IQAir - Atem X

Iqair has been great

I have the Atem X. 1-8 speeds. 1-2 are silent, 3 is quiet, 4 barely noticeable, 5-6 a moderate fan noise, 7-8 a strong whooshing sound, but nothing a pair of ANC headphones or earplugs doesn't quiet. I usually have it between 2 and 4 and it does a great job.

Have two different iQair purifiers (on different floors of our house). Have lasted forever and do a phenomenal job. Highly recommend. https://www.iqair.com/

Most air purifiers produce more of a rushing air sound, which is different to a large fan. And many can be quite loud on their top settings—examples are IQAir, most Medify Air models, and Winix. You could [build your own Corsi-Rosenthal box](https://engineering.ucdavis.edu/news/science-action-how-build-corsi-rosenthal-box), which is powered by a box fan. See also the related subreddit: r/crboxes If you want to listen for yourself, you can go through HouseFresh's YouTube playlist of air purifier sound tests. A few models may not be available in the USA or have been discontinued. Link: [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOuKERCL33BQ1VAbZmUMzY6sY8MYsfO1r](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOuKERCL33BQ1VAbZmUMzY6sY8MYsfO1r)

Are you looking to move one purifier between your bedroom and living room? I would *not* recommend Airpura or AllerAir unless you have a serious gas/vapor/odor/VOCs issue that can't be mitigated with source control or ventilation. In that case, you'd choose one of their heavyweight carbon purifiers. Airpura and AllerAir do make more particulates-focused units, but they don't list particulate Clean Air Delivery Rates (CADRs). They're also known for be very loud. Both are Canadian companies that manufacture largely in Canada and some components in the USA. Levoit is lower quality than IQAir and Coway. The [IQAir Atem X](https://www.iqair.com/us/products/air-purifiers/atem-x) you linked in a comment is high quality and has CADRs in the 400s CFM, but it's very expensive per CADR. As for "True" HEPA, I would say that listing the standard and filtration efficiency at Most Penetrating Particle Size (MPPS) gives you the best idea of performance. There are several HEPA standards. But I don't think there's a significant difference between brands on this front; they will still clean your air. The [Coway Airmega AP-1512HH Mighty](https://cowaymega.com/products/mighty-ap-1512hh) you linked is commonly recommended. It's a good price point and attainable for many. But the Mighty has a few drawbacks like being less energy efficient, somewhat loud, and occasionally people have reported balance issues (e.g., purifier "walking" across a floor). The [Coway Airmega 400](https://cowaymega.com/products/airmega-400) was probably recommended in part because it's "oversized" for your bedroom. Oversizing allows you to run the unit on a quieter setting while hopefully maintaining CADRs. ➡️ If you're expecting one purifier to clean both the living room and bedroom areas, I would also recommend the Coway Airmega 400. The highly upgraded pick would be the [Coway Airmega ProX](https://cowaymega.com/products/airmega-prox). Top Smoke CADR is 568 CFM. It has wheels so you can move it around easily and it shows PM10, PM2.5, and PM1.0 concentrations. Obviously the ProX is fairly big. Keep in mind that CADRs apply to the highest airflow speed/setting *only*. Lower settings have lower CADRs, which reduces cleaning effectiveness. Right now there aren't any fantastic sales directly from Coway. But you can use the discount codes **COWAYMEGA10** or **FORYOU10** for 10% off most items.

IQair.com. …our mold test numbers have gone way down since getting it. The air SMELLS different.

As others have said: IQAir… we have three of these (3500 sq ft house).. we set the timer to crank up the speed overnight, run on low during the day. Main thing is that these go WAY beyond basic HEPA, and our allergies noticed the difference immediately. We spent a lot of money on various HEPA filters with mixed results until we found these. They are medical grade filters. Austin Air offers a unit with 30 pounds of charcoal, so that’s an option too, if you are concerned about VOCs. But it seems like the small particulates in wildfire smoke is the bad stuff. Good luck and stay safe!

Yes to IQAir - didn’t really help allergies or sleeping until I went past HEPA. These are the best.

+1 $70 duct taped cr box outperformed $1000 iqair. https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/diy-air-purifier-effectiveness/

IQair is the best. Blueair are made in China and mostly emphasize on looks

I've had IQAir for a few years now. They are bulky, expensive, but Swiss made and do a great job.

