South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Best air purifiers for 2022
Depending on where you live, an air purifier may be more of a necessity than a luxury. If allergy season tends to wreak havoc in your area, an air purifier can help by keeping allergens out of your home.
They’re also useful if you live in an area where wildfires are common, and they can improve the breathability of the air at home. Quite a few different models are on the market right now, so to help you find the best air purifier for your home and your needs, we’ve tested, reviewed and rounded up some of the best options out there at the moment. We are listing three of them here, but for the full scoop, check out CNET’s list of the best air purifiers we’ve tested at cnet. co/3S9tBpI.
After careful tests and consideration, these are our top picks for best air purifier options based on our research. Any one of the air purifiers below should improve your indoor air quality and filter out smoke and airborne particles while also providing fresh air.
BEST FOR LARGE ROOMS: 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 airborne pollutants. That much power at this price is pretty impressive, and it’s worth considering whether this is the best air purifier for your needs if you have a large room.
BEST AIR PURIFIER FOR FIRST-TIME BUYERS: COWAY AP1512HH HEPA AIR
PURIFIER
BLUEAIR BLUE
After months of personal use, Coway’s
HEPA air purifier cemented itself as our favorite available HEPA air cleaner. Prices for these devices have fluctuated over the past year, but the list price is solid for the 361-square-foot coverage it offers. In addition to its coverage, the Coway’s ion filtration technology that removes pet
dander, dust and other allergen particles sets it apart from many other purifiers in the price range. The Coway’s striking, retro design was also one of my favorites among the devices we tested. In short, it’s a solid product without all the complicated extras some other devices offer. Just plug it in, turn it on and forget about it.
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 air purifiers around with one of the most adventurous looks.
BEST FOR WHOLE HOMES OVERALL: 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 one for each room — Coway’s Airmega 400 might be the best air purifier for you. This thing costs a pretty penny, 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. 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.