Levoit - Vital 200S-P

I just got two Levoit 200s off Amazon, they were on sale for $160 each. They’ve been working great in my 750 sqft apartment, our air quality readings are much better now. Not sure how much it helps with smells though, we didn’t have a huge smell issue but I do feel like everything smells a bit cleaner now. https://a.co/d/epOxzXy Looks like it’s on sale again, $30 coupon brings it down to 159.99

Sorry yeah, I meant the Vital 200s. Forgot there’s also a 200 core

We don’t use central air in my apartment and our purifiers have been helping a lot. We got two Levoit Vital 200s on sale on Amazon for $159 each

I bought two Levoit Vital 200S-P’s for my 1 bed apartment mainly due to smoke, incense, cooking etc from my neighbors. I know Levoit is a somewhat controversial choice but overall from my understanding, yes it’s bad they lied about HEPA but apparently it’s mostly a marketing term and their filters still perform about the same. It was a good price and many people on this sub do like them, so I got them. If I had more money, sure I would’ve splurged on something else. But I’m wondering if maybe I should’ve purchased a different brand, or if I’m just expecting too much. They have definitely helped, I have one placed in the living/kitchen area which is quite large so I don’t expect it to fully clean that area, but it makes a difference. When our neighbors smoke, PM2.5 levels used to go up to 15-20 in there, now it’s anywhere between 4-9ish, usually below 6 though. Bedroom used to hit 15 but now it hovers anywhere between 2-6, usually below 4. When they’re not smoking the whole apartments sits at 0-1. Our unit is 750 sq ft, most of that is the kitchen/living area so I expect the bedroom to get the best purification. Should I be expecting it to drop to 0-1 in the bedroom or is it reasonable for it to usually be around 3-4 when they’re smoking? Not trying to stress over numbers but I always notice the smell before I even check the monitor, so I’m just trying to address it the best I can. It’s been better since I got the purifiers but I do still notice it. Would a Coway or some other reasonably priced unit perform better for smoke, or does it sound like my Levoits are working as intended? (edit: I also understand these units aren’t going to help much with smells which is ok, mainly just wondering about particulate levels)

Yup, I try to always keep mine at speeds 3-4, sometimes 2 when my ears or dry eyes need a break, lol. I wish there was a speed between 2 and 3 because yeah, even 2 feels pretty useless. I do like the units though and I was also thinking of getting the smoke/toxin filters so that’s good to hear it’s been working for you

Some of your comments on this sub are actually a big reason why I decided to get the levoits, so thank you! I do really like the units and they’ve made a noticeable difference. When you say it won’t get rid of dust, that’s just how all purifiers are, right? Or do you specifically mean just the levoits?

I do want to give a second shout out to the live clear diet! It can significantly reduce the amount of allergens your cats are producing, and it’s a well balanced diet so as long as they eat some dry food it should be an easy transition (and it’s fine if it isn’t all of what they eat because it still helps either way) the same line also has a mousse you can brush into your cats coat to catch allergens that has worked well for me! He should definitely buy himself a NICE air purifier I have this one in my room ([Levoit](https://levoit.com/products/vital-200s-p-smart-air-purifier) the 100s will do but it isn’t on their website anymore, you can find it elsewhere) and it wouldn’t hurt to purchase a large one for a common area together as well if you really wanted to be nice (but you could totally leave that purchase up to him). There are also room sprays like this one ([Allergy Defender](https://allergydefender.com/products/allergen-spray-33-8oz?variant=39643839365229)) that are built to catch and drop allergens out of the air, so I usually use it prior to vacuuming to help ensure I am getting as much as I can out of the environment :))

If you don't want to build one, I have had a lot of success with this [Levoit Vital 200S](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGPF71Q6?titleSource=mfvft-mt&previewDoh=1) unit that I got off of Amazon. Like most stuff that comes from Amazon, I was skeptical and thought there was a high chance I would be returning it. Instead, I ended up buying 3 of them. My partner and I have lived in apartments for years and these filters have been the best at removing cigarette and weed smoke smell from neighbors. They also work well to remove the dust kicked up by our cats after they use the litter box. They are easy to connect to my android smart phone (I'm guessing the same for an iPhone, but don't know). They are really easy to set up via Bluetooth and then control over the WiFi. You can even program some timer functionality into them. Like during my allergy season, I set the one in my bedroom to run on high for about an hour before I'm headed to sleep. They are also surprisingly quiet until you hit the maximum speed. But even then, in a large enough room it might be fine, I just wouldn't want to sleep with it that high. Granted I've turned it up that high briefly just to eliminate odors immediately and it works great for that. Usually, I just keep the units at their auto mode or fixed at their level 2, which makes no difference in noise, but you can feel the breeze off of it. I've owned the 3 units over a year now and have no complaints. I've consistently used them and am only now considering replacing the filters. My apartments have typically been about 1200 square feet and 2 to 3 main rooms. If you want a more affordable, entry level, and basic option, then I used a box fan with a filter on the front of it like [this product](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089P1Z38J?titleSource=mfvft-mt&previewDoh=1) on Amazon and it worked ok. I did it during a bad California fire season when we had weeks of ash in the air and it definitely helped. But it's loud and really only moves air at higher power settings. Hopefully that helps you figure out an option to solve your issues.