I can clearly tell when my IQAIRs are running, I sleep so much better. You might already have good air quality Fixing your furnace filter and central filtration will make a bigger difference than buying an air purifier

I keep my IQAir on medium 24/7 and kick it up to the highest setting after housework or during weather advisories (smoke, wind, high particulate, etc). When I lived in the house I was exposed to toxic mold—after I found out about it, of course—I had several (different brand) purifiers on the highest setting 24/7, and though they looked like hell after switching out the filters about once a month, did an extremely good job with professional AQI tests in the interim before the landlord let me out of the lease.

No idea about Merv 16 since I just buy what they have so I don’t have to think about anything, lol, but I use and travel with their car filter—bringing it into hotel rooms and letting it filter in different areas before going inside. Not sure how well it filters all the air in the room, but it’s a relatively small space, so I’m willing to take the chance since otherwise there would be no filtration. I am thinking about buying one of their large round models for the same reason since it would be easier to store at the side of the car instead of a bulky IQAir and would know the filtration would be on point. We actually have two IQAirs: one upstairs and one downstairs. The lower level is far larger than the second level, but they both seem to do a good job, especially on the highest setting (it does an incredible job filtering after-dinner “food smells” from the kitchen, too!).

I run 3 filters, Austin and IQAIR, in each of 2 spaces - one 300 square feet the other 600 square feet. If the air is poor outside my Purple Air sensors will still show green. However there are so many chemicals in wildfire smoke, particularly if structures have burned, that they don't get everything. I am sensitive to terpenes and right now they don't help with the Camphor tree flowers. So they can greatly improve air quality but don't expect all VOCs to be removed from the air.

Yeah, this is mine as well. 10 year warranty, Swiss made. It’s the only place my family can be when the allergies get really bad.

Wow, I didn’t know!! Thank you for explaining that. Costco had a good deal for shark air purifier and I was considering it. I have one IQ Air but their customer service hasn’t been great and the machine is really bulky, old fashioned with a hefty price tag. I was attracted to cheaper options but I’d get what I paid for it sounds like.

I have Austin Air and IQAir…both terrific. Expensive.

Thank you! I purchased a Austin Air and IQair purifier + Miele C3 vacuum cleaner + Mold cleaner for a full revamp. This may be the root cause of my illness which is terribly affecting my quality of life, going all out! Thanks again!

IQAir and Austin Air are the go-to “buy it for life” purifiers. They really have long-lasting filters and proven performance on my end

IQAir has been a lifesaver with allergies, pollen and mold.

My IQ Airs are BIFL, I had a 15 year old one where the fan motor died. I paid a small price to get it fixed and got it back like it was brand new. They told me their products are not supposed to have an expiration date.

I have had Iqair units for over 10 years. Very happy with their quality and effectiveness.

I've used iqair and alen with quite a bit of success for both. I looked at some of the ones other mentioned and my advice is skip over any of the tabletop ones (that applies to the brands I suggested). I would definitely consider iquair to be bifl. I've yet to have my alen purifier experience any issues over 4 years of daily use, but I'm not sure I'd say it's bifl quality. You'll have to check the energy efficiency for each, but in general, a bigger fan will be more efficient. Whichever one you get, figure out the lowest setting that will cycle the air enough to make your roommate comfortable to save money and keep the volume down. It'll be trial and error, most likely. Having a schedule option will help reduce energy usage. Finally, and the bad news: air purifiers are basically a fan blowing air through some filters, and the more effective filters tend to block more air, leading to lower efficiency. It's a trade-off: efficiency for effectiveness.

IQAIR is probably the best

IQair, it’s like a Rolls Royce. Mine are due for filters now and it’s noticeable once it’s off

IQ Air removes odors, but it's very expensive.

Have IQAir and BlueAir. Would recommend the IQAir 1000%!!! BlueAir is ok but the filters are small and replace more often. Build quality of IQAir is amazing, filters last forever, and carbon filter is heavy so there’s a lot of carbon in there to remove odors. 

I have an IQAir and am very happy with it. I’m allergic to my three cats. I don’t remember the cost though, sorry - I remember it was very pricey for me a few years ago.

