The categories also broadly correspond to price—the larger the space, generally the more expensive the purifier you need to keep the air clean. To sort purifiers into these three categories, we calculate their air changes per hour, or ACH, in hypothetical rooms of , , and square feet we assume 8-foot ceilings.
This unit of measure represents how many times a purifier can circulate the volume of air in a given room in 60 minutes, and it provides a standardized baseline for categorizing and initially comparing purifiers. We set 4 ACH as the minimum for a purifier to be considered adequate for each room size. Based on our eight years of testing, we know that 4 ACH ensures rapid and nearly complete cleaning of highly polluted air—a big concern during, say, a wildfire—and that anything below 4 ACH typically results in measurably worse performance.
Using ACH to categorize air purifiers overcomes a common problem in the way manufacturers rate their air purifiers in their advertising. Worse, manufacturers calculate their ratings in different ways, often resulting in massively inflated square-footage claims. But on their highest setting, most purifiers are too loud—above 50 decibels—to be tolerable as a background for conversation, sleep, or TV watching. So we always confirm that our picks can keep the air clean on their medium, quiet setting in a room of the recommended size.
Generally we test only purifiers with HEPA certification. Human hair, for reference, is usually between 20 and microns across. That 0. CADR numbers in effect give the cubic feet per minute of perfectly pure air that a purifier can produce on its maximum setting. The CADR tests measure purifier effectiveness on three different pollutants—tobacco smoke, dust, and pollen—that correspond to particles of 0.
The HEPA 0. In addition to assessing the objective measures above, we weigh the value each purifier offers, without setting a strict price limit within each room-size category. This step lets us eliminate the many purifiers that cost far more up front than their specs and ratings justify.
We do not prioritize smart functionality, which generally means receiving more information from and having more control of a purifier via an app. However, we can see the appeal of having more information, and the ability to control a purifier remotely or by voice command may be helpful for some owners. Ionizers impart an electrical charge to air molecules that pass through the machine.
These ionized air molecules then in theory bind to airborne particles and give them a charge, encouraging them to stick together and to create larger particles that may be easier to filter or large enough to settle out of the air. Most purifiers with an ionizer let you toggle the feature on or off.
The theory is that ozone, which is highly reactive, neutralizes or breaks down pollutants. Setting aside the dubiousness of that claim, even low levels of ozone can be harmful PDF. Ionizers produce a small amount of ozone as a by-product, but as laid out by the strict California Air Resources Board , none of our picks with an ionizing function exceed the limit of 0. In the above criteria left us with five new-to-us purifiers to test.
We measure factors such as how much noise they make when running, as well as their long-term costs for energy consumption and replacement filters. And we consider subjective factors like the ease of operation and maintenance, the presence or absence of distracting lights which can disrupt sleep , the user interface, and the physical size and aesthetics.
Over the past eight years, we have conducted both lab-based and real-world tests of air purifier performance. Since , Tim Heffernan has conducted multiple real-world tests in New York and Los Angeles, measuring particle concentrations with a TSI AeroTrak , a handheld particle counter commonly used to certify air quality to OSHA standards in factories and other workplaces. All of the equipment measures particles down to the 0. The tests all follow the same pattern.
Tim tests each purifier twice: once for 30 minutes with the machine on its highest subdecibel setting about the upper limit of what we can consider comfortable for conversation, TV, or sleep and once for 30 minutes with the machine on its absolute highest setting regardless of noise output. At the start of each test, he measures the ambient air quality for three minutes to get a baseline; then he burns five wooden matches and lets the smoke circulate for two minutes to artificially raise the particulate levels in the air, after which he runs the purifiers for the remaining 30 minutes.
Matches produce millions of very fine particulates in the 0. He did not attempt to hermetically seal the rooms—after all, we wanted to see how the machines performed in real-world conditions—but he did take steps to make them more like a room in a typical home, closing the windows and sealing off the ventilation systems with aluminum foil and tape. Tim placed a TSI AeroTrak particle counter 7 feet diagonally away from the purifiers, 20 to 30 inches from both walls in the farthest corner of the room.
The purifiers themselves sat at the midpoint of the opposite wall of the room, 2 feet from the wall, with no obstacles near their air intakes and outlets. The particle counter took readings continuously, with counts totaled in one-minute increments.
When retesting our existing air-purifier picks, Tim took four measurements, two using the old filters and two using new filters, to get a picture of how or even if their performance changed over time.
We believe this approach gives the best apples-to-apples comparison because it eliminates absolute particle concentration—which even under pure lab conditions is virtually impossible to reproduce exactly from test to test and from machine to machine—in favor of a common measure. He also measured their power draw on their lowest, medium, and highest settings, using the medium setting to calculate annual power costs. The tests lasted for 65 minutes, using the first five minutes to get a baseline reading of the ambient air conditions, followed by the burning of five matches and a full hour of measurements with the purifiers on.
