Best air purifiers for 2021: Coway, Honeywell, Dyson and more - CNET

Posted: 28 Dec 2020 03:00 PM PST

While a vaccine may be on the way soon, an air purifier can help clear the air in your home of COVID-19 virus particles in the meantime, not to mention capture smoke particulates, dust particles, pet dander, mold spores and more. But with an overwhelming number of devices to choose from, all touting different methods of purification, how do you find the best air purifier?

I've researched the field of products, interviewed experts in the field of indoor air quality and tested the extra features on a dozen of the most popular models to write up a definitive list of the best air purifier options around. Read on if you're ready to freshen up your home.

image-from-ios-34-2 — A dozen of the most popular home air purifiers on the market.
David Priest/CNET

Before the recommendations…

Before getting into the details of which is the best air purifier and why, it's important to understand the basic mechanisms that these products use to clean your air. To get a handle on these methods, I talked to Richard Shaughnessy, director of Indoor Air Research at the University of Tulsa.

According to Shaughnessy, who has a doctorate in chemical engineering, most air cleaners run your air through a filter designed to catch indoor air pollutants and airborne particles you might otherwise inhale. These are usually High Efficiency Particulate Absorbing filters and they're designed to capture 99.97% of airborne particles sized 0.3 micron or larger. A HEPA filter reliably removes indoor air pollution including smoke (including cigarette smoke and smoke from wildfires), pollen, spores, dust mites and other particulate matter that pollutes home environments.

Activated carbon offers another type of filter, which captures odors and gaseous pollutants that can slip through a HEPA filter. "[A carbon filter is] good ... to an extent," said Shaughnessy, "but they need to have a sufficient amount of carbon. You don't want breakthrough happening, where the carbon becomes fully saturated and it releases what was captured back into the air."

According to multiple researchers I talked to, most consumer air purifiers simply don't have enough activated carbon to be an effective odor filter for more than a short period of time.

Another common type of air cleaning works via ionic filtering. These filters can be effective, according to Shaughnessy, but they have a number of shortcomings: Some don't actually remove particulate from the home, but rather cause them to attach themselves to surfaces around the home. Others must be cleaned consistently, or they might begin to emit ozone -- itself a pollutant.

While some ionic purifiers are effective and standards for them have risen significantly in recent years, the benefits an ionic purifier offers over a HEPA filter are in many cases negligible -- particularly given the risk an ionizer occasionally poses.

An important standard to keep an eye out for is the AHAM Verified Clean Air Delivery Rate, which tells you how much air a purifier can process in a given time frame. Not every company uses this standard, but most do.

Recommendations get a little more complicated when companies don't list a CADR, or when they employ proprietary filtration methods.

image-from-ios-30-1 — Dyson's $550 air purifier doesn't offer a CADR rating at all.
David Priest/CNET

Some major players, like Dyson and Molekule, offer their own standards. That doesn't necessarily mean that their devices are inferior, but rather that they require extra scrutiny. In these cases, I looked at the explanations presented by the companies themselves and talked to third-party specialists. By and large, such devices -- even if they do accomplish what they claim -- still end up overpriced compared with competing products with more readily accessible evidence backing up their claims.

It's also important to note that many of the home air purifier models I tested have gone out of stock in recent months, given the rising demand for such devices during wildfire season and the ongoing pandemic. While that might mean some of the options below are out of stock, we've decided to keep our recommendations -- and the rationales behind them -- posted, so you can use them to find the best product for you. If and when we add devices to the list, we'll update this story accordingly. For now, though, our recommendations are based on the included prices, and we would recommend avoiding sellers offering the same devices for significantly different price tags.

For the devices below, I primarily considered the power for the price (that is, the higher the CADR and the lower the price, the better). Secondarily, I looked at additional cleaning modes, the helpfulness of controls, the general design and the noise level. The perfect air cleaner looks sleek enough to fit into most modern decor, can operate as desired with minimal fiddling and can thoroughly and quietly clean your air.

David Priest/CNET

Honeywell's $225 air purifier is a little more expensive than other HEPA models, but it can cover a larger space than almost any other purifier I tested: 465 square feet. Despite its clunky design (this thing weighs a hefty 21 pounds), the Honeywell Home is actually one of the quieter models around.

The Home's aesthetic isn't my favorite, but you get good control for setting timers and checking whether the prefilter or filter needs replacing. If you're looking for great basic performance for a reasonable price, you can't beat the Honeywell Home.

