IQAir - GCX MultiGas

Iqair is a great option. Have one in our bedroom with our 5 month old baby. But can only run it on setting 2 (75 cfm) without going above 50 db. We also have a luggable xl cr box in the bedroom to get more filtration without increasing the sound in the room. We have a Smart Air Blast in the living room and it’s a a quiet beast. Pushes a ton of air, however it’s power hungry. I’m also a fan of the Alens for how they sound and Coway AirMegas.

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.

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.

Most common air purifier brands do not have enough nor the right type of sorbent media for gases, vapors, or odors. Sorbent media in air purification = activated carbon, activated alumina, or synthetic zeolites. Heavyweight sorbent media purifiers are very expensive, very loud, and clean the air more slowly than particulates-focused units. This is due to the need for ["dwell time"/"residence time"](https://www.airscience.com/carbon-filters) and the thick media beds. The two major heavyweight brands in the USA & Canada are **Airpura** or **AllerAir**. You want to look for models with 15 lbs.+ carbon canisters. Most standard options for these purifiers are plain/chemically untreated sorbents, which do *not* have high removal capacities for all gaseous "species". This sometimes presents problems where an odor emanates from the sorbent bed (possibly the not-well-adsorbed acetaldehyde) or there's a spike on tVOC monitors despite a reduction in odors. Assuming you don't live near a refinery or have really bad air chemistry otherwise (e.g., from fires), you may want to look into potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) impregnated activated carbon from Airpura or AllerAir. You'd have to contact the respective company first to specify this. KMnO₄ works in part via redox (reduction oxidation) reactions by breaking down certain gases. This can be problematic in unknown and/or highly complex air chemistries where resulting gases may be problematic. It can also off gas as it saturates or loses efficacy.

Your best options are likely the IQAir GC or GCX series purifiers. As for the exact model, you may want to choose one with potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) impregnated carbon or alumina. See [my other comment in this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/AirPurifiers/comments/1oco7i5/comment/nkoz4yw/).

Both the IQAir GCX and GC series use a pre-filter that's EN 1822-1:2019 Efficient Particulate Air (EPA) E11. IQAir calls this "H11", but it is really EPA E11. Both the GCX and GC are meant for gaseous removal, so it makes sense to use EPA E11. This prevents excessive pressure drop. The IQAir GCX MultiGas is very good for gaseous removal, although it's expensive compared to heavyweight sorbent media purifier brands like Airpura (max 26 lbs. carbon canister) and AllerAir (max 34 lbs. carbon canister). However, I'm quite certain the GCX MultiGas pre-filter has far more surface area compared to mechanical filters present in comparable Airpura and AllerAir models. Do you have elevated levels of gases/vapors/odors (includes VOCs)? I would recommend having air testing performed with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis *first* to determine the gaseous species in your airspace.

I would add IQAir to this, especially the Multigas GCX (emphasis on X, it's superior to the GC which is already a great unit.) Oransi has a standalone carbon model as well. But yeah this list including your comment is very complete. I spent months researching and created a comprehensive brand list and narrowed it down to the exact same brands you mentioned for actual decent VOC filtration. Real world performance is a different issue however and the one thing I would emphasize to OP is that 2,000 is a *lot* of square footage and these types of purifiers are very expensive and if you're looking to consistently purify the entire dwelling then you'd need at least a half dozen 250CFM units to make a difference. It will be expensive and loud and the filters will saturate and need replacement very often if you have a smoker nearby.

If money is out of the question. IQ Air Multigas.

I have Austins and IQAir MuliGas. The Austins were recommended by a clinic which treats individuals with extreme chemical sensitivities. You want a unit where the fan feeds the filters (1st in the chain) to avoid contamination from the fan itself. No filter is going to eliminate all VOCs.

I have a couple of models: Immunity Machine, Healthmate Plus, bedroom machine. There have been some reviews stating that Austins are slower at clearing a room of particulates. My main concern is VOCs and since I run 3-4 filters in each room that isn't a concern for me. Am now testing the immunity machine. Seems to do a much better job with VOCs, although final results will take a while. What is your concern with IQAair?

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.

I use Austin Immunity machine and iQair GC Multigas units as VOCs are a major concern for me. Not rated.

For best VOC removal, such as mycotoxins, you need a lot of absorbent media. Checkout Airpura, Allerair, Austin, IQAir. All are in the $1k range. I'm unsure whether any filter will eliminate mold sensitivities. Did see an improvement when upgraded my Austins with Immunity Machine filters but molds still aren't totally controlled. There are clinics which can treat mycotoxin sensitivities. Can be quite expensive.

