I love our Blueair Air Purifier.
As I have related elsewhere, when we needed to clean the air in our home for our son's special needs, we chose the Blueair after mucho research. The Blueair did not disappoint, and here's why.
The Blueair Air Purifier filters pollutants better than most air cleaners, quieter than most air cleaners, moving more air that most air cleaners.
How? "Static Cling!"
Most Blueair models, including the 501, use an ion brush to charge the air pollution particles as they enter, making them magnetized or "sticky" so that by the time the particles arrive at the media filter, they are prone to latch right on: think "static cling."
This achieves somewhat of a feat of engineering. To catch more particles, most filters are made denser and thicker, but that creates more noise / slows the air down when that air passes through. Because of the static cling, less dense filters are needed, while still catching more and smaller (3 times smaller, in fact) particles than the average (HEPA) density filter.
(I do not recommend the Blueair 203, because it strangely reverses the process…)
This static cling approach to air cleaning not only cleans the air better, and quieter, but also delivers that air at a faster rate than most air cleaners. This win-win approach, cleaner air and more of it, takes the Blueair air purifier a long way towards being the best air cleaner for most people.
…Blueair purifiers are easy on the eyes, with quality build. The Blueairs won a place in that National Museum in Stockholm, and several other design awards. While good-lookin' design won't clean the air better, I dislike the drab look of pasty white or gray plastic. The Blueair air purifiers have sleek lines, a sturdy-smooth mostly metal body, a small footprint, and an overall elegant appearance.
…soooo quiet! The absolute quietest air purifier for the amount of air it cleans. Our Blueair 501 air purifier has 4 settings. You won't even hear the lowest level, you'll strain to hear 2. We set ours on level 3, and you can hear it, but it's not bothersome at all. Level 4 is high-powered for quick room cleaning, not for ongoing use.
…crazy energy efficiency. Level one on the Blueair 501 air purifier runs on 35 watts, less than a light bulb. You'll save cash here.
…super easy filter changes. No tools, just pop the lid and change 'em twice a year. (Filters are designed to be environmentally healthy, 100% recyclable. You can feel good about that too.)
…very good gas and odor absorption with smokestop filters. There are two options with a Blueair air purifier, regular or smokestop filters. I recommend upgrading to the Blueair 501 with smokestop filters. It eliminated the pet odors, and I feel better knowing that more harmful gasses (VOC's or volatile organic compounds) that come from our furniture, paint, plastics, and carpets, will be taken out the air.
The Blueair air purifier wins. It filters the air better (quality) and cleans more of that air (quantity) with awesome secondary features (design, quietness, economy, easy filter changes.)
The particular model that I recommend for most homes is the Blueair 501 air purifier with smokestop filters. One can also go with a bigger capacity in the 601, or less for a small room in the 401. I do not recommend the Blueair 203.