David Priest/CNET

After months of use in my own home, Coway's HEPA air purifier has cemented itself as my favorite HEPA air cleaner around. While it saw great deals in recent months, its price tag at Amazon is up to an uncomfortable $250 -- which is only decent for the 361-square-foot coverage it offers. Luckily, its unique design and ion filtration technology set it apart from many other purifiers in the price range. The Coway's striking, retro design was one of my favorites among the devices I tested.

Personally, while using the Coway, I've experienced fewer allergy symptoms during typically difficult seasons for me. A colleague's mother also recently bought a Coway for smoke in her home during the West Coast wildfires, and she noticed an immediate improvement in the air quality.

While the ionic filtration technology isn't a huge plus, it also won't produce significant ozone, as tested by the California EPA. If you want an air purifier for a midsize room, Coway's HEPA air purifier is one of the best options around with one of the most adventurous looks.

David Priest/CNET

The Blueair Blue Pure 411 is a simple, straightforward purifier with smart design and solid bang for your buck. You get particle and carbon filtration (the activated carbon filter removes odors, airborne allergens and gaseous airborne pollutants) that will work well in a 160-square-foot room, all for $120. Some devices, like Sharp's Air Purifier, don't even offer that much cleaning power at nearly twice the price.

The Blue Pure has different colored prefilter sleeves for the outside of the device, so it will fit into almost any color palette, and its single-button interface is as intuitive as it gets. The device is also light, with middle-of-the-road noise production. Besides the noise, the only real downside of the Blue Pure is the lack of extra goodies, like timer buttons.

Ry Crist/CNET

I have mixed feelings about Dyson's $550 TP04, but if price isn't a concern and Dyson's signature modern design appeals to you, it might be worth the splurge. The TP04 uses a HEPA filter, but provides no CADR. A Dyson spokesperson told me, "CADR as measured by some current methods is not an accurate representation of a real home," and thus the company has developed its own testing procedures "to replicate a more realistic setting." That includes a testing room that has over double the footprint of AHAM's testing rooms, along with nine sensors placed around the space (versus AHAM's single sensor). The Dyson TP04, perhaps unsurprisingly, performs well according to Dyson's own metrics.

In addition, the Dyson air purifier TP04 features a handful of extra goodies, including an oscillating fan to help circulate clean air around larger rooms, an app with home air quality data and a small-but-nifty display. Our tower fan reviewer really liked these features for the TP04. But is all that worth the price bump from, say, Coway's purifier?

For most people, the answer is likely no -- especially considering that Dyson's device hasn't stacked up especially well against the competition in third-party testing, such as Wirecutter's, where its performance was in line with the far more affordable Blueair 411. That said, if you love the aesthetic, the flashy extras and the built-in tower fan -- and you don't mind the asking price -- Dyson's TP04 might be a justifiable splurge.

The rest of the field

The above recommendations are only four of the 12 devices I tested. Other HEPA cleaners, like the $100 Levoit Core 300, the $160 Winix 5500-2, the $90 Bissell and the $85 GermGuardian all offer only so-so power for their prices. All four of those models offer a carbon filter or charcoal filters for removing odors, pet dander and gaseous pollutants, but the filters in all of them contain only a few ounces of the medium, meaning they won't last long with use.

The IQAir HealthPro Plus wasn't among the devices I tested, in part because I was looking at more affordable options. But IQAir's $900 air cleaner is one of the few devices on the market to contain multiple kilograms of activated carbon, which will filter out odors and gaseous pollutants much more effectively than most consumer air cleaners under $1,000, according to specialists I talked to.

image-from-ios-27 — The Holmes air purifier is a cheap option for your desktop.
David Priest/CNET

Two devices I tested featured an ionic filter: the $249 Coway AP-1512HH I mentioned above and the $230 Sharp FPK50UW. Sharp's CADR rating is only 259 square feet, which is significantly lower than Coway's and not great for the price.

The Partu ($50) and Holmes ($38) air purifiers were the most affordable devices I tested and they both offer true HEPA filtering for small rooms. I could see someone using them on a desk in an office, for instance, to great effect. But both felt a little cheap and neither gave an official CADR, so I would recommend saving up for something a little more reliable if cleaner air is a high priority.

What about Molekule?

You may have heard of another air purifier called Molekule, made by a company of the same name, which grabbed headlines for its attractive design and proprietary filtration technology back in 2017 -- and is even, strangely enough, sold at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. What about that?