At the outset, he burned 15 matches to create extremely elevated particulate levels in the room, as though a fire were burning nearby. We describe the results in What settings should you run an air purifier on? He also tested a popular hack: taping a furnace filter to a box fan to create a DIY air purifier.
He did a minute, five-match test in the square-foot room with a inch-square Lasko box fan and a byinch Honeywell FPR 9 roughly MERV 12 filter, one of our picks in our guide to furnace filters.
He conducted these tests in a roughly square-foot room with foot ceilings, a space with a total of nearly 10, cubic feet—twice the volume of his square-foot, 8. As such, it posed a stiff test for all of the machines. Tim used slow-burning incense to simulate an ongoing wildfire smoke condition. See our blog post about purifiers and wildfire smoke for more. The tests ran for 65 minutes, with the machines on high. Tim placed the machines at the midpoint of the room, approximately 3 feet from the wall and away from any obstacles.
He burned the incense near one corner of the room and put the AeroTrak particle counter between the purifier and the incense, roughly 12 feet from each. After 15 minutes he turned each purifier on, set to high. The incense continued to burn for another 20 minutes or so, and the purifiers ran for 50 minutes total. This process resulted in: 1 heavy initial smoke conditions for the purifiers to deal with, 2 roughly 20 minutes of the purifiers dealing with both initial and ongoing smoke, and 3 roughly 30 minutes of the purifiers working to clear the air after the source of smoke had disappeared.
After a sixth round of testing, encompassing 47 different air purifiers and more than hours of lab and real-world trials, the Coway APHH Mighty remains our pick as the best air purifier for most people. It has kept its place for so long for many reasons. On the medium setting, it reduced the 0. On its high setting, the Coway Mighty can deliver 5. On its quiet, or medium, setting it delivers 3 ACH, keeping the air extremely clean under normal conditions.
We ran our original test model for two years without replacing the filter, and it still performed as well as it did on day one. When we measured its performance in and , each time on year-old filters, it again performed just as well as it did on day one, and it showed no difference in performance between the year-old filters and new replacements. The prefilter captures large particles, such as pet hair and lint, that would otherwise clog the HEPA filter and reduce its ability to capture fine particulates.
You do so by holding down the Ionizer button for three seconds—something Coway could frankly do a better job of making clear. The machine keeps running, and you get to sleep or watch TV in a nice dark room. The Mighty is also very quiet. That puts it below sight level, and because it also tapers significantly from front to back, it appears smaller than its dimensions suggest.
The prefilter is made of sturdy, fine plastic mesh, and you can vacuum or wipe it clean, or rinse it off under a faucet; be sure to do that every month or so to keep the machine performing optimally.
There is, however, a common mistake any first-time air purifier user should watch for: leaving the plastic wrapper on the filter. Take that off. On the medium setting, it draws just 8. If you want to calculate the amount for your state, the US Energy Information Administration lists the up-to-date rates.
Another way to look at it: You could buy and maintain two Coway Mighty units for less than the cost of some individual competitors. In early fall , we received a few notes from readers about a pair of issues with their Coway air purifiers. Similar comments have been showing up sporadically in recent customer reviews on Amazon and other retail sites.
The first is an imbalanced fan, which causes the whole unit to shake uncontrollably and in some cases leads the fan to self-destruct. In the meantime, customers with this issue can get a free replacement from Coway. The second is a strong odor coming off new replacement filters. Last fall, Coway told us that it believed the issue stemmed from wildfire smoke infiltrating mail distribution centers and causing the filters to pick up odors. These odors are difficult for the average consumer to recognize, but some odor-sensitive people can potentially sense them with a new filter.
At the same time, we purchased two popular third-party replacement filter sets for the Coway, made by Durabasics and Cabiclean —and neither of them gave off any noticeable odor. Tim tested them in his spare bedroom, which is about square feet—considerably larger than the square-foot room he uses when our New York office is open. Both third-party filters performed almost identically to the genuine Coway filter: Whereas the Coway filter reduced the smoke levels by The differences are insignificant in and of themselves, and from our years of testing we know that all the filters would reduce particulate levels to nearly zero over the course of a few hours.
In addition, both the Cabiclean and Durabasics filters fit perfectly in the machine, tightly sealing around their edges to prevent unfiltered air from sneaking past—another important factor in HEPA performance. It is too easy to begin operating an air purifier without first removing the plastic wrapping the filter comes in.
We recommend leaving the ionizing function off. The effectiveness of such features is dubious, and it draws additional electrical power. On this model, you can tell that the ionizer is off when the button is unlit. If you do choose to use the ionizer, you will be happy to know that it is certified by the California Air Resources Board not to produce ozone in excess of the 0.