Some air filters use filters only and some also release ozone (usually called “air purifiers”). Ozone sticks to particles like allergens and causes them to fall to the ground. Ozone is a VOC so we searched for air filters that use filters only. We have the IQ air and are very happy with it. 

If you're looking for the best value for a space that large you should look at the Lifubide Y1000. For what it is it's hard to beat. AirDoctor is fine but their units are a bit noisy and their filters are expensive. iQAir is great but it's noisy on its highest level. Wanted to like MedifyAir but had a horrible customer service experience with them and not only that but they would not confirm that their filters were actually HEPA nor would they tell me the amount of carbon in their filter they said that was a company secret.. so that to me means they lied.. just not a fun company to deal with at all. The Dyson are basically just big fans, they do help with formaldehyde but that's about it, they are way overpriced for what they are and boy their customer service is on a whole new level of hell.. I won't ever recommend a Dyson to anyone ever again. Blue air I'm not a fan of and their always on ionizer isn't wonderful. My favorite air purifiers are Alen Breathesmart 75i, super quiet, moves a ton of air and is also super expensive. I also really like Oransi Mod+ but their air purifier prices have doubled recently so it's hard for me to recommend them anymore, for what they charge there are better alternatives.

When I lived in Asia this was the brand trusted by expats. Cost a lot but 3 sets of filters per unit and robust. We also got independent data to prove it was making a difference as the company I work for wanted us to justify buying so many of them for the expat families at such a high cost.

AirDoctor didn’t seem to do anything for me so I sold it and got an IQAIR which seems to help quite a bit. The replacement filters are expensive At the time I bought it it was the only purifier capable of trapping mycotoxins which are like 0.003 microns or 0.03 microns They have a hyper-HEPA filter system I run mine on high 24/7 They are medical grade and even used for clean rooms. They are also the only one I’m aware of that you can break down to properly clean out mycotoxins and take it with you when you leave mold. My humidifier, vacuum and old air purifier will have to go in the trash

IQAir makes some really good air purifiers. They are swiss made, 10 year warranty, and actually are HEPA filters (from my research, some companies said they were HEPA filters, but didnt meet the standards). These are pricey though, but filters are changed less often than other cheaper brand air purifiers. These can also filter out gases and viruses.

Get an IQAir...it's medical grade and expensive too, but worth every penny.

I have a smart air blast mini in my living room and an iqair in my bedroom, but on your budget I would replace the iqair with a coway or even do 2 smart blast minis if you have the space

Even though the MERV 1 filters suck, most apartments and homes try to use a MERV 8 or less to prevent airflow restriction which makes the AC system work harder. Unless you have health condition requirements needing the higher MERV. If you truly dont have a budget, then IQair would be good. Or Airpura, Allerair. Best bang for the buck to me is the Costco Winix C909 or Coway (only when on a good sale) Airmega 400. But you would still probably need 2 of the air purifiers to cover the apartment.

I would recommend Allersearch ASDM spray for the pet dander - you can spray it literally everywhere (I’ve not had an issue with it on any surface or fabric/carpet). Their original formula will work, although I have seen they have expanded their line to include more “specific” sprays. They also make laundry detergent and other products for allergies and pet dander sensitivities. As for a vacuum I also recommend using a consumer guide for choosing one. We have a Sebo “Felix” and it has several filters built into it plus the main bag is a thick hepa grade filter. We have had it for over 12 years and we’ve never had any problems. Although it may not be the vacuum for you, I’m sure there are others which would work well too. We have an IQ Air air purifier and again, its performance has been excellent over the past 20 years. No issues at all and it has 3 filters including a HEPA filter. It is a big machine, but it does filter a large area. It has a remote control and indicator lights for the filter changes (which are usually once a year if you’re running it constantly). The downside is the filters can be expensive if you have to replace all at once. I’m sure you’ll have a lot of choices and folks who recommend their favorite products or what’s worked for them. Best of luck!

