It’s sad but it’s true: the air we breathe just isn’t as clean as we want it to be. From dust and mold to smoke and all sorts of odors, we take in a lot of gunk with every breath we take. That’s why air purifiers have become a necessity for many households.
Air purifiers run the air circulating inside your home through a filter, allowing it to capture nearly all airborne allergens, along with bacteria, viruses, and other unwanted things that don’t quite present themselves to the naked eye. Suffice to say, if you want to be sure you’re breathing clean air all through your waking and sleeping hours, it’s imperative to have one running all day.
The best air purifiers will vary depending on your specific needs. The bigger the room, for instance, the more powerful your air purifier needs to be. Every model of air purifier has a specific rating about the amount of square footage it can cover, which requires you to take into account a room’s overall size, including the height of the ceilings. Simply put, whichever one you get better be a good fit for whatever room you will use it in.
You also want to take into account the noise levels you’re willing to put up with. If you’re using an air purifier that’s rated to handle the exact size of the room you’re using, then you’ll have to run it at the highest setting to actually adequately filter the air in the room , which means it’s going to operate at its loudest volumes. While you may able to tolerate that in the living room or kitchen, it’s definitely not something you want to have when using an air purifier in the while catching some sleep in the bedroom late at night.
These are the best air purifiers to clean the air in your home.
Clorox Tabletop Air Purifier
Pros
- Very affordable
- Very compact
- Quiet, even at the highest setting
Cons
- Basic functionality
- Limited coverage area
Maximum Coverage Area: 200 square feet
Filtration: Pre-filter, HEPA filter
CADR Rating: 53 CFM smoke, 59 CFM dust, 55 CFM pollen
For many bedrooms, home offices, and small living areas, a tabletop air purifier is usually all that’s needed to keep the air clean. We love this model from Clorox for those settings, as it combines a really affordable price with effective air purification. Rated to cover areas up to 200 square feet, it uses a two-stage filter that uses a pre-filter to catch large particles (e.g. pet hair) and a HEPA filter for smaller allergens and particulates. It also pulls in air from all directions, so you can place it anywhere in the room, with the device taking around 30 minutes to clean out a 200 square foot space (the smaller the room, the faster it can clean it out). There are three power settings and three timer settings, so you can just set those and leave it to do its business. It’s also very quiet, producing a noise around the same levels as an electric fan at the highest setting, so you can keep it there even during nighttime (it’s just like a having a white noise machine). The device also has an indicator that lets you know when it’s time to change the filter, which makes maintenance a lot easier.
- CAPTURES 99.97% OF ALLERGENS AND PARTICULATES AND REDUCES VIRUSES AND BACTERIA. The Clorox Tabletop...
Blueair Blue Pure 511
Pros
- Very energy-efficient
- Very quiet
- Easy single-button control
Cons
- Basic functionality
- No timer
Maximum Coverage Area: 432 square feet
Filtration: Pre-filter, Activated carbon filter, HEPA filter
CADR Rating: 112 CFM smoke, 112 CFM dust, 112 CFM pollen
While Blueair calls this their small room air purifier model, it can actually handle decent-sized rooms up to 432 square feet, which it’s rated to clean in around 30 minutes. As such, it should clean out really smaller 200 square foot rooms in under half the time the Clorox model above will. Granted, it’s also almost twice the price, so you have to pay a small premium for that added power. It also seems to run just a smidgen quieter, so it’s excellent for keeping noise levels down. We love how it looks like a modern speaker, so you can keep it on a side table without looking out of place, while being extremely easy to move anywhere in your home. If you want an air purifier that can clean out a small room fast without making much noise, this is definitely the way to go.
- COMPACT FOR FRESH AIR: Only Blueair air purifiers use HEPASilent technology; Blue Pure 511 air...
Clorox Large Room Air Purifier
Pros
- Handles large rooms capably
- Very affordable for its rated coverage area
- Auto mode makes operation dead simple
Cons
- Very loud on high setting
Maximum Coverage Area: 1,500 square feet
Filtration: Pre-filter, HEPA filter, Activated carbon filter
CADR Rating: 206 CFM smoke, 219 CFM dust, 232 CFM pollen
We love Clorox’s air purifier line, which offers some of the best combination of power and affordability. This one, for instance, can handle large rooms up to 1,500 square feet, all while coming in at a fraction of the price of similarly-powered options. Do note, it’s only rated to clean a 1,500 square foot room once in an hour (mostly because it minimizes using the highest setting, which is very loud), so it’s going to take a while to work its magic when used in bigger spaces. Like their tabletop model above, this one has all its controls at the top. Unlike it, though, it has an air quality sensor whose readings are displayed at a small screen at the same top section, eliminating the guesswork out of judging the air quality in the room. It has four power settings, three timer settings, and an auto setting that automatically adjusts the fan speed based on the prevailing air quality, so it starts off at high, then lowers gradually as the air in the room gets better. Other features we like include the filter change indicator, the screen lock (to keep kids from accidentally pressing the settings), and the two brightness settings for the integrated light.