The company has a support center based in Austin, Texas; you can reach it at support coway-usa. The units are made by the same company, and they are physically so similar that their faceplates and filters are interchangeable. The Airmega M has a slightly more powerful motor, which accounts for its marginally better performance in our tests: In a half hour running on its highest setting, it reduced particulates by These differences are so small as to be functionally meaningless, and in any case they favor the Airmega M.
We believe that the Airmega M, with its nearly identical design, interchangeable filters, and slightly more powerful motor, would perform at least as well. Previously, we dismissed the Airmega M because it was significantly more expensive, but the prices of this model and the Mighty have evened up recently.
We advise anyone debating between them to compare their prices and appearances and purchase whichever model you prefer. We recommend both just as highly. Most important, it performed just as well as the Mighty in our testing. In fact, it did a bit better: In our October test, on brand-new filters, it removed On medium, it removed an impressive The Mighty, on year-old filters, removed Currently the is also cheaper than the Mighty.
But simply put, the Winix is an impressive purifier. Its removal of So why does that not make this Winix model our automatic top pick? Primarily because we know, from past testing, that any highly efficient purifier will drive particle levels down to that level in a short period of time. In the case of the Coway, our long-duration testing showed that it reduced a very heavy smoke load by Other criteria also matter. One is noise output, and in that regard the is similar to the Mighty.
The Coway Mighty has a clear edge in a few other cases, however. For one, the Winix lacks a display-shutoff feature, which we value highly: The displays of most purifiers are overly bright and can disrupt sleep.
The Mighty lets you shut off the display manually on any fan speed, but the only does so automatically and, more important, only on a single setting, sleep mode, when the fan is running its slowest.
We much prefer being able to shut the display off with the machine on the medium setting we recommend or any other speed that you choose. The also draws more electricity than the Mighty: 13 watts versus 8. And the is physically larger than the Mighty, comes only in black, and to us is not as good-looking. These are relatively minor concerns, but since purifiers are constant companions, these factors are not unimportant.
Like all Winix purifiers, the features PlasmaWave technology: It uses ionization to create hydroxyls highly reactive molecules, composed of one hydrogen and one oxygen, that quickly bind to airborne matter or else break down into water and harmless atmospheric hydrogen. And because ionizer functions add to the electricity draw, we recommend keeping them off. One final note: The slightly cheaper Winix is identical to the in all important respects, employing the same HEPA filter and featuring a virtually identical clean air delivery rate within a couple of cubic feet per minute—statistically insignificant.
The Winix AM90 is essentially a Winix in a more modern shell. It uses the same HEPA filter, has a virtually identical clean air delivery rate, can deliver 5 air changes per hour in a square-foot room on high, and performed almost identically to the in our tests: That said, this model is to our eyes a more attractive machine than the and the Mighty, and it features Wi-Fi connectivity and a basic app that lets you control its settings and monitor its air-quality readings remotely.
The Blueair Blue Pure Auto is another stellar purifier. On high, it reduced a heavy load of 0. In a square-foot room, it can deliver 5. The Blue Pure Auto also stands out for its energy efficiency, drawing just 5. The Auto designation indicates that, unlike previous generations of Blue Pure purifiers, the Auto contains a particle sensor. That feature allows you to set it to an automatic mode, in which the machine adjusts its speed depending on the air quality in the room.
You can also set it manually to its low, medium, or high fan setting. We like that the machine automatically shuts off the white LED lights on its control panel, on top of the unit, after a few moments. In a dark room, the lamp can be a distraction, and we wish this model offered an option to shut it off on every setting, as you can on the Coway Mighty.
Although most people are likely to be well served by purely manual or basic automatic purifiers those that have a built-in air-quality sensor and adjust to changing conditions , if you are an avid smart-home proponent, or if mobility, dexterity, vision, or other issues make it difficult for you to adjust appliances, the Core S is a highly capable and relatively affordable option. But it also draws twice the electricity The Mighty, meanwhile, generates just 39 decibels of noise on medium; on top of that, we know from testing that the Mighty creates and maintains extraordinarily clean air when run continuously on medium, as we recommend for all purifiers.
Where the Core S stands out is in its smart functionality. The Vesync app provides basic but useful controls: You can set timers, adjust the fan settings, program the machine for optimal operation in different-size rooms, turn the machine and its display on and off, and monitor the air quality.
The Levoit Core S is not our top pick for a few reasons. That means it can clean the combined living areas of many open-floor-plan homes. All that said, unless you really need to clean an especially large space, the even quieter, smaller, and much more affordable Coway APHH Mighty is a better choice. We have not been able to test it, but we are confident that it will deliver similar, excellent performance. Typically, you should replace filters or clean those that can be vacuumed every six to 12 months for pleated filters and every three months for activated carbon filters.
