BreatheSmart 25i

1) Ask r/airpurifiers 2) Alen is really the only true BIFL brand because they offer a lifetime warranty for as long as you buy genuine Alen filters. Plus the filters last a long time too and they are incredibly quiet. Coway and Winix are good too just not at the level Alen is. **Avoid Dyson, blueair and Levoit. They’re junk.** 3) As for sizing, this part is important: most manufacturers advertise crazy sqft numbers (1,000sqft+ for a tiny tabletop unit) just know that most of the time this is disclaimed by stating it can filter all the air in a 1ksqft room ONE TIME per hour. If you actually want to filter your air, industry standard is FOUR times per hour. So in reality, that 1ksqft unit is really only good for a 250sqft room **on full blast** which is usually loud. What kind of space are you trying to purify? An Alen 45i or 75i is great for living rooms and open spaces, then A flex or 25i bedrooms would work well.

Hey, you and I are in the same boat. I had a baby boy at 31 weeks, now almost 5 month adjusted, and I went down the air quality rabbit hole hard. I want to do whatever I can to keep him healthy and developing normally. He sleeps with us in our room right now. I have a clean air kits luggable xl pc fan cr box and a IQair Health Pro Plus running on setting 2. Both run 24/7. This gives me a lot of air changes per hour and some gas filtration, while staying below 50 decibels. In the rest of the house, I have more luggable xls, smart air blast, iqair gc and GCX, Coway 400 and 300, and an Alen 25i. I think it’s important to get a standalone air quality monitor like the air gradient one or purple air zen. I run the hvac blower fan 24/7 to circulate air through the house. I also open windows every morning and bring in fresh air to keep CO2 low. I don’t know what your budget is, but you can make your own cr boxes for really cheap and then throw a few nice hepa air purifiers on top. I bought all the expensive units used (iqair, Coway, smart air) and saved a ton of money. Just gave them a good cleaning and new filters. Another important thing is to always run your kitchen hood vent when cooking I’ve been keeping my house between 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit so that he sleeps his best and relative humidity between 45-55%. I have a Midea Cube dehumidifier I run when it’s really humid out and humidity in the house gets above 60%. I also vaccum and mop the floors all the time now. We have an old dog that sheds a lot and the floors get covered in hair if I don’t stay on top of it. I kindof rambled but that’s just been what I have been doing and what purifiers I bought to give you some ideas and things to look into.

Considering the current Coway price tags, I prefer Alen. I have the Coway Airmega 400S and 300S and then recently got the Alen 25i for my small office. Alen hands down has the most pleasant sound. Plus they come with a lifetime warranty if you buy their filters which are reasonably priced.

I just got an Alen Air 25i for my little office and it’s been a really great unit for the last few weeks. Alen sells bundle “whole house” solutions that might work for you. For me, I put a smart air blast in my living room, a iqair GCX in my kitchen, iqair gc in my dining room/front foyer, Alen 25i in the office, Coway Air Mega 300 and 400s in our spare bedrooms, an iq air health pro plus in the master bedroom, and 4 clean air luggable cr boxes spread out throughout the house. Do I have an addiction to buying air purifiers? Yes. Very weird addiction. But all were bought off Facebook marketplace and were pennies on the dollar compared to new. Just had to give them a good wipe down and put in a new filter.

I have a 25i in my office and it’s awesome. I leave it on speed 3 or turbo to get the necessary cfm, but it’s so quiet. I’m seriously considering getting some bigger units down the road. The only thing I don’t like about them is carbon is last in their filters instead of between pre filter and hepa filter.

Have you considered an Alen 25 or 35i? I love my 25i for my office. Its auto light feature is perfect for night time and it’s the quietest air purifier I’ve ever had.

I love my Alen purifiers. I use the "Fresh" filters which in addition to being HEPA filters also filter out smells and smoke. https://alen.com/collections/on-sale#products

