Dyson

I think you’d be better served by two separate devices

oh yes! two separate appliances for sure! sorry if that wasn’t clear.

I think the Winix air purifiers are effective, durable, and an excellent value. I suggest the 5500-2 (go grab the prime day deal if you’re an Amazon prime member)

I’m a fan of the Vornado Energy Smart fans. The DC motors that they use are very reliable and efficient.

Coway Airmega or Rabbit Air for air purifier. Airmega for floors, rabbit air for large rooms or apartments.

What about the BlueAir brand of products for purification? My doctor told me to get one of those in my room for allergens.

Yes came here to say this. Very happy with mine. Used for years consistently.

Is too....they da best

We have no idea as you buy both devices based on room size and you have not provided it. You need to provide it. And you need a budget or I'll recommend a hospital grade PM1 unit that costs more than your car.

Ac infinity

For air filtration and humidification combined I would choose a Sharp. I bought 2 kc-d40eu I white for my 100m2 house and put them in the primary rooms. Monthly cleaning but otherwise no hassle, quiet and looking fine. Ubiquitous in Japan, seems to be a proven concept. 3 filters, carbon and hepa filter being key for getting all particles and smells out. Highly recommended.

For a BIFL purifier a Venta Air washer is great and doesn't have expensive disposable filter waste. It's also an evaporative humidifier.

We have a few Honeywell quietset tower fans, not sure if they are BIFL, but we've had them for about five years and they haven't had issues and the oscillation is still smooth.

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Agreed. Mine are 7 years old and run like new.

Here to second Honeywell tower fans. I had one for ages and it only died because it was knocked down a flight of stairs. My new one is 10 years old and still works great.

Only buy a true HEPA despite the filter replacements. A filter with fancy ionization, etc that doesn't actually filter and clean the air is not doing its job. It's physics that you need the air to move to filter. MERV 13 to 16 AC filters attached to a box fan have most efficacy for moving and filtering the most air.

My brother had one of these for about 14 years. It ran 24/7 for all that time (except when they were out of town.)

They perform well in independent PM tests; however, they do use ionization, and their filtration efficiency depends on this ionization as they do not use HEPA filters. Some buyers may not want the ionization (which you cannot disable on their models).

Like most purifiers, their ability to reduce VOCs is somewhat limited.

I have a levoit 300S HEPA air purifier. I'd never heard of the brand before I bought it, sounded fake, but my allergies were getting unbearable and $100 for anything truly HEPA is neither exorbitant nor suspiciously cheap. I've only had it a few months, so this isn't a true BIFL recommendation, but I'm very impressed with the build quality; parts fit together very precisely, feels heavy and sturdy, and the fan continues to spin for a long time after powering it off, indicating that it's very well lubricated and balanced. It feels like a much more expensive product. Also has a fair amount of settings including one to turn the LEDs off. After the first few hours of using it my bedroom smelled a lot cleaner and the air felt different to breathe, reminded me of a very clean hotel or hospital. The company recommends replacing the filter every nine months, I think they could probably last a year if you periodically wipe down the outer mesh of the filter with a dry cloth to remove the layer of larger dust particles which isn't touching the HEPA filter. Supposedly works with an app as well but it's not required and I never used it.

I have several winix purifiers that I've been using for about 5 years with no problems. They are great at filtering allergens and pet dander.

I highly recommend the Rowenta "Turbo Silence" fans for the bedroom. I have the table fan but they also make a floorstanding model. Not only does it show no signs of giving in after about 7 years, the lowest setting is actually silent.

What brand/product would you recommend? I don’t have to go low cost. That’s not my main priority. I certainly don’t want to be wasteful and overspend for something I don’t really need, but I can afford a nice unit. I have approx 500 sf that I’m looking to reduce dust, etc

Bear with me, as I am about to geek out a bit.

