Best air purifiers for different rooms
With a bevvy of machines with various purification methods, here’s our top picks
For sufferers of seasonal allergies, air purifiers can make a big difference, filtering such airborne pollutants as dust particles, smoke particulates, pet dander, pet hair, pollen and mold spores from your indoor air. This can have a profound impact on your quality of life, from assisting in dust removal to eliminating pet odor to minimizing the effects of air pollution in your home. Air purifiers are also one of the best ways to remove virus particles from the air inside your home, something on many more people’s radar due to COVID-19.
A multitude of different machines on the market all tout various methods of purification — you could invest in an ionic air purifier, a purifier with an activated carbon filter or even a full home filtration system. It can be tricky to shop for the best air purifier for your needs on your own, but CNET is here to help you sort through your options. These are three of our favorite models for different size rooms and homes.
BEST AIR PURIFIER FOR LARGE ROOMS
Blueair Blue Pure 211 Plus
Blueair’s excellent large-room air cleaner looks great, runs fairly quietly and — most importantly — cleans large rooms efficiently. The Blue Pure 211 Plus weighs 13 pounds and has a simple interface: The touch-sensitive button on the front of the device lets you set it to low, medium, high or off. That’s it.
While it would be nice if it had a few more smarts, like an automatic setting that responds to air quality, Blueair has invested where it matters: the cleaning technology. The True HEPA filter is certified to clean the air in spaces up to 560 square feet, and the activated carbon filter helps remove odors too. That much power for $300 is pretty impressive.
BEST AIR PURIFIER FOR MIDSIZE ROOMS Honeywell Home HPA300
Honeywell’s air purifier is a little more expensive than some other HEPA models, but it can cover a larger space than almost any other purifier we 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 Honeywell Home’s aesthetic isn’t our 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 this Honeywell HPA300.
BEST AIR PURIFIER FOR WHOLE HOMES
Coway Airmega 400
OK, if you’ve got the money and want a super powerful air purifier — or if you’d rather get one purifier to cover your whole house than get one for each room — Coway’s Airmega 400 might be for you. This thing costs a pretty penny at $519, but you get air cleaning coverage of 1,560 square feet.
The Airmega comes with a lot of perks: You get a real-time air quality indicator, a variety of fan speed settings (the highest of which is surprisingly quiet), smart settings that adjust fan speed according to air quality and a range of timers. Of course, it’s also larger than many competitors, weighing nearly 25 pounds.
Most homes are going to be better served with one or two smaller Coway or Honeywell air purifiers, but if you have a specific need for a lot of coverage, the Airmega might be the right call for you.
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