IQAir - HealthPro Plus H14 HyperHEPA

The "handles everything" purifiers (with *no* humidifying) would be the IQAir HealthPro Plus XE and the Alen BreatheSmart 75i with the "Fresh" filter. The purifiers I mentioned in **bold** (Winix D480, Levoit Vital 200S Smart Air Purifier, Winix 5500-2, and the Coway Airmega 240) are *particulates air purifiers only*; these have small amounts of activated carbon for gases/VOCs. Ensure Smoke CADR equals your room's area. Blueair is a particulates air purifier with an always-on ionizer to electrostatically charge the filter media. Models have little activated carbon for gases/VOCs. I have one more suggestion for VOCs/gases. You could buy a few [Oransi TrueCarbon filters](https://oransi.com/products/airmend-truecarbon-filter) only and attach them to the front of a few box fans. Each TrueCarbon filter has 3.2 lbs. of potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) sprayed activated carbon and is $79. I would keep the fan(s) on a medium to medium-low setting.

If you want it to filter mold too (common fall allergy), then Id recommend an IQAir pro but they are so expensive idk if I can. I love ours though, life saver!

HealthProPlus is the only buy it for life option tbh. 10 year Warranty but these things will run forever and they are actually serious about cleaning ur air. I went down this rabbit hole before and regret cheapening out instead of going with what the hospitals use

Maybe. I couldn’t answer as a medical professional, so that was just my best guess since OP wanted carbon filtration before the HEPA filter and this is the best system I could think of with the brand. I use the gas/HEPA singularly with IQAir, but it seems they need more robust filtration? Just the HPP works well for me and I’m in a wildfire-prone area.

Second the IQAir, HealthPro Plus is a good one as it can take a carbon filter as well. The IQAir PF40 Coarse Dust Pre-Filter Pads are an inexpensive addition that will save your HEPA. They're around $35 for a 5pk.

IQAir HealthPro Plus is a good air purifier. Kinda pricey but can often find deals on them used as when it comes time to buy replacement filters just sell them instead. My place is small too, and if my particulates are high from cooking or whatever, the purifier brings it down to 0 on medium setting pretty quickly.

The iqair HealthPro plus series is amazing

I got 3 used ones, and I’d highly recommend it. Got them during the LA fires and in 1 day I went from a sore throat to clear breathing. The hyper hepa filter seems to really clear the air of small particles. And they’re so simple they really seem like bullet proof industrial units. Like the computer is just a little unit on the top that can be replaced if needed. The real price is the filters, so I just go super cheap on the base used unit, and add new filters. The new ones of course are great too… and I hear come with 2 years warranty. Overall I couldn’t be happier.

I have 2 healthpro plus air purifiers. Once I saw the filters that go into them, it became immediately clear why the cheaper ones I've bought in the past didn't work well. A single filter on these things weigh more than the only filter that goes in most air purifiers and there are 3 of them. Super expensive, though.

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

IQAir Health Pro Plus. 100x better filtration than HEPA standards. Three separate filters to replace at different intervals instead of one big combo filter imo is better.

I wish the HPP filtered VOCs better though. Seems like it's not very effective and I've been considering the multigas but damn it's expensive

We have owned one over 10 years and it’s been running 24/7 for most of those. Still silent and works great! Filters are how should I say in a class of their own compared to ALL other home units you see for sale online. The only better choice would be whole home hepa and humidity via central system. This makes the 900$ IQAir seem cheap though.

What you’ll find is a lot of the air purifiers have an air quality rating that is only obtainable at max speeds. That said my IQ Air at level 2 is damn near silent. 3-4 is noticeable. 5-6 is quite loud but there’s no reason to run it at this speed for long periods. I’ve got a Levoit in the living room that I have to keep on level 3 for it to lower PM. On level 1 it’s silent. On level 2 it’s noticeable. On level 3-4 it drowns out the room with noise. Then I’ve got an Austin on the kitchen counter. Even on its lowest of three settings, it has an audible sound. The IQ Air is the only one that really cleanses the air to my likes.