I have/have had more than a few air purifiers in my day, but the only one I consider BIFL quality is my AllerAir Pro 6, as it has a stainless steel body, uses a commercial fan, and is built in the USA. It is appropriate for extremely polluted air, has enough airflow for the largest of rooms, and is very appropriate for use against VOCs. (However, it has some notable downsides, ranging from purchase/operational costs to its terrible 1990s-era aesthetics to the absolute lack of basic features. Mine also weighs ~60 pounds, and you need to turn it upside down to change the prefilter. That said, its performance and its holistic coverage of the various types of air pollution is just stellar.) AirPura is another name that produces a purifier with the same design philosophy (and it has most of the same downsides). Austin Air is also often considered to be very good. Alen is another that builds an excellent product (BreatheSmart line) and, despite having way more electronic components and advanced features than the others mentioned, they have a very solid reputation. They also deserve credit for producing a unit that moves a ton of air through a very restrictive medical grade HEPA filter, yet still manages to be quiet, and with great efficiency. Their form factor is also great. Oransi also made a domestic product (EJ-120) that had a good rep, but they recently continued it---the company said they are going to release a replacement in the near future.

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I own or have previously owned products from Medify, Levoit, Whirlpool, Honeywell, Coway, and BlueAir, which are some of the common makers often mentioned in reviews. All of these brands offer some pretty good product lines, some of which utilize excellent quality HEPA filters, have a lot of airflow, and do a good job at reducing PM1/2.5/10 levels (but note that they are not very effective with VOCs). However, these products are generally imported, the fans are not the most robust, the cords are not always durable, the construction is generally plastic (with some exceptions), and they often have a ton of electronics built into the unit, which can and sometimes do break. (I do have a very basic Whirlpool purifier that is about 15 years old and running strong, which deserves mentioning.)

That's not to say these products are bad, but it is to say that many of the air purifiers presently on the market often seem to prioritize other areas above longevity. Right now, the hot thing is putting PM sensors on purifiers that are then used to control fan speed, which is (functionally speaking) a terrible idea. Smart capability is also huge, as is more emphasis on less ugly designs (see my note above) that blend in better with the surroundings. Further, the price of many of those products is stellar, and their ability to filter particulate matter from the air is pretty solid. Medify, Levoit, and Coway all deserve special mention here because they offer H13 (and, in some cases, H14) medical grade HEPA filters on affordably-priced units.

I probably went a bit overboard here, but I hope this is of help.

Not overboard at all. I enjoyed reading that. I’ll read anything you can advise me on regarding this topic.

Some recent blood work I had done showed that I have some allergen sensitivities, with dust mites and cat dander being the worst. I have both of those I’m my home. My doctor told me to spend the money and get a proper air purifying unit. I’m all for spending money for cleaner air that helps make my sleeping environment clean so that I may find more fulfilling sleep.

I’m not necessarily looking for BIFL I suppose, just products that truly do what I need and do it well. Longevity, features, aesthetics, affordability, etc are all non-priority variables that while aren’t entirely unimportant, are not really a concern.

I really do appreciate that reply. Lots of good info and I’m glad you shared it. Thanks!

Venta air washers are the best humidifiers out there!

Plasmawave is something to reconsider though as it may not be that great a feature to have .

I’ve read into it, I’m not concerned in the least, and you can disable it if you want.

Look into Austin Air. Not cheap, but they’re probably the best mix of efficacy, durability, and design simplicity.

Just got a rabbit air after a bunch of research. It does hepa filtration as well as odor. May get a second unit, likely the Conway 1512 to increasey coverage.

One thing to look at is cost analysis of the filters. Many brands may be great but I found it ridiculous how after 2 years you could be paying more than double what your air purifier costs.

My rabbit air a3 will cost around 120 bucks 1x a year as the machine is meant to run 24/7.

Another thing is warranty. Rabbit air offers 5 years which is great. For my son's bedroom we went with a levoit as they are relatively inexpensive to keep up and running.

Blue air is nice but some of the models I don't like their prefilter. It's basically some cloth that slips over the bottom. Which brings me to another point. Washable prefilters.

Overall, in your search you need to look for something with a washable prefilters, reasonably priced filters, ideally good on power consumption, and one with a good cadr.

If you suffer from Allergies you ideally want your purifier to do 4+ air changes per hour. Depending on how open the space is you may need 2 units or more. Which is precisely why I'm looking for a second to ensure that.

As for cadr. You need to do some math to figure out what you need. Room area x height of ceiling to get cubic feet.

Then take cadr and multiply it by 60 to get cubic feet per hour.

Take that and divide by the room size. The higher the better.

I have an ionizing feature on mine as well which is swappable. Don't get me wrong they do make good units with a great app too.