Place it wisely. If you have just one unit, put it in the room where you spend the most time. Some units can be heavy and clunky to move around, so if you want an air purifier in multiple rooms, you may want to buy a unit for each room. Make sure to place the air purifier in a spot where nothing can obstruct airflow—away from curtains, for instance.
For more, read our article on the best and worst air purifiers of Adjust the speed. Or buy an air purifier certified for a larger area so that you can run it on a low speed and still have it work effectively. Whether an air purifier has a replaceable HEPA filter, a permanent filter, or a combination of the two, it needs regular upkeep. CR walks you through taking care of several types. Vacuum regularly.
Use a vacuum with HEPA-certified filtration once or twice a week to clean floors and furniture. Open your windows on nice days to let in clean, dry outdoor air. If pollen or related allergies keep you from opening windows, run your air conditioner or forced-air cooling system with a clean air filter. Reduce the use of chemicals.
We respect your privacy. All email addresses you provide will be used just for sending this story. Sign In. Become a Member. Remember Me. Forgot username or password? Not a member? Need further assistance? Please call Member Services at Air Purifiers. Sign in or Become a Member. Find the Best Air Purifier for Your Home We test, evaluate, and compare the latest air purifiers to check claims so you can find the best air purifier. How Air Purifiers Can Help The best ways to improve indoor air quality are to remove the pollutant sources and ventilate with clean outdoor air.
Air Purifier Ratings by Consumer Reports. Types of Air Purifiers There are several technologies air purifiers employ for reducing indoor pollution. Air Purifier Ratings. How Consumer Reports Tests Air Purifiers To see how well these machines clean the air, we inject smoke and dust into a sealed chamber and use a particle counter to measure the change in air particle concentration in the room as the test model runs for 15 minutes.
What to Consider While Shopping for an Air Purifier Cost of replacement filters: As a general rule, you should replace filters or clean those that can be vacuumed every six to 12 months for pleated filters and every three months for activated carbon filters.
Use an exhaust fan in the kitchen. Do the same in bathrooms and laundry rooms. Stop smoking indoors. That also goes for burning candles and wood fires. Air Purifier Brands. Blueair is an international company based in Sweden and founded in Dyson, founded in , is a British technology company that designs and manufactures vacuum cleaners, hand dryers, bladeless fans, heaters, humidifiers, air purifiers, lights, and hair dryers and styling tools.
GermGuardian develops and sells products for mass retailers. Honeywell is a mass-market brand available at large merchants, including Target and Walmart, and widely online. Hunter is a widely sold brand on home shopping channels. Air purifiers do not prevent mold growth, so it is necessary to eliminate the source of moisture that is allowing it to grow. Some models may be able to target bad air that creeps into your apartment or home, especially if you live in an area affected by pollution, or natural disaster.
Most people shouldn't be worried about exposure to temporary pollutants like smoke or exhaust in the air outside your home, as they dissipate over time, explains Ryan Roten, D.
Doten, who has been treating patients with underlying respiratory illnesses as mass wildfires rage along the West Coast and air quality reaches new lows. Sometimes, non-organic air pollutants — like the VOCs we mentioned previously — can originate from outside your home. But that would largely need to be someone who was standing directly in or near the fire: Those people are brought to emergency rooms immediately," Dr. Roten explains.
But the right kind of purifier can address any environmental air qualities in your locale. Using nearby wildfires as an example, Dr. Roten adds that a HEPA filter-equipped purifier is your best bet: "Anything that has a true HEPA filter in it is probably adequate enough to filter out most all the large particles that would be concerning," he says.
Air purifiers that utilize HEPA filters can capture particulates the size of the virus. However, the actual efficacy of it at preventing someone from getting the virus is still unknown, as the rate of transmission may be faster than the air purifier can capture the particulates.
Therefore, we continue to recommend adhering to the CDC's advice regarding best methods for reducing transmission risk, and avoiding exposure to the virus as best as possible. Before you do, know that air purifiers are not a cure-all. There is very little medical evidence to support that air purifiers directly help improve your health or alleviate allergies and respiratory symptoms. For instance, how are the furnishings and ventilation in your home affecting you in addition to any indoor pollutants?
But if you are an allergy or asthma sufferer, an air purifier with a HEPA filter may be helpful for you as it will be good at removing fine airborne particles. HEPA filters capture variously sized particles within a multi-layered netting usually made out of very fine fiberglass threads much thinner than the size of a human hair strand!
The filter is airtight, and comprised of a dense sheet of small fibers pleated and sealed in a metal or plastic frame.
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