Hmm,  but you didn't explain any of that in your main post ?    As it sounds like smoke/VOCs are a bigger issue than your main post indicated.  So firstly, I would look at the vents.  As you are sharing air via vents in an apartment.  (Mine is an older place with a smelly carpet...but no charges vents/no shared AC which is one of the reasons I picked it.). So with my 8 purifiers...air is crisp + clean thankfully but you don't need to get 8 of them.  And it took me a few years to accumulate that many as you get what you can get + keep adding for better coverage if needed.  So you might want 2-3 though imo, given your problem.  You can even put a corsi Rosenthal box on your couch....leave it there while you sleep....will clean you air while you sleep.  Then move it out of the way if needed.  You also can make one a bit smaller of that a problem.  Just put a filter behind a fan...and you now have a DIY purifier essentially.   Ditto with carbon strips or Caron pellets which you can buy for like 12 bucks i think.  Here's someone posting about DIY carbon remedies (carbon binds to smoke + carbon pellets /activated charcoal/Caron absorb odors.).  So for smoke + odors you need black carbon strips at the minimum, and probably some carbon pellets.  Some purified have a little at 200 dollars but good ones for that are more expensive.  Like Austin Air is 750, a great one.  Alens are great and a medium one is maybe 290 (35i). They also have a 25i maybe 200ish.  Anyway...but those don't move a huge amount of air at the smaller sizes.  A 25i has like 180CFM power.  A 60 dollar corsi Rosenthal has like 400CFM power.  2x-3x more power forms fraction of the cost. It is far superior of money is an issue in terms of power and Hepa participate cleaning.  An Alen 25i does have the some carbon in filter, but you will need more CFM power than just that for particulates and overall coverage.   Sorry side tracked...so in an apartment with shared air I would first look at the vents.  You can buy little filters that fit over those vents.  Now white ones would do anything for smoke though, but you can cut carbon strips to whatever size you want...and tape them over the vents.  Not aesthetically perfect...but some people have done that in same situation as you.  I prob would too if the smoke is definitely coming in there.  Also check the bathroom   Every apartment has exhaust fan above bathroom usually.  That is key in air flow from unit to unit.  But old buildings might just have an open air grill pretty much.  This allowing bad air to get in + circulate all over between units.  Newer places will have it where the fan turns on automatically and pushes air "out" while you are on the bathroom...and then a girl will close behind it when you turn it off and leave bathroom.  This closing off outside 'bad" air getting in.  But some units might not have a grill.  You could also your landlord or management/maintenance if they know if there is a grill or not.   Here is an article that talks about this stuff, very useful with pictures.   https://elpais.com/especiales/coronavirus-covid-19/how-infected-air-can-flow-from-one-apartment-to-another/ 2.  Don't get a sharky.  They are not strong units for what you get.  The 90 dollar Levoit Core 300 out-performed the 200 dollar Sharky in recent testing.  Every air purifier pretty much has filters, and they will get dirty and need to be replaced.  Austin Air units have filters that last up to 5 years...but it's 750 bucks.  That is one of the best units for smoke + VOCs.   Pounds of carbon pellets and stuff to absorb odors + VOCs.  IQAIR even better but they are like 1,000.  Alens good mid-range a 45i which I went with is around 350.  All Alens come with a lifetime warranty too.  You could consider pairing a smaller Alen with  a Levoit or corsi Rosenthal etc.   3.  For Smoke + VOCs thoughs, the corsi Rosenthal equivalent for cheap would be a ventilator with carbon filter, such as weed growers have.  Thats like 120 bucks for the whole kit...and would give most immediate impact for smoke + odors.  You are going to want to DIY these things given your budget, and you get more power and performance anyway that way.   Yes, purifiers can help a little with smoke. But you would need like probably 3 or 4 or 5 affordable units perhaps...to control the level of problem you are talking about.  Just 1 affordable unit might give you like a 20 or 25 or 30% improvement via smoke + odors, maybe something like that.  Whereas a ventilator might do like....90% and perhaps even solve your problem. Air Fanta sells a custom made CR box with panels that can be taken apart, so you can disaamble It in a moment...and they have the option to get it with carbon filters.  That might be an option as well for you.   https://air-fanta.com/products/airfanta-3pro 4. For the ventilator look at this thread also from today:  https://www.reddit.com/r/AirPurifiers/comments/1s34pqr/comment/och6r5h/?force-legacy-sct=1 So...1. look at the vents and you can buy carbon strips for like 12 bucks.  I would put them all over anywhere you think air is sleeping in from next door, if needed.  A ventilator with black carbon filter will do even more....a lot more.  And and at least 1 purifier or CR box for particulates and general coverage.  You can also vacuum the filters of a Levoit, to make them last longer.  But you do have to replace pretty much any purifiers filter.  Not the environmentally perfect choice...but what we must do.  Filters usually can last around 6 months, give or take how dirty your air is.  Literally any purifier will help you......esp if you put it near you and breathe in the clean air it is pumping out.  The problem is how do you get it do you always have that clean air pumping out no matter where you are in apartment ?  That is where coverage and CFM comes in.  A CR box will pump way more air + reach further.  You also need a small one for bedroom you can even put on nightstand, for when sleeping...very important.  Levoit has a 50 dollar mini that is good for that.   Lastly....I even have a whole helmet...called an Air Microclimate 3.   It's around 300 bucks...but amazing...as it's pretty much like a purifier....on your head lol, but get good coverage and look at the vents + ventilation etc. and you probably won't need that.  You won't totally solve the problem with 1 air purifier...it will take some remedying + multiple things... But its definitely doable.   Maybe for 300-500 but you don't even need that all at once.  And the DIY stuff might even be able to do it for 250 range.  Id start there, it will make a huge difference for you.  But get any purifier while you look into it, get a Levoit Core 300 and put it next to you.  You will likely immediately....notice the difference with the clean air as I do.  So then you gotta add coverage...so that you get that clean air all through your unit. (Ideally.). But otherwise just moving a CR box around with you is an excellent idea and most cost effective.  But need for odors too so ventilator or carbon CR box, + carbon strips etc.   