The Molekule presents a complicated problem: Its maker claims its proprietary PECO air filter destroys airborne particles much smaller than 0.03 micrometers, but it filters air at such a slow rate that, even if the company's claims are accurate, it cleans the air very inefficiently compared with HEPA models (as Consumer Reports rightly pointed out in its highly critical review late last year).

image-from-ios-33-2 — Molekule was recently forced by the National Advertising Board of Review to retract misleading claims it made in its advertisements.
David Priest/CNET

On the other hand, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, one of the premiere indoor air research centers in the country, recently released a government-funded study showing that the PECO effectively filters out volatile organic compounds -- that is, compounds that can easily become gaseous pollutants in the air, which a HEPA filter does not capture. Reviewers at Consumer Reports and the New York Times' Wirecutter, which called the Molekule's larger model "the worst air purifier we've ever tested" and the Air Mini "the second-worst," didn't appear to test VOC reduction.

We can't recommend the Molekule Air Mini Plus, which I tested, as a result of these problems coupled with a recent decision by the National Advertising Review Board to force a retraction of many of Molekule's misleading advertising claims. That said, the air purifier does appear to address a problem that most HEPA filtration cleaners simply don't: the presence of gaseous pollutants in the home. Such pollutants have plenty of sources, whether from paint, furniture, cleaning solutions or even some composite boards. For that reason alone, Molekule's eye-catching brand is worth keeping tabs on -- especially as its latest air cleaner was just approved by the FDA as a Class II medical device.

Do you even need an air purifier?

Given the rise of COVID-19 over the past few months, you may be thinking about air purifiers in a fresh light. In home settings though, transmission usually occurs through close contact, which means an air purifier probably won't protect you if a roommate or family member in the same house gets sick. Purifiers may help businesses and restaurants trying to improve the air in their indoor spaces.

Beyond COVID concerns, in home settings, air purifiers don't offer much value to the average consumer. According to microbiologist and vice president of Scientific Communications at the American Council on Science and Health Alex Berezow, "Unless you have some sort of medical condition (asthma, allergies), I just don't think an air purifier is worth the money."

Human lungs, Berezow pointed out in a recent blog post, filter the air we breathe sufficiently -- especially in places like most parts of the United States, where air is fairly consistently clean.

Now playing: Watch this: Masks, wipes and air filters: Flying in the age of coronavirus

22:33

On the other hand, for households with an asthmatic or otherwise immunocompromised child, air purifiers have significant benefits, according to Berezow and Dr. Elizabeth Matsui, a professor of population health and pediatrics at the University of Texas, Austin's Dell Medical School.

Matsui has extensively researched the effects of air purifiers on children with asthma and says the devices can make a big difference -- though they're no substitute for well-ventilated and smoke-free homes or proper medical care. Furthermore, there is no evidence to suggest that air purifiers diminish the chance of children developing asthma.

In short, air purifiers are popular for a reason: They mostly do what they say, cleaning the air inside your home. And depending on your health needs, or if you live in a home with many sources of air pollution, cleaner air and better air flow might really make a big difference for you or your children. If you think the benefits of an air purifier might help someone in your own home, it's always worth talking to an allergist. If you'd rather just grab an air cleaner and call it a day, you can't go wrong with the recommendations above.

Still have more questions about air purifiers and whether you're ready to buy one? Check out our air purifier FAQ for more info.

Correction, July 13: A previous version of this article incorrectly described the Blueair 411's features. The Blueair 411 has a "change filter" indicator, and is AHAM-certified for a 161-square-foot room.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

Top 10 Best of Hepa Filters 2020 – Bestgamingpro - Best gaming pro

Posted: 29 Dec 2020 03:30 AM PST

Top 10 Best of Hepa Filters 2020

#	Product
1	PUREBURG Replacement 1 x HEPA Filter & 2 x Wrapping Carbon Pre-Filters for Honeywell 10500 (EV-10)...	Check Price Now
2	LEVOIT Air Purifier for Home, H13 True HEPA Filter for Allergies and Pets, Hairs, Smokers, Dust,...	Check Price Now
3	B-Air Scrubber Stage 2 HEPA Filter 2 Pack for Air Purifiers Negative Air Machine, Water Damage...	Check Price Now
4	PUREBURG Replacement HEPA Filter and 2 Wrapping Carbon Pre-Filters Compatible with Honeywell 24000...	Check Price Now
5	Whirlpool 1183054K True HEPA Filter, White	Check Price Now
6	VEVA Premium HEPA Replacement Filter 2 Pack Including 6 Carbon Pre Filters Compatible with Air...	Check Price Now
7	Miele Vacuum Cleaner Active HEPA Filter 315606 SF-HA30 MIE1003 [MIE1003]	Check Price Now
8	Cabiclean True HEPA Replacement Filter Compatible Honeywell HPA300, HPA200, HPA100, HPA090 Series...	Check Price Now
9	Germ Guardian True HEPA Filter Air Purifier with UV Light Sanitizer, Eliminates Germs, Filters...	Check Price Now
10	LINNIW 6 Pack True HEPA Replacement Filter R Fit for Honeywell Air Purifier HPA300, HPA200, HPA100,...	Check Price Now