- CAPTURES 99.97% OF ALLERGENS AND PARTICULATES* AND 99.9% OF VIRUSES AND BACTERIA.** With the Clorox...
Coway Airmega Mighty
Pros
- Very compact
- Eco mode and auto mode available
- Energy-efficient
Cons
- Surprisingly heavy for its size
Maximum Coverage Area: 361 square feet
Filtration: Pre-filter, HEPA filter, Activated carbon filter
CADR Rating: 247 CFM smoke, 232 CFM dust, 241 CFM pollen
One of the bestselling air purifiers around, this model is very space-efficient, allowing it to take up relatively little space compared to similarly-powered options. We also love the looks, which can easily blend into the interior of most any room (it looks like a giant iPod Nano). It has an auto mode, so you can just set that and leave it to its own devices, automatically cleaning out the air as needed on its own, although it also has an eco mode if you want the most energy-efficient operation. And yes, it has impressive energy consumption, using up very little power even after a full day of use. Do note, it does get a bit noisy at the highest setting, although it’s not that much noisier than a loud electric fan. Other than the highest setting, though (which you only really need at the start), it runs so quiet you’ll barely even notice it. The filters tend to last a full year, too, so you don’t have to keep replacing it every six months the way some other air purifiers require, although their filter is admittedly a bit pricier than other options.
- [Coverage] Designed to clean spaces up to 361 sq. ft. in 12.5 minutes or up to 874 sq. ft. in 30...
Levoit Core 300S-P
Pros
- Wi-Fi app control is very handy
- Auto mode and a sleep auto mode
- Quieter than others even at highest setting
- Specialty replacement filters available for specific needs (e.g. smoke, pet hair)
Cons
- A bit big for a small room air purifier
Maximum Coverage Area: 219 square feet
Filtration: Pre-filter, Multi-layer HEPA filter, Activated carbon filter
CADR Rating: 260 CFM smoke, 260 CFM dust, 260 CFM pollen
We love the quiet operation of this air purifier, which manages to really keep the noise down even at the highest setting. Granted, it’s not very powerful, only being rated to clean rooms up to 219 square feet, but it does pack in a load of features that justify the price tag. For instance, there’s an air quality sensor, whose readings are displayed using color indicators at the control deck on top, as well as built-in Wi-Fi, so you can just control everything from the companion app, so you don’t have to get up from your couch or mattress. Heck, you can even control multiple air purifiers (from the same brand, of course) on the app. It doesn’t just have an auto mode for hassle-free operation, it also has a quiet auto mode that never uses the highest fan speed to keep any sound at a minimum, along with manual modes, timers, and a lock. There’s also Alexa support if you like using Amazon’s voice assistant. The filter is also very easy to replace, while giving you options in specialty filters for your specific needs (they have one tailored for pet allergies and one focused on removing smoke, for instance).
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Shark NeverChange Air Purifier Max
Pros
- Energy-efficient
- Filter rated to last up to five years
- Very quiet operation
Cons
- No Wi-Fi or app
Maximum Coverage Area: 1,400 square feet
Filtration: Pre-filter, pet particle barrier, Multi-layer HEPA filter, Activated carbon filter
CADR Rating: 204 CFM smoke, 204 CFM dust, 204 CFM pollen
Most air purifiers will require you to replace their filters anywhere from six months to a year. It’s quite inconvenient, which is why we love this model, which lets you use the same filter for five years before needing to be changed. Does the filter really last that long? Well… we haven’t used it for that long, so we don’t know, but it definitely makes for a great convenience. For something that’s rated to handle big spaces, it’s actually surprisingly quiet, too, producing no more than a an audible white noise hum even at the highest setting. All controls are available directly on the device, with a control panel on top and a round display in front that shows air quality readings (yes, it has an onboard sensor). There’s an auto mode here to make operation easy, while using up minimal energy at around 0.8kWh a day when using that setting. Do note, you’ll need to regularly clean the two pre-filters (main pre-filter and an inner pet particle barrier) regularly, since they will accumulate large debris.
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Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max
Pros
- Capable of handling large spaces
- Very quiet even at highest setting
- Energy-efficient for a large room air purifier
- Can be controlled from an app
Cons
- Larger footprint
Maximum Coverage Area: 3,048 square feet
Filtration: Pre-filter, HEPA filter, Activated carbon layer
CADR Rating: 353 CFM smoke, 347 CFM dust, 380 CFM pollen
Blueair’s big room air purifier is rated to clean out rooms up to 3,048 square feet, allowing you to use just a single device to maintain good air quality in a pretty big space. Do note, it takes an hour to thoroughly filter the air in that big a space, although it does work significantly faster if you put in in a a smaller the room. It’s very energy-efficient, using up very little power even in the highest setting, while also running very quietly (53 decibels max) because of an integrated acoustically-tuned noise shield, allowing you to have uninterrupted conversation even with the machine running beside you at the highest setting. There’s onboard air quality monitoring, with readings easily visible on the top display, where you also get all the different touch control options, including auto mode and a sleep auto mode. If you prefer controlling everything from your phone, you can use the built-in Wi-Fi and companion app, which even gives you an ETA as to how long the air purifying function should take.
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