Running both IQAir and Austin Immunity Machines in my major rooms particulates run from 0 to under 10.

I have had my Austin, IQAir, Honeywell and Whirlpool machines for as much as \~20 years and have had no problems with filter replacements.

Iq air MCS hands down. Entertain no other option, its ability to filter is down to the smallest size I can find.

You’re right, my bad. Guess is a colloquial name we’ve given it in my house. I’ve had two for 9 years and can’t imagine life without them. We do vacuum the bottom pre filter every two weeks to prevent dog hair from reducing flow. I do bring a medium sized new version Air Oasis when traveling.

IQ Air multi gas. My doctors offices, pulmonologist, cardiologist, etc . uses them. It really helps me breathe at home.

Unfortunately the most effective purifiers are not cheap. I bought an AirDoctor because the IQAir was too expensive. It didn’t seem to do anything, so I ended up selling it and buying the IQAir in the end. The IQAir MultiGas was most effective (of the IQAir lineup) against VOCs like mycotoxins last I looked. I supplement with Microbalance EC3 candles

If you looking for filter out dust you need the one has big and powerful fan but if you need one to filter out VOC and a microscopic stuff you better of looking for multi layer filter system with HEPA , I have used Coway for dust and Dyson formaldehyde for microscopic and IQAIR multigas for road traffic pollution next to my apartment!

Oh man this is going to be long, but I have forever been at war with unidentifiable smells in homes. Smells are hard because the particles are much smaller than particulate pollution HVAC and HEPA filters are designed to remove. If you want to go that route, you need a solution with a lot of carbon to remove the smells. An ERV will absolutely help. I kind of doubt the smells are coming from the basement unless it’s wet. Sometimes basement walls hold moisture, which can make the whole house smell musty. Do you run a dehumidifier? That can make a big difference. But if the walls are perma wet, you need to look into waterproofing from the outside (not just a French drain, although that is good too). Other common culprits are the walls in the living space and the attic. Walls hold a lot of crud, so washing them semi-regularly can really help with odors. If you have an attic and the insulation is old, that can hold a lot of unpleasant smells. You can take it out and replace it. Also install an attic fan if it’s appropriate for your space. There is also a European tradition of opening your windows for 15 minutes a day (no matter how cold it is) and honestly doing that in my century home has helped with random smells a lot. It just brings in fresh air to recirculate. An ERV will do pretty much the same thing in a more formal capacity. As for other options, you can run an ozone generator while you and any pets are out of the house. This is best done after other cleaning is completed. And is sort of a finishing blast to get rid of anything lingering. There are better purifiers for smells if you’ve got the budget. The IQAir multigas is my preference, but I’ve also heard good things about Austin and AirPura. You need pounds of carbon. Depending on your HVAC set up, whole home purifiers (great for general particulates!) are usually less effective with smells unless you can get a carbon inline solution. The other thing to think about is what is your kitchen ventilation like? Cooking smells can really stick around and morph into less identifiable “stink” over time if not properly ventilated. You need a range hood that vents to the outside or an exhaust fan pulling the air out. Those microwave vents just spew everything back into the air and push it further out into the house. And then if you’re not getting fresh air in, those smells recirculate and stick to the walls. Another thing to consider is any sort of soft furniture you brought with you. This is going to sound a little nuts, but those pieces absorb smells that you might have been nose blind to in your previous home and now you’re smelling them in your new house. Highly recommend deep cleaning everything, including a good HEPA vacuum with a bag to really get the dust out. Don’t forget curtains Also, if there is any carpet in the space, that can be a huge odor holder, especially if it’s been around awhile. You could try deep cleaning that, but carpet is not great for indoor air quality in general, so you might want to consider taking it out if you can. If I were you, I’d go cheapest to most expensive to see what works. Old houses hold smells, so it might be an ongoing effort. Let me know if you have any questions I know that’s a lot of info!

If you have no budget restrictions, IQAir Multigas. It has a lot of carbon to handle smoke. AllerAir would be another choice with a lot of carbon. SmartAir also makes great purifiers, but they don’t have the carbon necessary for smoke. Have you had a remediation company in to clean your space? I assume yes, but wanted to mention it because that is super important since smoke sticks to everything. Sorry your dealing with this