1. Honeywell Filter R True HEPA Replacement Filter

Replacement filters: these filters are compatible with hpa090, hpa100, hpa8350, hpa200 & hpa300 series. replace them yearly for best performance.
Filter & circulate: honeywell air purifiers filter & circulate air in the stated room size up to 5 times an hour. breathe easy knowing the air in your home is fresher & cleaner with fewer allergens.
Fits models: hpa 090 series, hpa 100 series, hpa200 series & hpa300 series
For best performance replace once per year
Certified hepa filter for air purifiers: our r hepa filters help capture up to 99.97% of airborne particles as small as 0.3 micron & help remove particles like pet dander, pollen, dust, dust mite debris & smoke.
Honeywell quality replacement filters: for best performance use only genuine honeywell replacement filters. each air purifier's performance is tested as a system with the filters for best efficiency.

2. Germ Guardian FLT4825 True HEPA GENUINE Air Purifier Replacement Filter B for GermGuardian AC4300BPTCA, AC4900CA, AC4825, AC4825DLX, AC4850PT, CDAP4500BCA, CDAP4500WCA, and More

Hassle free fit: germguardian replacement parts are designed for a particular unit style and fit like a glove. the fit of your new filter may vary from the original due to change in materials for a less snug fit. this won't affect filter performance
Air purifier models: replacement filter for germ guardian air purifier models ac4300bptca, ac4900ca, ac4825, ac4825dlx, ac4850pt, cdap4500bca, cdap4500wca, ac4820, pure guardian model ap2200ca and black + decker bxap148
Reduces odors: activated charcoal filter helps reduce unwanted odors from pets, smoke, cooking fumes, and harmful voc's emitted from a variety of household products and chemicals
Dimensions: 1. 29 x 4. 76 x 15. 77
Why buy genuine: genuine germguardian replacement parts are essential for maintaining product performance, as your purifier is only as powerful and effective as the filter you put inside
Breathe fresh and cleaner air: a hepa filter, activated charcoal layer, and pre filter work to help improve indoor air quality

3. Air Filter Replacement for TPPPIN Air Purifier TPAP002 (Blue)

Incredible value – you will get 6 hepa filters, great value for you to simply remove and replace each filter after use to eliminate the hassle of cleaning or vacuuming.
100% money-back guarantee – feel the difference in the air or your money back, no questions asked.
Great fit – compatible with honeywell air purifier series hpa 090, hpa 100, hpa 200, hpa 250 and hpa 300 including models hpa-090, hpa-094, hpa-100, hpa-104, hpa-105, ha-106, hpa-200, hpa-202, hpa-204, hpa-250b, hpa-300. replacement part # hrf-r3, filter r. hepa filter dimensions: 10.2â€ x 6.5â€ x 1.6â€.
Remove smell and smoke buddy – at advanced filters, we want to ensure you are breathing easy in the comfort and safety of your home.

4. Cabiclean True HEPA Replacement Filter Compatible Honeywell HPA300, HPA200, HPA100, HPA090 Series Air Purifier. Filter R (HRF-R3 & HRF-R2 & HRF-R1, 6 Pack)

â‰ã€ high-efficient purify performanceã€' :rigoglioso air purifier features multiple purifying technologies and has a purifying efficiency of over 98% for pm2.5, with composite cold catayst technology, ingrained into the hepa fiber which is absorbing foul smells.this product remove airbone particles which is effective in both indoor home and office applications.
â‰ã€ ultra-silent operation & night light & holiday gifts ã€':upgraded quietkeap technology reduces noise so you can sleep in a restful and soothing indoor environment.you can choose if you need the night light function or not during working,very onvenient to meet different needs, and entirely to create your ideal sleep environment.the night light can be turn off.it is a sp…
â‰ã€available for california & unique powerful filter design & true hepa technologyã€'ï¼š 360Â° upgraded purification performance,imported hepa filter and high-efficiency activated carbon filter , remove 99.97% of dust,pollen,smokeï¼Œ pet dander,odor and large dust particles and so on,perfect for pet owners,babies,children and the elderly,effectively improving the air quality an…
â‰ ã€ advanced 3 speed settings &100% ozone free ã€':rigoglioso air purifiers is 100% ozone free, and a reseach shown that it can reduce ozone.you can choose what kind of speed waht you need, sleep gear,normal gear and rapid speed gear,which is very convienence.unique sive(6.9*6.9*8.7 inches) and contemporary design makes it a perfect fit in normal size rooms or office spaces.
â‰ã€2 years quality assuranceã€' :friendly customer service,30 days unconditional money-back.the rigoglioso air purifier passed ce rohs certification, 2-year service & lifetime support, buy with 100% confidence.the filter should be replaced every 3-6 months.please search ""rigoglioso filter"" to buy the replacement filter.note: the adapter is inside the bottom of the produc…