Great idea!!! I have the same exact one in one of my rooms which does an okay job, but would be wonderful in a space such as a Rivian. I have my IQ Air doing most of the heavy lifting at my home and filters smell out really quickly. Good to use a HEPA filter because N95 really doesn't do much except filter the smoke and a little extra. Why it's called N95 and not N99. It's the small percentage that is really toxic to the body, not the 95%. What we should be worried is about all the chemicals in the air. Majority of homes are old and a lot of them still have potentially lead paints that release toxins in the air. Asbestos, styrene, formaldehyde, crude oil byproducts, plastic fumes, lead, iridium, uranium, etc. IQ Air Health Plus Pro fun video to watch. It filters up to 100x smaller microns, (I believe .003 microns) than standard HEPA purifiers, which is in the Gases territory. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cagRuiyAsio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cagRuiyAsio)

IQAir are hospital-quality air purifiers. Nothing compares to them, full stop. They are pricey, but one is good for an entire floor of your home. We have owned ours for close to 6 years now, and aside from replacing filters it works just as good as the first day.

I’m over in Silverlake with a toddler, trying to find the balance between being safe/smart and not going insane inside. Hugs to you… whatever choice you make will be the right one. Our house has both a whole home water filter and ‘conditioner’ (not a softener) because our water can be pretty hard. I also have an RO filter under the sink. It’s maybe overkill but we installed the RO system first, and I while I can taste the difference in our filtered tap water I don’t know if I’d enjoy drinking it all day! The RO filter we have also restructures and mineralizes the purified water, which has health benefits. I got pretty tired adding mineral drops to our previous water service (which included me going to the water store and carrying two 5 gallon jugs up two flights of stairs 😂😂). I think some people mentioned a whole home RO system, which… do they make those? If my memory is correct (which it rarely works these days) for every 4 gallons of tap water you get 1 gallon of RO water. It’s incredibly wasteful in a state like ours, so I keep it to drinking and sometimes cooking. All filters came from Radiant Life. [Radiant Life](https://radiantlifecatalog.com/water-filtration-systems/) They have a support team that can help you decide which is best for you and your home, and you can run the tests on your filters, when the time comes, and they’ll tell you which membranes to change, etc. I highly recommend! As for air filters, I’ll give a shout out to IQ Air since I haven’t seen them mentioned. They’re big, and ugly 😂 but damn do they work. If you are sensitive or worried about VOCs they’re the best on the market because of the size of their filters. I’m recovering from a toxic mold exposure and (at the time of purchase) they were one of the only filters that captured those particles effectively. Everyone recommends the Air Doctor, including my own doctor lol. I might jump on the discount if they’re still having it! I was unsure about the ozone function, which I don’t want and don’t want to have to remember to turn it off. If anyone can enlighten me whether it matters or not… thank you. I hope this is helpful. I’m so sad that you and our city has to worry about any of this, but I also hope we can rebuild better, stronger, cleaner. 🤗

IQAir by a mile. I have a purifiers from Conway (nice, not expensive), Blue air (prettier, work), Levoit (not worth it IMHO), and IQ Air. By far, the IQ Air is the best of the bunch. Better filters. beefier construction. quiet and powerful. Pricy.

I 2nd this; the IQAir is impressive. I love ours. It's worth mentioning the video [where the CEO breathed the purified air coming out in an enclosed box with a live tear gas canister ](https://youtu.be/ul7ibYAASJU?si=kamtlqMNF2lODc8y)

IQAir makes some of the best in the industry - each unit is tested and certified, made in Switzerland. The units are quite large though. I have one per floor and s multigas unit in my garage where my workshop and home gym are

IQAir is the best but most expensive one

I echo all the Corsi-Rosenthal comments. And YES air filters can help with so much. There are a lot of resources out there to help you understand air exchange per hour that really divides air filters between absolutely worth it or basically air-moving junk. This is one of the most important metrics plus filtration levels. Remember, good air filters also do an amazing job at filtering viruses from the air - flu, Covid, etc. We are a high risk family so we have filters in every room plus an IQAir that basically helps with the entire house.

IqAir It’s not “smart”. But I don’t need it to have WiFi or smart features. I need it to cleanse the air. I have a Levoit in my living room and the only thing that is neat is telling Siri to turn it to 100% or back down to 50%. The IqAir sits in my master bedroom. It smells clean and crisp in the bedroom!

Glad to hear this. I've got an Austin and an IQAir running on my first floor and I feel like I should probably try an AllerAir.

The IQ Air definitely does. But neither of them keeps up very well with serious VOC incursion.

Add IQAir to the list. Lived several years in China and found it the very best of all the others.