.
They all work for the purpose of which they are intended. So identify what you are trying to filter and purchase accordingly. If you are wondering what brand is BIFL, Honeywell is excellent, so is Levoit.
They are literally all just a fan and a replaceable HEPA filter these days. The electrostatic ones used to be a thing, but the ozone they generated was found to be harmful, so they seem to be largely gone from the market. Everything else is literally the same thing as a furnace filter taped to a box fan, just in nicer packaging.
I have 3 blueair (i love them they are very keep it simple stupid) Two big 211+ i think and one smaller one. Then in my bedroom I have a puroair that i also love
Check out housefresh.com They do independent reviews that test not only the CADR of units but also the energy requirements and filter expenses to give you overall reliability and value. Eg, Clean Air Kits and Levoit are very highly ranked in their summaries. Molekule does very poorly on both filtration and energy efficiency
I have asthma, allergies, and live in an area prone to wildfires. I have a large 3 bedroom split-level house, so I own a catalytic pure air, a Dyson humidify + cool, two Honeywell’s and I use a levoit at the office. No issues with any of them across the board, and the catalytic and Dyson both work well, but the filters on the catalytic purifier air are more expensive. The Honeywell purifiers are in our bedrooms and I do have to replace the filters every 3 months or so, but they’re worth it. I’ve had the Honeywell for 7 years, catalytic and Dyson for 5, levoit for 2.5 and I have no complaints so far. The levoit has an app with some schedule and auto settings, which is nice. It’s also very reasonably priced, especially compared to the Dyson and catalytic. I can’t speak to its longevity yet though.