The Essential Air Purifier Buying Guide

Did you know that the air inside your home can be up to 5 TIMES MORE POLLUTED than the air outdoors? This air purifier buying guide covers how to choose the perfect air purifier for your needs. REMEMBER: Not all makes and models are created equal.

Before you spend anything, learn how to choose the right one and you’ll save money, breathe better air, and keep energy costs down every month.

Are you tired of waking up groggy, stuffed up, and with a sore throat? Are you noticing you or your children getting sick more often? Don’t worry, an air purifier can fix all of that, and they’re not nearly as expensive as you think they are.

The only problem is that there are SO MANY models to choose from, and they are all good at doing different things. This guide shows you EXACTLY what to look for and consider while shopping so you get the perfect fit.

Cleaner, fresher air and a better life are within reach!

Check Out Our Top Air Purifiers Here

Why Buy an Air Purifier?

It might be hard to realize, but the air in your home is its own self-contained atmosphere. You and your family breathe it in every second you spend indoors.

Dust, mold, smoke, dander, pollen, and a number of other airborne pollutants can wreak havoc on your body, causing irritation, sickness, or worse. An air purifier utilizes a specialized filtering process that targets these particles and filters out up to 99% of them.

That means fewer particles in the air will enter your body. If you or someone in your family suffers from allergies or asthma, an air purifier is an absolute MUST.

Not All Purifiers are the Same

Not all air purifiers are made for the same reasons. Some are stronger (and more expensive) than others, some are made only for small areas, and some are industrial-strength for warehouses or other large areas.

To make matters worse, some even use technology that could have NEGATIVE consequences in your home.

It’s imperative that you get one that suits your needs. If not, your money will go to waste and your health won’t improve.

OK, let’s get to how to buy the right air purifier. Don’t worry, it’s not nearly as hard as you think. There are a few key points to look out for. Everything else is just a bit of easy research!

How to Buy the Perfect Air Purifier for Your Home

Here are the steps to finding the right model at the right price. Follow these steps and you’ll be breathing better air as soon as you turn it on.

1. Ask Yourself Why You Need One

As we said before, each model is made for a specific purpose. In fact, the biggest mistake shoppers make is buying a model meant for a different purpose. For example, you might actually make your child’s asthma WORSE if you get the wrong model.

Here are the most common reasons for buying an air purifier. Be sure to find the proper model for each:

To Fight Asthma: Air pollutants can trigger asthma attacks, so you’ll need a HEPA air purifier that captures particles using a paper filter.
To Fight Mold: There are specialized models just for fighting mold (we explain more below).
For Allergies: Some air purifiers can create an allergen-free home by using a specialized device known as a pre-filter.
For Pet Dander: Fluffy’s fluff isn’t always as innocent as it may seem...and it can be made worse by rugs and furniture. You’ll need to look for special filter known as a HEPA-type filter. Much more on this below.

This is the most important aspect of shopping for a filter. Now that you know you need a specialized purifier for different needs, let’s look at the specs to watch out for:

2. Purchasing Basics

When shopping for an air purifier, there are two terms you absolutely MUST UNDERSTAND. Shoppers overlook these extremely important metrics almost every time and suffer the consequences for it. ACH and CADR will determine how healthy your air is, so don’t take this lightly!

What is ACH?

Air changes per hour, or ACH, is the measure of how many times the air purifier can change the air in a room of a given size (we’ll cover measuring room size down below).

So, if the rating is 4x, that means the purifier can replace the dirty air with fresh, clean air four times every hour. Sound important? It is!

What is CADR?

Clean Air Delivery Rate, or CADR, is basically how effective a model is at cleaning the air.

The great thing about this statistic is that it comes from an independent organization, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. It gives consumers a base metric to compare different models against each other.

This standard is displayed as a 3-digit number. The higher, the better. If the model you’re looking to buy doesn’t have it, don’t buy it!

NOTE: CADR only measures smoke, pollen, and dust.

Check Out Our Top Air Purifiers Here

3. The Different Types of Air Filters

There are 4 basic types of air filtration that you need to be familiar with. They all serve a different purpose.

HEPA: This is the gold standard in the industry. Top end machines are equipped with a paper filter that filters up to 99% of all dangerous microscopic particles. They are HIGHLY efficient and are the best technology for removing dust, hair, pollen, mold, smoke, and anything else dangerous in the air. Remember to look for “TRUE HEPA” filters. If you only need to remove pet hair, you can go for a “HEPA-TYPE” filter to save some money.
UV Light: Some purifiers come with a UV laser beam that attacks particles in the air, especially mold. This type of technology will sterilize your home by destroying the DNA structure of bacteria. Pretty cool! BONUS: UV lights rarely need to be replaced, keeping monthly operating costs down!
Carbon Filtration: This is meant to remove odors, NOT dangerous particles. This filter uses a special form of carbon, and when those carbon spores are activated, it creates a film that traps odors and leaves your home smelling FRESH!
Ionic Filtration: These filters release ions into the air that bond to particles and force them to fall to the floor. The problem is that they remain in the room and the byproducts can irritate asthma symptoms.

3. How to choose the Right Sized Purifier

The last thing you want to do is spend $500 on a machine that doesn’t have the power to clean the air in your home.

Pay special attention to the square footage rating on the model. Compare it to the size of your room, and you’re good to go!

To measure a room, just measure the length and width and multiply them together. If a room is 10 x 30, then you need a 300 square foot rating. If you need it for a larger space of connected rooms, just add the total square footage for each room together.

4. Extra Features to Consider

You now have everything you need to buy the perfect air purifier for your home.

However, there are plenty of nifty add-ons that can make your home even more livable.

Pre-Filter: These capture hair and other large particles. Great for pets!
Digital Controls: You can be WAY more precise! Most models are digital these days.
Air Quality Sensors: These will monitor the air for certain pollutants and automatically adjust to keep your air 100% safe.
Programmable Timer: You can program the device to shut off when you aren’t home to keep costs down!