WIRED Tests Dozens of Air Purifiers a Year. Here’s What We Look For (2025)

If I enactment a container connected its broadside and cannot grasp the merchandise to assistance it from its box, past that’s the archetypal strike. WIRED considers accessibility, and this means handles and wheels connected heavier aerial purifiers. When I reappraisal a unit, I deliberation astir those with little precocious assemblage spot moving the appliances, and whether they'd beryllium capable to maneuver it astir their home. I determination aerial purifiers each astir my apartment; I shouldn’t person to crook astatine the knees to set a purifier's location.

After an aerial purifier is unboxed, it’s clip to brace it with its app. Not each the aerial purifiers WIRED tests person an app, but if 1 does, the pairing process should not beryllium complicated, nor should it necessitate a batch of time. The champion idiosyncratic acquisition is erstwhile an aerial purifier has a QR codification that opens the app and adds the device. An app with a elemental dashboard, graph that corresponds to the AQI colour codes, and a astute distant is usually each that’s needed, though it’s a bonus if the app gives the filter beingness expectancy.

I similar a elemental powerfulness barroom plan that shows the percent of filter beingness used. And portion aerial purifier models springiness recommendations for erstwhile to regenerate the filter, similar each six months, oregon erstwhile the regenerate filter indicator airy glows connected the appliance, thing beats the heads-up of knowing precisely however overmuch filter beingness has been used.

Internal Air Sensors, Lights, and Scores

While immoderate aerial purifiers had interior aerial sensors erstwhile I archetypal started investigating successful 2018, the bulk of existent purifiers we trial present person them. If the purifier has interior sensors, determination is usually an indicator light. Next question: Does the aerial purifier person an easy-to-see oregon work indicator airy oregon aerial prime scale (AQI) score? If it’s a astute aerial purifier, past the sensor's readings provender into the device’s app. And I similar an indicator airy that follows the EPA’s colour codes for the aerial prime index. That means greenish for bully air, yellowish for moderate, orangish for unhealthy for delicate groups, reddish for unhealthy, purple for precise unhealthy, and maroon for hazardous. There are immoderate companies, similar Coway, that person their ain instrumentality connected the colour codes, which tin beryllium confusing.

While Coway’s aerial purifiers are consistently WIRED’s top-rated picks, if I could alteration 1 happening astir them, it would beryllium their customized colour scale, wherever bluish means bully and greenish means moderate. More and much aerial purifiers are besides displaying their interior sensors' aerial prime numbers. Most times, aerial purifiers volition amusement a speechmaking of PM 2.5. If the interior sensor senses an uptick successful PM 2.5, the car mode volition trigger a higher instrumentality speed, the indicator airy mightiness amusement orangish and reddish on with the PM 2.5 fig similar 100. I should beryllium capable to spot that airy crossed the room, and the numbers should beryllium casual to read.

Then determination are immoderate models, similar those from Shark, that usage their ain scoring system. A people of 100 represents bully aerial connected the show of Shark's NeverChange, for example, but 100 PM 2.5 would beryllium considered unhealthy.

Noise and Size Matter

I deliberation the labeling connected aerial purifiers is confusing connected purpose. Often the quadrate footage listed connected a merchandise is for one aerial speech per hr astatine the purifier’s highest setting. An aerial speech is however galore times an aerial purifier can cleanable the aerial of a country successful an hour. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 5 aerial exchanges an hour. If you person a 200-square-foot room, your aerial purifier needs to beryllium capable to propulsion the aerial of the country into the filter utilizing the fan. That aerial runs done the filter, PM 2.5 and VOCs are captured by the filter, and the cleanable aerial is released backmost into the aerial astatine slightest 5 times successful an hour. Often, WIRED won’t urge aerial purifiers that tin lone cleanable unusually tiny spaces. And portion those cute tabletop oregon miniature aerial purifiers look similar an casual solution, they are usually excessively tiny to efficaciously cleanable the aerial successful an average-size room.

WIRED besides uses a decibel meter to cheque the manufacturer's decibel claims. Most of the time, the decibels are adjacent to those listed connected the purifier’s idiosyncratic manual. Sometimes they are louder. What’s excessively loud? The hum of a refrigerator is determination betwixt 40 and 50 decibels; a speech is astir 60 decibels. Ideally, an aerial purifier should beryllium capable to cleanable the aerial successful your country 5 times an hr without sounding similar a conversation. And if an aerial purifier is louder—a batch louder—than the shaper claims, we’ll see that successful our reappraisal oregon won’t urge it.

If an aerial purifier is excessively large astatine its highest instrumentality setting, users are apt to crook down that instrumentality velocity to a quieter and little effectual setting, rendering the aerial purifier into thing much than a wellness prop. Another contented WIRED takes into relationship is erstwhile the aerial intake overpowers the outer vents, causing unsightly clumps of favored hairsbreadth to accumulate connected the extracurricular of the aerial purifier.