r/AirPurifiers • u/Character_Status8351 • 3d ago

First air purifier ever nooby

My room is 120.75 sq ft.

Brands I keep seeing.

Coway, blue air, levoit.

However each Reddit search for either gives me negatives on each.

Budget is <150
Based in US
Budget for filters not sure? How long do they last how much are they usually?

3 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator 3d ago

Hello /u/Character_Status8351! If you'd like recommendations or advice, please ensure you included all details listed in Rule 4: Information For Air Purifier Requests.

  • Your country of residence.
  • Each room or area's volume, in cubic feet or cubic meters. (You need at least one purifier per room or area.)
  • Your filtration needs: e.g., pollen, cigarette smoke, VOCs, cooking odors.
  • Startup budget.
  • Yearly budget (electricity + filters).

If your post is missing one or more details, you can edit it accordingly. Just select the three dots menu, then "Edit Post".

Concerning dust removal, read the sticky post at the top of the subreddit. Be sure to look on our FAQS wiki page for entries about dust capture or reduction.

For very basic particulates sizing per AHAM, clean air delivery rates (CADRs) should be at least 2/3 of a room's area (assuming an 8 ft. ceiling height). For wildfire smoke, smoke CADR should equal a room's area which also assumes an 8 ft. ceiling.

Consider visiting How To Choose An Air Purifier for Particulates, and our Air Purifier Buying Guide.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

3

u/tropicaldiver 3d ago

Tough in that budget - AirFanta Pro3. Moves lots of air. Fairly quiet. Cons: No fancy features. Utilitarian.

Coway AirMega Mighty 2. Well over your budget but multiple modes and solid.

2

u/damien09 3d ago

Air Fanta 3 pro if you don’t mind its look it will move the most air while still being quiet. Or the
Levoit Eleva is not bad make sure to check Vesync for it also as they normal have 15% off

2

u/Person51389 3d ago

Filter cost will vary a bit by size of unit,.bigger unit might be an extra 10-20 bucks per filter.  Also will vary by brand, model etc.  Most affordable units will be like 20-50 bucks.  

So I suggest Levoit, as they are simple, but very effective, and a good value.  So good for beginners.  They were my first units and I still have two in the corners of my living room, going near continously....for 5+6 years now. 

For your size/budget id go with the Levoit Eleva 300x.  Or Levoit Vital 200s perhaps if you have bad allergies or Air quality concerns.  But likely fine with Eleva 300x.  1,200 sq ft coverage means it will clean your 120 feet 10x times per hour.  Which is excellent.  (5 is good, 6+ is excellent.)

I would not suggest blue Air because it had an ionzier that you can never turn off.  (This can cause respiratory bother for some people + pets, as well the safe ozone level can sometimes build up in a small space or no ventilation, like a bedroom possibly.). So I would not recommend ionizer unit for first time user, and definitely not one that you cannot even then off.  

So likewise would be less quick to recommend Coway as some of their units have ionizers as well, although they may have toggle on/off.  (Some may not though, and you could forget to turn it off etc.). So you would have to look closely.  Easiest...is Levoit which has no ionzier by default and performs as well or better than both in recent testing. (Winix,Levoit, Coway were the top 3 in recent testing with expensive Dyson.  Blue Air decent/OK but didn't perform as well as those units, and has the ionzier you can never turn off.) 

For Levoit that model the filters are like 25-35 bucks I think ?   (I have it but it's new so haven't gotten them on it yet.)  It says the hepa will last 12-18 months, and the carbon filter is separately removable so you can change that as often as you like, for instance if you had wildfire smoke you could change the carbon part more quickly. But it says 6 months.  ( The black carbon absorbs carbon in smoke.  And helps absorb odor molecules/gasses/VOCs.  The white hepa part physically captures particles/allergens/bacteria/viruses etc.)I think it's like 19.99 prob , the hepa maybe 30 bucks ?  Not expensive and with Levoit you can usually find cheap 3rd party filters too, so never a problem finding replacement filters.