Purifiers with a little more sorbent media tend to be really expensive. The [IQAir HealthPro Plus XE](https://www.iqair.com/us/products/air-purifiers/healthpro-plus) has a 5 lbs. gaseous filter, but it's $1,199.99. So in needing two, you would be shelling out over $2,000. The [Alen BreatheSmart 75i with the "Fresh" filter](https://alen.com/products/alen-breathesmart-75i-air-purifier?variant=13172054949955) is $814, but I don't think the activated carbon is impregnated for better removal of VOCs like formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. The good news is that your rooms are relatively small. The main room needs a Smoke CADR of 288 CFM and the bedroom requires a Smoke CADR of 121 CFM. Remember that CADRs are given for the top speed setting only. Lower speeds have lower CADRs; if you need these figures, you should contact each brand. For the main room, a good value would be the **Winix D480**. It's [sold at The Home Depot only for $219](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Winix-D480True-HEPA-3-Stage-Air-Purifier-AHAM-Verified-for-480-sq-ft-1022-0221-02/315963577). Smoke CADR is 310 CFM. For the bedroom: **Levoit Vital 200S Smart Air Purifier**. Smoke CADR of 250 CFM. Price: [$189.99 on Levoit's website](https://levoit.com/products/vital-200s-smart-air-purifier), but available elsewhere. **Winix 5500-2**. Smoke CADR of 232 CFM. Mid-grade quality. Has an on/off ionizer. Price: [$249 on Winix's website](https://www.winixamerica.com/product/5500-2/), but usually much cheaper on Amazon and from other retailers. **Coway Airmega 240**. Smoke CADR of 282 CFM. Brand is considered higher quality than Winix or Levoit. Price: [$299 on Coway's website](https://cowaymega.com/products/airmega-240), but should be cheaper on Amazon. Again, these suggestions are for particulates only. An AC Infinity configuration would be your best bet for DIY sorbent media purifiers targeting VOCs and other gases.

This Levoit would be a better choice, yes. u/NICBROWWN's suggestion is also worth considering. The [refurbished Winix C545](https://www.winixamerica.com/product/certified-refurbished-c545-air-purifier/) has higher Clean Air Delivery Rates (CADRs) than the Levoit model. Keep in mind refurbished Winix units are limited stock and offer a 1 year warranty. NB: if you have pet birds, keep Winix's PlasmaWave (a bipolar ionizer) off, as birds are far more sensitive to ozone than humans.

The stuffiness you describe may due to higher indoor relative humidity (RH) and/or carbon dioxide build-up. High RH can lead to mold and mildew growth, which in turn produces odorous mVOCs (microbial Volatile Organic Compounds). Purifiers only capture *airborne* mold and mildew; they can't mitigate moisture sources or pathways. A dehumidifier would be much better instead. I'm guessing you have one or more ductless mini splits for air conditioning? Unfortunately "whole home" dehumidifiers require ductwork. You would need to buy a freestanding dehumidifier instead. I'd prefer the Levoit or Philips over Xiaomi or Blueair. Just keep in mind that Clean Air Delivery Rates (CADRs) are typically given for the highest airflow speed/setting *only*. Lower settings have lower CADRs, which reduces cleaning effectiveness.

[Coway Airmega](https://a.co/d/iZfdWnP) is my first choice, I also have this [Levoit](https://a.co/d/6AN2VMi) one and I really like that it has WiFi to report on the filter health in real time.

I have 3. A Coway Airmega, a Levoit Vital 200S-P, and a Welov. None of them do ionization (bad for their lungs and our lungs). The last 2 are smart/wifi ones that let me see the filter life in the app, that feature I appreciate since with birds the filter runs out waaaaaay sooner than the “change every 12 months” recommendation.

Oh wow, I have both these, too. Both are fantastic. Coway is better at air purifying but is loud and lacks smart functions. The levoit one is pretty damn good too, and quieter with tons is smart functions.

We have a two small levoits (core 200s-p) for the bedrooms and larger (vital 100s-p) one for the living room. They also integrate easily with a smart home ecosystem if you have one because they have wifi. Like if you want them to be off when you are not home. Go to sleep mode when you go to bed. Or turn night light on Larger one has a sensor and it's always on at slow speed but it increases when it detects bad air quality or particles. But i believe they don't really work as well in a large open environments like a living room. I would move the cage to a room and have a purifier there and have it sealed. There's foam that goes under the door to keep the dust from going out of the room

Same experience as you within the last month. One of the things you need to understand upfront is that there are people with deep pockets who fixate on things like this and become obsessed with finding "the best." That is something that will never happen, but in the meantime, this sub has put together a pretty stellar list of "great" filters/purifiers. Personally, I went with a Levoit Vital 200S-P. It was on the higher end of my price range at first, but I left it in my Amazon cart for later while I thought about whether I really wanted to invest in it. And then Amazon dropped the price by about $30-$35 during that time. Amazon sales tactic? Probably. But it made enough of a difference that I decided to go for it. For the last 3 days, I've been very happy.

I just bought two vital 200s and they are Amazing just buy the better filters right away if you want odor elimination. For humidity, you want evaporation humidifiers. i have two Venta humidifier for 3 years now and they easily keep my humidity levels between 35-45% .. they use 3 gallons of water a day but damn the air is great https://www.venta-air.com/en_us/product-category/humidifiers/

Vital 200 S is the way to go if sticking with Levoit!