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Breathe easier at home with these top-rated air purifiers

Best of all, several options are on sale ahead of Black Friday.
Illustration of a child playing in their room with a Blue Pure 411 Air Purifier, a Coway AirMega 400S, and a Honeywell True HEPA Allergen Remover
TODAY Illustration / Amazon
/ Source: TODAY

Whether you suffer from allergies or reside in a particularly polluted city, purifying the air in your home can make a big difference in how you feel each day. We've spent a majority of the last year and a half at home, but that time has allowed us to keep our indoor living spaces as clean as possible. While we've been leaving our homes more regularly lately, it's still crucial to maintain high-quality cleanliness inside your personal space.

“The Environmental Protection Agency has reported that indoor air — where we spend more than three-quarters of our days — is often even more polluted versus outdoor air,” said Dr. Clifford Bassett, founder and medical director of Allergy and Asthma Care of New York and author of The New Allergy Solution.

While opening a few windows around your home seems like a simple solution to filtering the air in your home, it may not be a viable option if you live in a colder climate. Luckily, you can purify the air throughout your entire home with a few simple steps.

To help break it all down, “HouseSmarts” host Lou Manfredini shared how you can keep the air in your home clean to breathe easy no matter the season.

How to keep indoor air clean

Air purifiers are one way to help reduce pollution in the air in your home, which are different than whole house humidifiers.

"These are separate appliances that you can place in a basement in a family room on an entire first floor," Manfredini says, "and it will capture all the air in those rooms and filter it through a highly refined filtering system. Many use HEPA [high-efficiency particle air] filtration."

Another way to help improve the air quality in your home is by replacing the furnace filters in your home. You don't have to opt for pricey filters, but it's best to choose one that is pleated rather than one made from spun fiberglass, Manfredini said. To clean your home's vents, such as floor and wall vents, you're going to want to use a vacuum and a dusting rag in order to remove debris.

Calling in the professionals to clean and seal your ductwork is another option that will help keep the air in your home clean, as it prevents dust from accumulating, making your furnace more efficient.

Top-rated air purifiers, recommended by experts

Dr. Denitza Blagev, a pulmonologist at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, says that a quality indoor air filter or purifier can also be effective in removing harmful pollutants.

Standalone units that are designed to filter a designated area should be placed in rooms where you spend most of your time. Blagev also notes that it's important to change the filter regularly based on the manufacturer’s suggestion.

Honeywell True HEPA Allergen Remover

“Room air cleaners with a HEPA filter are the best choice,” said Dr. James L. Sublett, chief medical officer at Family Allergy and Asthma in Louisville, Kentucky.

It's important to consider the size of the room when choosing the best filter for your home. Sublett recommends Honeywell's line of filters, and this specific model helps clean rooms up to 155 square feet.

AeraMax 100 Air Purifier

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) certifies household products as "asthma and allergy-friendly,” so it’s a great resource to help narrow down the best air purifiers, Bassett told us. This AAFA-certified portable air cleaner removes 99.97% of airborne particles and best fits rooms that are up to 200 square feet.

Dyson Pure Cool Link Air Purifier

This Dyson purifier has also been certified "asthma and allergy-friendly" by the AAFA. It features a HEPA and carbon filter that traps particles as small as 0.3 microns. “The most harmful particulates are the smallest, or less than 2.5 microns in size,” Blagev said.

Rabbit Air MinusA2 Ultra Quiet HEPA Air Purifier

This is a splurge, but Rabbit Air purifiers come with some serious perks. Purifying rooms up to 700 square feet, Bassett said he likes this brand because it makes customizable filters that address odors, toxins or pet allergens. It can also be mounted on a wall — and it looks attractive.

Bestselling air purifiers

Toppin HEPA Air Purifier with Fragrance

This inexpensive option from Amazon features a blue night light function and fragrance sponge, so you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil that will diffuse with the purifying air movement. It is also lightweight, weighing just over three pounds, so you can easily move it wherever you need.

Germ Guardian 3-in-1 Full Room Air Purifier With True HEPA Filtration

With a HEPA filter and UV-C light sanitizer, this air purifier is meant to tackle pet dander, mold and dust while also killing harmful germs. It also holds a strong 4.7-star average on Amazon, Best Buy and Kohl's!

Levoit Compact True Air Purifier with HEPA Filter

Holding over 30,000 five-star ratings on Amazon alone, this Levoit purifier uses a three-step filtration method to remove particles from the air. The powerful system can also circulate fresh air over four times per hour in small to mid-sized rooms.

GermGuardian AC4100 3-in-1 Air Purifier With HEPA Filter

While this option looks more like a speaker than an air purifier, it sure does pack a punch. The brand claims it traps 99.97% of harmful air particles while also using a charcoal filter to capture unpleasant odors.

Blueair Blue Pure 411 Air Purifier

Averaging 4.6 stars on Amazon, Home Depot and Best Buy, this air purifier can capture 99% of particles while also neutralizing odors in rooms between 100 and 175 square feet.

Winix 5500-2 Air Purifier

This air purifier captures 99.97% of airborne pollutant and has a washable carbon filter so you can clean and reuse it as needed. It also has smart sensors which gauge the air and allow auto mode to adjust the fan to the right filter setting at that time. It even has a sleep mode so you don't have to worry about dealing with loud machinery waking you up in the middle of the night.

Coway AP-1512HH HEPA Air Purifier

With a four-stage filtration system, you can be confident that you're getting the cleanest air at home with this Coway air purifier. It has three manual fan speeds as well as auto mode, so it will adjust as needed according to the detected air quality. There's also a timer feature that with options for one, four and eight hours before it automatically powers off.

Air purifiers featured on TODAY

Blueair Blue Pure 211+ Auto

Manfredini called out this air purifier from Blueair for being "very quiet, very efficient." He also notes that since it features an LED indicator, you can monitor the quality of the air while the filter indicator lets you know when it needs to be replaced. It's designed for large rooms and, despite the large capacity, operates on an ultra-quiet filter using HEPASilent technology.

Coway AirMega 400S

This larger unit is meant to be run continuously in large rooms. It operates on five fan modes and can connect to your smartphone so that you can monitor air quality levels, know when to change the filter, set filtering schedules and more. The HEPA filter captures 99.97% of pollutants and is also washable.

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