Air Purifiers

Although several models in this report have been discontinued (including the two top-rated devices) and there is some controversy about how and which products Consumer Reports tests, this publication still… provides good comparisons and ratings, as well as general information about air purifiers. Although it does not test every air purifier, tests are conducted in a sealed chamber using exact measurements. A ratings chart is included and each air purifier gets a separate rating for effectiveness on high and low speed, as well as for noise on both speeds. Electrostatic precipitators, which produce ozone, are now listed separately. While editors have updated this review in the last four years, the bulk of this report was written in October 2005.

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The aim of AllergyBuyersClub.com is to test products and then share the results with consumers. Like Air-Purifiers-America.com, AllergyBuyersClub.com also sells these units. Particle-removal testing is… performed in an unsealed office environment, and subjective criteria such as mechanical efficiency, noise level, ease of use, cost of ownership, filter access and customer feedback are also factored into the ratings. Since AllergyBuyersClub.com focuses on severe allergy sufferers, their focus is on rating high-end air purifiers. The IQAir HealthPro series are currently their highest-rated products, along with one Blueair and one Airgle model. Austin Air air cleaners are said to be an excellent value.

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AHAM uses an outside lab to verify CADRs (clean air delivery rates) quoted by manufacturers for given air cleaners. Products are rated only for effectiveness on dust, pollen and smoke. Manufacturers have to… pay several thousand dollars to have their product certified; at the time of this writing, 29 have done so. The charts posted on the AHAM site are helpful for comparing products, and we find that most air cleaners of the same size perform similarly. Standouts include the Blueair 601 for dust, smoke and pollen, as well as the Friedrich C-90B for pollen. This site does not cover the controversy surrounding air purifiers that produce ozone. It merely indicates whether or not a unit meets the current limit of 50 ppb. Dri-Eaz and Korea's Nano Biothys receive good ratings for dust, smoke and pollen.

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Owners rate and review air purifiers with the usual mix of positive and negative postings. At the time of our visit, the inexpensive Hamilton Beach TrueAir 04381 racks up more than 145 reviews with a well… above-average rating. However, owners report that replacement filters are no longer available. The much more expensive Blueair 601 also receives an above-average rating, but with only 24 reviews thus far.

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This site claims to "test, rate and review every air purifier we can get our hands on... and then we let you know which air purifiers are the best on the market." The site says tests are performed with a… "laser particle counter in real world situations," but the description of how the test is done is quite vague. The site is mostly devoted to sales, but it does give some good information about the Blueair, IQAir and Austin Air models, which also show up as recommendations in other reviews.

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James Dulley's "$ensible Home" and "Cut Your Utility Bills" columns run in newspapers throughout the U.S. In this article, Dulley offers information and statistics about many air cleaners. Dulley states… HEPA air cleaners effectively remove a wide range of airborne particles and allergens and that electronic air cleaners effectively remove very small particles such as cigarette smoke. He doesn't address ozone byproducts in this bulletin and models aren't rated or compared. Dulley says he owns and uses the Austin Air HealthMate, Cloud 9 HEPA, LakeAir electronic and Blueair in his own home. The content in this article has not changed in over four years, so the specific product information is dated.

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