
But when combined with IAQ best practices - like regular vacuuming and controlling indoor humidity levels throughout the year - the following top-rated air purifiers can help make your home healthier. Keep in mind that an air purifier on its own can’t give your home perfect indoor air quality (IAQ).
#Blue pure 411 portable#
While an air purifier's ability to remove contaminants is the most important criterion, our experts also consider such factors as ease of use, maintenance and operating costs, the same way we do with other air treatment equipment, like humidifiers, portable air conditioners and dehumidifiers. Testing takes place in labs at the Institute and in consumer testers' homes, allowing us to evaluate the devices in real-world conditions. “Improved filtration helps today’s air purifiers capture more contaminants from the air in your home,” says Carolyn Forté, executive director of the Good Housekeeping Institute's Home Care and Cleaning Lab.īut some purifiers are better than others, according to our latest round of testing, which took our total number of reviewed models up to 45. In recent years, air purifiers have evolved from a mostly niche product to a must-have health and wellness device in many homes, thanks to the steady rise in indoor air pollutants - everything from wildfire smoke to a pandemic-fueled uptick in households that own a pet.Īs with any consumer product, the surge in demand has brought more brands into the market, along with significant innovations. We also added newly tested models from Dyson and Coway. To learn more about how air purifiers work, check out our air purifier buying guide.We updated this guide in April 2023 to e nsure all of our recommendations were in stock and correctly priced.

For more options, explore our comprehensive air purifier ratings, where you can read about more than 100 models and filter them according to your needs (including by price, brand, and weight). Here’s a closer look at those five models, in alphabetical order. But the top five performers remain the same. Six performed well enough in our rigorous tests to earn a CR recommendation, and two even broke into the top 10. We recently added 16 more models to our ratings, including a new entry from Levoit.

And because these machines are designed to run day and night, we measure noise levels, in decibels, at every speed, and calculate annual operating costs for filter replacements and energy use to run the machine 24 hours a day. (Human hair has a diameter of 100 microns.) Using a particle counter, we measure the change in particle concentration as the air purifier runs for 15 minutes at the highest speed, and then at a lower speed. To test air purifiers, we inject smoke and dust particles into a sealed chamber and assess how well each model removes particles between 0.1 and 1 micron. These ratings are based on Consumer Reports’ 2022 Summer Survey of 8,377 air purifiers purchased between 20. In March 2023, we also began folding in owner satisfaction and reliability ratings into a model’s overall score. And it’s a breeze to move them from room to room, maneuver the controls, and change filters. What’s more, they feature an intuitive design, so you don’t need a PhD in particle physics to operate them. The best air purifiers in our ratings are capable of clearing the air even on low settings-and they do it without making a racket and at a reasonable annual cost.

#Blue pure 411 full#
It’s often how much debris these machines can capture when not on full blast that’s a challenge. Our engineers find that many of the models we run in our labs can ace our tests at high speed, with no problem. And the worst, he says, will struggle, even when it’s at the highest speed, “accompanied by a lot of noise.” The best air purifiers can do this at any speed, says Misha Kollontai, who oversees air-purifier testing at Consumer Reports. It can also tackle viruses and suspicious-smelling volatile compounds. But if you often find yourself coughing or feeling itchy-eyed, or simply wish the air were more pristine, then you might consider an air purifier.Īn air purifier can remove very small particles, such as dust, pollen, and particulate matter that’s in smoke.

That may be okay if it doesn’t bother you.
#Blue pure 411 windows#
This is particularly true if you rarely open the windows to let fresh air circulate, or if the air out there isn’t the freshest to begin with - we see you allergy and wildfire season. Even if your surfaces just seem to collect dust, the air in your home might not be as squeaky clean as you think. Do you spend a lot of time cheffing it up in the kitchen or using cleaning products throughout the house? Maybe you have a pet that sheds or little ones who often get sick.