5. RIGOGLIOSO True HEPA Filter Air Purifier for Home Smokers Pollen and Pets Hair,Compact Desktop Air Purifiers with Night Light,Air Cleaner,Available for California,GL-2109

Kills germs: uv-c light helps kill airborne viruses such as influenza, staph, rhinovirus, and works with titanium dioxide to reduce volatile organic compounds
Reduces odors: activated charcoal filter helps to reduce unwanted odors from pets, smoke, cooking fumes, and more
Settings: choose between 3 speed settings and an optional uv c light. carb eo# g-12-006. epa registration # 87267-chn-001.
Replacements: replace the filter every 6 to 8 months and the uv c bulb every 10 to 12 months; filters: germ guardian filter b (model flt4825) or a 4 pack of germ guardian carbon filters (model flt22cb4); uv c bulb: model lb4000
4-in-1 air purifier for home: true hepa air filter reduces up to 99.97% of harmful germs, dust, pollen, pet dander, mold spores, and other allergens as small as .3 microns from the air
Traps allergens pre filter traps dust, pet hair, and other large particles while extending the life of the hepa filter. bulb wattage is 55 watts

6. Germ Guardian True HEPA Filter Air Purifier with UV Light Sanitizer, Eliminates Germs, Filters Allergies, Pollen, Smoke, Dust Pet Dander, Mold Odors, Quiet 22 inch 4-in-1 Air Purifier for Home AC4825E

Two in oneï¼štrue hepa filter captures 99.97% of airborne particles down to 0.3 microns in size. activated carbon filter traps larger particles in the air like dust, hairs, pet fur, lint, and absorbs household odors from pets, cooking, smoking and vocâ€™s.
Easy to install: easy to replace and disposable, no tools required. replace true hepa filter every 6~8 months and activated carbon filter every 3 months for optimal performance. hepa filter dimensions: h: 13â€x l: 11â€x w: 1â€ and pre-filter dimensions: h: 13â€x l: 11â€x w: 0.2â€.
Compatible: premium hepa and activated carbon filter fully compatible with winix c545 air purifier. part number 1712-0096-00, filter s.
Premium quality but affordable price: we deliver high quality, durable and long-lasting replacements, allowing the filter to last longer. they are an efficient investment. in order to improve the performance of the air purifier, please replace the carbon filter every 6~8 months.
Customer service: we value customer service and satisfaction. if you have any problems with the filter fitting your air purifier, please contact us through our amazon home page.

9. Medify Air MA-15 Air Purifier with H13 HEPA filter – a higher grade of HEPA | NEW MODEL JULY 2020 | '3-in-1' Filters | 99.9% removal in a Modern Design – Silver-1Pack

[3-stage filtration system & 360Â°air intake] includes a pre-filter, h13 hepa and activated carbon filter to effectively remove the smallest particles such as pm2.5 particles, smoke, pollen, dust mites, mold spores, airborne bacteria and vocs. 360Â° air intake and discharge provide fresh and healthy air at all times to give you a cleaner space.
[ultra-silent & aromatherapy-enabled] filters the air with the lowest noise level as quiet as 20db for a restful and soothing indoor environment; if youâ€™re looking for an even deeper level of relaxation, add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to help unclog stuffy noses, relieve sore throats, and aid in deeper, more peaceful sleep.
[medical grade h13 filters ] the medical-grade hepa h13 filter removes 99.97% of particles down to 0.1 micronsï¼ˆhigher rated than true hepa) h13 true hepa is considered medical grade air filtration, the unit alone is not a medical device.
[smart filter replacement indicator] built-in replacement indicator reminds you when you need to replace your filter. it is recommended to replace your filter every 3-6 months depending on the use and air quality. genuine replacement filter is available to purchase (search for b07vrzdc3t ).
[safe certified & portable ] carb certified, fcc certified, and etl listed. unique size 6.7 x 6.7 x 9.1. effective area up to 215 sq.ft. it perfectly fit in office space, bedroom, baby room or pet house. ðŸ"·please note the rated voltage is 110-120v/60hz and remove the plastic bag of filter before first use. ðŸ"·[himox which is supported by us based company provides customer …

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