AC4825E

The GermGuardian Air Purifier AC4825W works great for our home of 5 cats and 2 dogs. It is tall and may take up more space than you want however. It advertises that it purifies up to 743 sq ft but I think it does a larger area. It runs under $100.

To answer your question you are exactly right. It’s literally just a fan and a filter. Might be too loud or not moving enough air for the size of the room but that’s it

My germ guardian 4825 is decently loud on high. Hepa filter which covers all sorts of allergens. I bought it due to mold I found in my dining room, but I also have pets so it's working overtime.

Germguardian, not sure about for life. But they warrantied one free of charge, paid for return shipping and all. Filters aren’t crazy, and you can see the work they do. I have no measurements for it, but I like em. They all are essentially just motors and fins.

In response to u/spacex_fanny Unless you buy a cheap fan and constantly have it cranked up to its highest setting, CR boxes are not as noisy as you seem to think they are. Having several set to low will be significantly quieter than one large air purifier cranked on high. Last time I was around several CR boxes, it was literally in a church during a mourning service. And I can promise you that it wasn't too loud. And yes there are several different configurations using 1 large or a several smaller fans. In my experience, even cheap CR boxes are much more tolerable than cheap air purifiers. The Germ Guardian air purifiers from Costco are incredibly noisy and create a constant high-pitched noise at *any* setting. Winix is a good option for cheap air purifiers that aren't horribly noisy, but not as cheap as just making several CR boxes. And trust me on this, I'm autistic so I notice these kinds of things literally constantly. I am unable to tune out the noise like other people do. And things like the Nukit torches are **not a replacement for an air purifier at all.**. That's genuinely just bad advice.

https://a.co/d/02oWu3ML I have had this one for at least 6 years and it’s on 24/7 and is still running! We moved to a bigger place last year and now we have 4 of these, change the filter when the light flashes and it keeps going!

So my experience with air purifiers is they suck the moisture out of the room as well, at least the Germguardian I bought years ago does (and also still works very well). Is it all purifiers, including these, that do that? Thank you for putting this together, btw, despite what I read about its flaws it still helps a ton.

Agree with other poster - if you have dog smells, get a filter with an activated carbon layer. Other than that, if I'm being totally honest, your filtration results are going to be pretty similar across the board, so whatever unit works best for your budget, space, and aesthetic. Personally, I really like my [Winix 5500-2](https://amzn.to/46hbNkH) unit, which you'll see recommended pretty frequently around reddit. I actually did some testing in a 10'x10'x9' room to compare the [Winix 5500-2](https://amzn.to/46hbNkH) vs [Germguardian](https://amzn.to/4mYBXQt) vs a DIY duct fan +4 hepa filters put together in box form (see attached picture, which I hope works) The Winix performed the best, but the others would honestly be acceptable, and more budget friendly. Pros of the winix: \- quiet (both other units were a good bit louder) \- can back all the way up to a wall (this is actually uncommon) \- auto on/off seems to work well \- can set it for 2/4/8hr cycles https://preview.redd.it/uwdd8mhv6fof1.png?width=749&format=png&auto=webp&s=779eec1baaad24c3d9de0fade0fab35bba2f18f7

Similar boat - I have absolutely murderous pollen allergies for 2ish months of the year so I've gone deep down this rabbit hole. Good news: most air purifiers are pretty effective, including the low priced ones. The difference in pricing normally comes from features and aesthetics. I actually did some testing in a 10'x10'x9' room to compare a few units: the [Winix 5500-2](https://amzn.to/46hbNkH) vs [Germguardian](https://amzn.to/4mYBXQt) vs a DIY duct fan +4 hepa filters put together in box form. link to charts: [https://imgur.com/a/is5RQHN](https://imgur.com/a/is5RQHN) The Winix actually performed the best, but the others are acceptable and more budget friendly. Pros of the Winix: \- quiet (both other units were a good bit louder); I sleep with this on every single night \- space savings - can back all the way up to a wall (this is actually uncommon) \- auto on/off works well \- can set it for 2/4/8hr cycles, or just keep it cranking I also hear great things about the [Coway Omega](https://amzn.to/4gfiCI0), but haven't personally used it. End of the day, the unit that best fits your aesthetic and has the features you want is the one you should go with. Efficacy is gonna be pretty similar, at least according to my testing.

Anything with HEPA and carbon filtration. I have 2 dumb Germguardian's on smart plugs and a SwitchBot one that has matter. Both are fine.

I have AC4825's. No experience with cigarette smoke but they handle wildfire smoke and cannabis vapor beautifully, and I got both used for cheap.

I have a GermGuardian setup to blow right after my boxes. It’s the ~tabletop-sized one (that requires E filters). I have it on top of a low-height wooden box for shoe storage. So it’s ~18-28” above the ground. That seems to do wonders I also have a PetFusion privacy gate that blocks the area around cat boxes. It’s made of wood frames and semi-opaque plastic in the middle of the 3 panels. It’s maybe 3-4’ high. I think it does a good job of keeping in the litter and the smells The air purifier blows over cat boxes and is kind of corralled in the litter area, thanks to the walls and this cat privacy screen