An affordable and long lasting one is Alen 45i, around 300-400 bucks and they have a lifetime warranty. (if you stay signd up with the filter replacement plan, with one every 9 or 12 months, your choice.) It has black carbon filter material, and is good overall, would be very good for a 300 sq foot area. Levoits are great for lonevity as I've had mine running continuously for 5 years...still going...most other affordable brands will break or have problems but the Levoits last forever. However, they dont have a huge amoount of carbon, only a litlte in some of the filters I think. If you can afford a lot consider the pricey units others are suggesting. I cant afford that and use a combination of levoits + an Alen + RIA Breezeguard (my best unit overall with carbon fiber layer + UVC + humidifier all built in, however it doesn't have a lifetime warranty but so far its been great after a few years. Around 400 I think. The RIA Breezeguard is bigger + pushes more air and has more options (also app/phone control.) But you prob wont need that so much in a small studio apartment. So if you want longevity/lifetime warranty and good effectiveness for the area you have...the Alen 45i is a good choice imo. If you had a bedroom then add a levoit in there for more coverage etc. The only downside to my Alen 45i is that it doesn't super forecefully move air on high, it just kind of goes pretty steady....but it lasts forever and for your small space, if placed in a decent spot where air is flowing...then would still be very good for now + long term. Add in more units once you move to a bigger space. You can also just buy some black carbon filters (for any brand really) and place a few around if you want to capture more odors, esp smoke. So Ria BreatheSmart great all-around unit with excellent features, good carbon, but unsure about longevity Alen 45i seems to meet all your needs with longevity, carbon, size etc. Levoits awesome for longevity as well (not lifetime warranty but they last a long time) but just so-so on carbon I think. (Don't know thier newer/more pricey models as my 2 100 dollars ones have lasted years....) Ofc I like all 3 brands and use all 3 in my bigger space (+ more in bedroom etc.)

This is $189 - not “low budget”, per se. But it cleans the air like a mofo, and is literally guaranteed for life: https://a.co/d/007zvxY9

Alen air purifiers are the best I’ve ever tried. Get the latest models that are WiFi enabled and automatically adjust to the current level of impurities in the air. And change your filters regularly. Expensive but worth it. Mage a world of difference for my pollen allergies and living in desert dust.

Longtime allergy sufferer. Alen air purifiers are the gold standard. Choose the BreatheSmart model that is one level ABOVE whatever your room's square footage is, and chose any filter designed for allergens or wildfire smoke. Keep the fan on the thermostat running (with or without A/C) and buy the best filter for your HVAC.

I bought the Alen BreatheSmart 9 years ago for $500 - a big investment. At the time I was desperate for allergy relief and it delivered. It's still going, no regerts.

Not smart but I have two Alens and absolutely love them. I've had an older Breathsmart for 6-7 years and still works great. Recently bought a smaller one for my gym/mancave and it's also great. Won't look for another brand if I needed another one.

I have 6 Alens. 2 x BreatheSmart 75i, 2 x BreatheSmart, a T500, and a Paralda. I like them. They are quiet, the sensors (on the 4 bigger ones) seem to be accurate and ramp up cfm when air quality calls for it. I live in the lightning capital of the world... God's Lightning Rod, FL. I had 2 older ones that got hit and the LEDs went out. It still worked fine, it was just the little LED bulbs that didnt work. They sent me 2 new units with no hassle. The filters are not cheap, but I am happy with how long they last and how they perform. I'd 1000% buy from them again.