When comparing air purifiers, the fan size is a crucial factor that affects both performance and noise levels. The Levoit product line demonstrates this well - their smaller models, like the 100 and 3 series, operate quite differently at their lowest setting compared to the larger 600 series. The advantage of larger fans is their ability to move more air while running at lower speeds, which results in quieter operation. However, it's important to understand that even among fans of the same size, the actual air movement capacity can vary significantly between manufacturers due to design differences. For example, one manufacturer's 6-inch fan might move considerably less air than another's 6-inch fan. Regarding noise levels, the IQAir Health Pro Plus offers an interesting comparison point. At its lowest setting (level 1), it achieves complete silence, making it ideal for bedroom use. When operated at level 2, while the sound becomes noticeable from the bed, it produces a different type of noise than the Levoit models - specifically, it lacks the characteristic "wooshing" sound that Levoit units tend to make. Sleeping with the unit at level 2 is still comfortable. In terms of user interface and control, the IQAir Health Pro Plus takes a simpler approach. Instead of requiring a smartphone app like the Levoit models, it comes with a basic remote control that can be used from bed. While some might consider it less technologically advanced due to its "dumb" design without smart features, I actually prefer this straightforward approach to air purifier control. The IQAir has gone up significantly in price. If you wanted to piece together something and don't care about looks, you can get an inline duct filter from: [https://hvacquick.com/products/residential/Filter-Boxes/Inline-Filter-Boxes](https://hvacquick.com/products/residential/Filter-Boxes/Inline-Filter-Boxes) Then get an inline fan of your liking from a manufacture, such as AC Infinity. Then add one of your many choices of activated carbon charcoal filters, AC Infinity makes these, or Can Filter as well. You'll have a setup that probably out performs the Iq Air and you can get a speed controller for the setup I just mentioned, either manually controllable, or controllable on your phone. Again, if you care about how it looks sitting in your house, that may not be the route you want to take. You could also build an enclosure around it such as a piece of furniture and house it inside of that, like a tv credenza. Get creative.

This. It's enormous and it's ugly, but it's absolutely effective.

This goes against all advice you may otherwise receive in this sub/youtube videos, but I really find the Dyson BP03/BP04 therapeutic as I recover from mold illness. I had a lot of mold in my home and accompanying lung pain and these dysons are the only thing that give me relief. For context, I also bought the IQ qir healthpro plus and IQ air multigas, and these units were not great at helping my symptoms. I think the main difference is that the dyson actually projects the air and cleans the room whereas many other purifiers might have superior filtering technology but they don't actually get the clean air into the room away from the unit.

IQAir is the best. Austin is #2. I got an Austin air healthmate plus. I wish I got an IQAir. If you only have allergies and don’t need VOC’s filtered you probably don’t need Austin or IQAir. I typically tell my friends get something like a Conway and make sure it circulates enough air for their space. I got a Blueair years ago and it still runs like a champ.

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.

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.

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)

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. 🤗

So here's the thing - no matter what anyone tells you, there is no magic box that will do what you want. Air purifiers move air at relatively low speeds through a fairly restrictive filter. That means that they only "clean" an area of about 300sqft. around the unit effectively. They are almost universally ineffective through doorways, around corners, etc. If you have HVAC, the single best thing you can do is put a better filter in and run it on "always on" (not "circulate" or "auto", but ON). The best filter for a 1" insert (the most common) is a 3M Filtrete 1900. They're $20. The problem is they clog quickly, so you'll likely have to replace them every 30-60 days. That said, it'll cover your whole house. If you don't have HVAC, you could consider an AirFanta or building your own CR box. They're ugly and loud, but they move a lot of air. Again, I'd use those 3M filters if you want to stop smoke. Dust and other allergens, any ol' filter will do. The "traditional" route would also be to put several purifiers in your home, sized appropriately for the rooms - a large one for the open living space, and smaller ones for the bedrooms. I have the following setup: 1st floor, 1000 sqft, semi-open plan: I have an IQ Air and an Austin running at opposite corners of the home on a constant speed of medium. 2nd floor (bedrooms, also 1000 sqft): Master bedroom has a Coway 250, guest bedroom has a Winix 5500-2, both kids' bedrooms have Blueair 411's. Finished Basement (also 1000 sqft): Coway Mighty and Winix 5500-2 at opposite ends, running as needed (since the basement gets less outside air) and the one bedroom down there has an aging but still functional HEPA from Idyllis/3M (the Lowes brand) that was purchased years ago but uses 3M HEPA filters. IN ADDITION, I use MERV13 in my furnace and my ERV. The air here is VERY CLEAN. (Bad allergies run in the family...)