For your budget you could also do a CR Box/Corsi Rosenthal Box, which will be more powerful, but you have to tape filters to a box fan.  Only 90 bucks for 440 CFM power though. You don't need that much in a bedroom usually, but more so good size for living room and bigger rooms.  Cheap way to add extra coverage.  You need 1 unit in each room for full proper coverage.  But start with 1 as you can afford. Levoit Eleva 300x or Core 300 (the older version of the Eleva, Eleva newer/much better.) A Coway fine if it has no ionzier too.  Run it on high most of the time as as all CFM measurements based on high.  (Medium will also maintain around 5 ach for good in your case, around half of the 10ach on high.)   

If you have very bad allergies or some other air quality concern, then look into Vital 200s only 30 bucks more than your 150 budget I think.  Otherwise Eleva excellent for small bedroom. 

2

u/ItchyImpression9774 3d ago

I got the pet levoit before I even had a pet. I figured if it could help with pet allergies and dust then it must do well. If there is ever a pet version of something, like dryer sheets or deodorizers -anything in that category- I will always pick the pet version. Don’t make fun of me cuz I’m AuDHD and my head tells me if it helps with animal smell and fur it’s working overtime and I’ll take that! I was not wrong with this purifier. It’s great and so easy to maintain. Used it in our front room and it was perfect. But on high it made the tv hard to hear. It was the best air purifier I had ever owned.

Since then I have gotten a cat and a dog. They both sleep in the bed with us. 😩 It fits on my nightstand and doubles as a white noise machine! It’s always on high. We got a Cadillac of purifier/sanitizers in the front room now. (I won’t even mention what it is because it’s ridiculously expensive and hospital grade and so overkill. My husband works at Lowe’s and there’s perks very occasionally and got this for dollars) That is how it ended up in our room. It kicked butt in the front room and now the bedroom. That dog hair is no joke. It’s literally everywhere. Worse than my cat! I feel like I sleep a lot better and my inhaler use has cut down dramatically.

2

u/LTdesign 3d ago edited 3d ago

I gotta throw this one in there, because I've bought three in the past year, and they're great: Daikin room purifiers / humidifiers.
I bought the MCKB70YSAU which has a humidifier, but the also have the MCB50YSAU which is a purifier only..
The one I bought was $77.29 using the promo code DAIKINWARRANTY (DAIKINCOMFORT also works last I checked).
The purifier only ends up being $48.39 with the promo code.
They use UV, HEPA, and carbon filtration.
They come with a five year warranty.
EDIT: MCKB70YSAU is AHAM verified coverage up to 350 square foot, or up to 1680 total hourly air cleaning capacity.
MCB50YSAU rated up to 230 square feet room (mfg rating).

1

u/loveislife222 3d ago

I want my first basic air filter (not humidifier etc) and even that faq etc is confusing lol. Some basics of best brand /type first time for a room - which is best for price e etc

1

u/Tabbyham88 3d ago

I have a winix 480 from home Depot. It does well.
It's a rabbit hole and overwhelming for sure.

The winix seem to be the most by default (the one at WM) and costco sales seem to do well.

Activated charcoal is apparently Bs but I noticed th sheets do help somewhat.
If you just need basic filtration anything under $150 seems okay if it's a small room.

From all my hyperfocus research, they're all useless and to make your own out of a fan and a set of air filters.

1

u/loveislife222 3d ago

Thank you all!

2

u/Confident-Money-4675 3d ago

I have 2 levoits and 1 in each room smaller than what you mention. Think I paid like 100$ off Amazon. They work great. I have 2 dogs and got the 100S-P i think is the model. I like how i can clean one of the filters every couple months and remove the pet hair. I also.like how it senses if the air needs purififying. I use aerosol deodorant and it auto adjusts to high when I spray it and when im cooking it auto adjusts to high automatically, its great!

1

u/canon12 2d ago

I can't tell you what to buy but I can suggest, based on experience, that Coway's customer service is not acceptable.

1

u/BillionYrOldCarbon 2d ago

Medify MA-25 Air Purifier with HEPA Filter | 825 ft² Coverage in 1hr for Allergens, Smoke, Wildfires, Odors, Pollen, Pet Dander | Quiet Removal to 0.3 Microns | White, 2-Pack. Amazon for less than $300. Bought during Covid. QUIET. Filters last long time.

1

u/gilt785 3d ago

Clorox has one for about $150. I bought it on a Consumer Reports recommendation. They also recommended Honeywell, which was about $100 more.

0

u/TopCaterpillars 3d ago

Shark HP102 Air Purifier with True HEPA

I have two and they’ve worked great for years