Air Purifiers

Although several models in this report have been discontinued -- including the two top-rated devices -- ConsumerReports.org provides good comparisons and ratings (available only to subscribers), as well as… general information about air purifiers (free for everyone). Tests are conducted in a sealed chamber using exact measurements. Each air purifier gets separate ratings for effectiveness removing dust and smoke on high and low speed, as well as for noise on both speeds. ConsumerReports.org tests filter-based purifiers (both room-size and whole-house) and furnace filters. Electrostatic precipitators are also tested, but because they produce potentially harmful ozone they are not recommended.

The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) uses an outside lab to verify clean air delivery rates (CADR) 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, 33 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. This site does not cover the controversy surrounding air purifiers that produce ozone. It merely indicates whether or not a unit meets the current U.S. Food and Drug Administration limit of 50 parts per billion for medical products. Three current air cleaners -- all from Blueair -- are certified to both meet the ozone standard and deliver good performance (above 350 CADR) in removing dust, pollen and tobacco smoke.

ConsumerGuide.com publishes air-purifier reviews, a buying guide and a section on how air purifiers work. However, there are 486 air purifiers and accessories listed. Twenty of these are reviewed and nine… receive a Best Buy designation. These ratings are based on value, performance, ease of use and features, but performance doesn't appear to have been tested at all. Whirlpool, Honeywell, IQAir, Austin Air and Blueair air purifiers receive Best Buy designations.

This is a website dedicated to providing news and reviews on the best green products available. The Alen Paralda is reviewed based on its eco-friendliness rather than overall performance and is said to be… approximately 77 percent more efficient than the average air purifier, according to the reviewer's calculations. It is compared to two other air purifiers but only in the vein of energy efficiency, not performance. It does appear that the Paralda was tested, and negatives are listed.

This is another retail site dedicated to products in the allergy-relief category. The editors claim to "personally and extensively test and evaluate all products" before adding them to their product line,… but they offer no specific details on their method of testing. Like most other sites, they do not recommend air cleaners that emit ozone such as the Ionic Breeze, EcoQuest or Oreck XL. Their list of the top five air cleaners for allergies, "the most popular among our allergic customers," includes two blanket endorsements of brands (Honeywell and Blueair) and three specific models: PureNight, Austin Air The Pet Machine and Austin Air Allergy Machine.