We tested the best home air purifiers – here’s what we thought

Since the pandemic, we are more concerned about viruses and germs in the air than ever before.

With its impressive arsenal of stylish and bladeless appliances, Dyson is well versed in keeping cool. But don’t write this luxury wind machine off as an expensive fan.

This thing rids your home of odors by automatically detecting particulates and gases using its activated carbon and HEPA H13 filters, then capturing 99.95% of them.

And it’s also quick to monitor and respond to changes in air quality, detecting PM2.5, PM10, VOC and NO2 (see over page for a box to break down jargon about what these acronyms mean).

Unlike other gadgets, it doesn’t revolve to circulate air. Instead, two flat nozzles expel the stuff and rotate them at a 45 or 90 degree angle. Alternatively, Breeze mode means they oscillate at different speeds. You can even reverse the airflow so that it comes out at the back.

An easy-to-grip remote control, which magnetically snaps to keep it safe, provides power on and off, fan power up to ten, automatic settings, airflow direction and display information. The LCD panel with real-time readouts is a great way to see the AQI in your home (again, see box) – just like the app, for real-time and historical data.

If it’s important to get moisture out of the air, it impressively zaps the inside of its water pipes with UV light to kill 99.9% of bacteria before expelling it as vapor into your home like a humidifier.

It also monitors indoor temperature, can be controlled with Siri and Alexa, and is essentially your one-stop shop for most things related to air quality.

This beast of a machine promises to take care of airborne germs and viruses, as well as dust, allergens, and odors, even in standby mode.

With big claims to match its large size, this high-performance air purifier informs you about air quality via a display at the top, where you can see the readings for PM1, PM2.5, PM10 and VOC levels, in addition to an air quality indicator that changes color from blue to red, depending on the quality.

Manual operation is provided using a control panel, including on/off, auto mode, fan speed and something Blueair calls GermShield, which is designed to prevent the growth of bacteria and viruses on the filter. Audible commands are provided via Amazon Alexa and Google Home.

The informative and easy-to-use app allows you to monitor air quality both in real-time and historically via separate graphs for each PM size, as well as VOCs, temperature and humidity in the room.

You can even compare the outdoor air quality with what happens indoors. Here you can also set the air purifier to night mode, and see the remaining life of the main filter in percentage.

The HealthProtect makes short and almost silent air purification thanks to the HEPASilent Ultra filtration technology and combines a smart design with intuitive functions.

If you want to clean the air for less dosh, Prosenic’s offering is relatively inexpensive for a smart air purifier.

With a freestanding tower design that draws in air underneath and pushes it out cleanly through the top grille, it looks good despite its budget-friendly price.

Inside you’ll find a pre-filter, a HEPA H13 filter and a carbon filter to rid the air of contaminants and odors, as well as a silver ion coating that removes bacteria and prevents mold.

Simple controls let you turn it on and off, switch between four fan speeds, set a timer, or activate the automatic mode, which monitors the air quality and adjusts the fan speed accordingly.

While the more comprehensive air quality measurements of its counterparts are missing from this article, the PM2.5 number appears on the 2-inch screen, with red, orange, or green indicating how good or bad the air quality is.

This screen also gives you a nudge when it’s time to switch filters. Launch the Prosenic app to control it from the couch, activate the lights, set schedules and sleep mode. It also supports Google Assistant or Alexa to turn it on/off.

Simple, affordable and powerful, this smart air purifier filters airborne allergens, pet dander, smoke and pollen, and is good at scrubbing the air.

Pushed to the limit, it gets a little noisy, but overall it works at a less intrusive level, making for a powerful and pocket-friendly air purifier.

The Halo sensor in this smart mask connects to an app that monitors your breathing, as well as local air quality, conveniently revealing the amount of pollutants detected and blocked by the facial furnishings.

Personal air purifiers used to be mocked. With people becoming more open to the idea of ​​going outside with a purifying device, LG’s system provides comfort wherever you go, using a four-stage filtration and lighting system and in-app air quality monitoring.

This extremely creative and outlandish approach to eliminating odors in the air combines a portable two-stage purification system with noise-cancelling cans, and you’re sure to turn a few heads if you strap this to your face.

This little guy will not purify your air, but he will monitor its quality and monitor airborne chemicals, temperature and humidity.

It also provides mold risk warnings to help you make the room less hospitable to virus particles. All info is sent to your smartphone.