In 2004 I needed to find the best air purifier for my brain-injured son. (It turned out to be the Blueair Air Purifier… more on that in a minute...)
Pretty personal and rubber meets the road, right?
And did the scammers care? (there a quite a few in the air purifier industry…)
Or those reviewers or companies simply looking to make a buck, did they care once they had my money?
I needed an air purifier that worked, and beyond the possibility of losing hard earned dollars to a scam, I needed it to work well for my son to do well.
So I dove in. Deep. I even talked to engineers at some of the top air purifier manufacturers. I studied the science. I read what others had to say. I broke it down, and then put it all back together again.
In the end, I'm just a dad who went a little overboard researching the best air cleaner for my son's sake. And I'm hoping that by sharing what I found, you'll benefit by breathing cleaner, healthier air.
Through my research, I discovered a simple but not simplistic formula for finding the the best air purifier:
…clean the air the best (quality air)
…while delivering a lot of that clean air (quantity of air)
…and blend in the best secondary features (cost, build quality, consideration of particular needs, etc.)
In formula form, it looks like this:
(clean air) x (delivery rate) + (secondary features) = best air purifier.
Overwhelmed by this? No need to be...
The formula worked, is still working for others, and it is flexible enough to meet specialized needs… and I've applied it throughout this site to many different brands and types of air purifiers so you can reap the results…
The Blueair Air Purifier scores very high in each criteria, delivering better performance than HEPA filters, moving a ton of air (and quietly!) with quality build. My son had great results with this unit in his bedroom, and have since moved it out to the living area with continued success in cleaning the air. Simply put, the BlueAir 501 with smokestop filters will be the best air purifier for most people.
We needed a second air purifier for the rest of the house, and just for variety, we also bought a IQ Air HealthPro purifier. It also did a fantastic job, especially removing mold and dust. My son, who had walked around with mucous constantly streaming from his nose, had a clean face and breathed much better. It's my second best pick, and you can read about my experience with it here.
(Want a powerful one-two punch to allergens, and even viruses? Get one of the two listed above and consider adding a Airfree Air Sterilizer to the mix. It's number three on my list.)
If you have specialized needs such as multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) or heavy smoke removal, or have an extremely tight budget you'll want to check out an expanded list to find the best choice for your unique needs…
My top ten air purifiers list broadens the range, allowing for some trade-offs, while ensuring each still scores well with the formula. You'll rarely need anything other than this list to select to meet the needs of you and your family.
If you're considering an air cleaner that you don't see here, my air purifier reviews run through the most popular 25 brands and types of air purifiers through the formula and a rigorous evaluation.
If you're still stuck on the best air purifier for you, I'm answering questions over at the best air purifier questions page.
Just for you, just this once ;)