I’m looking into Levoit but wondering how often these filters need changed because they seem a little pricy

Looking into one of these too. The filters are expensive though

tldr; Levoit makes good products at a reasonable price, and their filters are good quality--which model are you considering? Levoit recommends 6-8 months on most of their products, I believe. I would also recommend considering the Coway 1512 Mighty and Winix 5500-2, both of which I believe are 12 month intervals and, if filter costs are a problem, have some good third parties that also offer filters for them (not certain about Levoit in this regard). The Coway filters, even the factory ones, are very inexpensive.

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in detail; Getting into the nitty gritty, it's hard to say exactly when a HEPA filter needs to be changed without a standalone air quality meter (and, to some extent, the ability to measure airflow through the unit itself). HEPA filters actually get more effective at capturing particulate matter the longer they are used. Then, after a point, their filtration efficiency falls because it gets clogged to a point where airflow through the filter becomes more difficult and decreases. This process gets expedited if extremely large particles cover the outside of the HEPA filter, so a lot of makers add reusable prefilters that capture hair, fur, and dust--clean these often and this can prolong the life of the HEPA filter (to a limited degree) and also the life of the unit (as the fan motor isn't working as hard).

The speed in which the above happens is highly dependent on the environment in which it is used and frequency/speed the unit is ran (Side note - I recommend running these units around the clock at the highest tolerable speed.) So, generally, they provide a rough filter interval estimate to try to account for average conditions. In a highly polluted environment, you may need to change it more often. In one with less pollution where you are constantly cleaning the prefilter, you could probably get away with longer change intervals (although some makers do require you to change the filter on their interval to maintain the factory warranty.)

Now, another thing to think about is carbon. Many filters today have carbon pellets impregnated into the HEPA filter, where a single filter contains both the HEPA + carbon components. The amount of carbon in most consumer units is very, very small, and its ability to impact VOCs for any prolonged period is extremely limited. This carbon will generally exhaust long before the HEPA portion of the filter, and some makers do appear to base their filter change intervals on this. With Levoit and most of the major manufacturers, I do think it is important to note how they are very much oriented towards the filtration of particulate matter. Their ability to reduce unwanted scents, and especially harmful VOCs (e.g., benzene, formaldehyde, etc.), is very, very limited. Arguably, particulate matter is going to be a bigger concern for most buyers, but if something is needed specifically for VOCs, a different kind of filter should be considered.

The coway mega would filter roughly every 20 minutes. Goes for $190 right now. The winix C535, 5300-2, and 5500-2 would do every 20 as well. C535 is $150 compared to $200. What would the major differences between those 3 be? I’m here for overall cheap upfront and maintenance.

I can't speak to the 5300-2 and 535, but Winix does make good products, so those are probably good units. With respect to both the Mighty and 5500-2, both have pretty reasonable running costs. Each does a bit better than the other in different areas.

The 5500-2 and Coway Mighty separate the carbon filter from the HEPA filter, which, to me, is an advantage. The 5500-2 has two different carbon filter options-one that is a carbon mesh, and the other which has actual carbon pellets (the latter being better), whereas the Coway is only the former. The Coway brand filter should be a bit cheaper than the Winix brand. Filter Monster, and other respectable third party makers, should make third party replacements for both (I've tested a Filter Monster product for a Whirlpool and found it to perform equally as good as OEM against PM2.5). Both are rated at 12 months and, if on a budget, IMHO, stretching it to ~15 should be just fine provided you are frequently cleaning the prefilter.

Probably the biggest difference between the two comes down to energy usage. To my understanding, the Coway is more energy efficient on lower fan speeds, and the Winix more efficient on higher. I feel running on higher is always a good thing (if the noise is tolerable), so if you are going to run it on a higher speed, this favors the Winix 5500-2.

One other option to mention, if on an extreme budget, is the Corsi-Rosenthal box. This is effectively a box fan taped to MERV-13 filter(s). It is not very pretty to look at, but it is very effective with respect to filtering particulate matter. That said, while its up-front cost is much lower, energy consumption is higher.

I've got an austin air. Seems good but not looking forward to the replacement filter when I need one.

I can get the 5500-2 on Amazon for $150. How much do these replacement filters typically go for?

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Found a winix d480. Wondering if it’s any good compared to the rest? The only complaint I see is that it has a carbon foam.