I’d like to get one that has widely available filters and would prefer to spend less than $250 as much as I would like a Dyson one. It’s only for an apartment so I don’t think I need something massive but I do live above a busy road.
If looks dont matter, I’ll recommend the same thing I always do when people want an air purifier.
Look into making a Corsi Rosenthal Box. They’re surprisingly effective, and dirt cheap.
It’s not just about aesthetics. That DIY box will be loud as hell.
As mentioned in the article these can be quieter than a retail unit. The large fans move a lot of air and the large filter area means it’s easier to pull that air through; both combined mean a lower fan speed is needed for a given throughput.
They can be. Because of course there are poorly made commercial units that are only quiet because they have low CADR. But you’ll never be able to get a DIY box as quiet as a well made unit, unless you basically engineer your own air purifier device, use blower motors, etc., but that’s not a Corsi-Rosenthal Box.
I have one. It’s not that loud. Even when you are standing right next to it it is easy to have a normal volume conversation.
Alternatively, a single Merv-13 filter that’s 4 or 5" in depth (20x20x5) taped to the box fan works just as well in a smaller footprint, and still allows you to direct the airflow at someone.
Does anyone know where I could find some 20-in wide charcoal filter cloth sponge material?
I would like to be able to have my filter reduce odor in the home as well but I can’t seem to find anything other than little 4-in strips.
Thanks for the link. Very neat
Whatever you buy, make sure to remove the plastic wrapper of the filter before use.
Ask me how I know
Did it melt or something?
no, it just won’t suck air in and result in a filter that does basically nothing
Don’t waste your money on anything that doesn’t have a HEPA filter, that’s the golden standard.
Make sure you’re doing a bit of math on how much air purifying power you need, what works for a 100 sq ft room with an 8 ft ceiling is going to be insufficient in a 400 sq ft room with a 10 ft ceiling.
Fortunately, someone has made a nice calculator for that here.
Winix and Honeywell have been good brands in my experience.
HEPA filters may not be necessary - it seems that homemade air purifiers with standard filters can outperform them in clean air delivery rate, arguably the most important factor for a purifier. The air may not be as clean with each pass through it, but it’ll move much more air.
Yo, looks like you’re into gaming.
Someone made an air purifier similar to a gaming PC chassis. Using a special metal case and with space for filters. About as good performance as the box fan/filter abomination but with easier replaceability.
Pretty sure you can find a place for rgb fans too. https://housefresh.com/nukit-tempest-review/I’ve been happy with Coway.
Got a Coway too and a like it. Airmega 300
20" box fan + 20" furnace filter. Both are pretty standard sizes. Add duct tape as required.
Here’s a video on how to do this: https://youtu.be/EUHVo54tXz0
I did this this year for wildfire smoke, and it works great. Having said that, it is not quiet and the way I was using it was to run it at full blast for an hour, then leave it off for most the day.
If you wanted an always-on solution, I think I’d actually suggest a commercial air purifier.
You could also add in an inexpensive wi-fi smart plug and set up a schedule where it would turn on and run for 15 minutes every 2 hours or so.
I’ve got two Coway Airmega AP-1512HH air purifiers and they’ve helped a lot during the bushfires in California. They’re on sale right now for $140 each during the Prime Day sales.
On mobile so won’t grab all the links, but I’ve done a lot of research into air purifiers and can echo what most people said
- Most air purifiers over 50$ are as good as the ones that sell for 150$+
- I personally buy Winix
- An air purifier can clean a room in 1-3 hours, but since I’m paranoid I keep mine running 24/7
- Don’t buy anything over 100$, it’s not worth it (if you want super clean rooms, buy one for each side of your house)
- Clean your air purifier (just wash the filter) every month or two (there’s a lot of dust it traps)
- Enjoy the investment, air purifiers are great!
When the air turned orange from the Canadian wildfires last year, I had massive, massive headaches from the smoke. On the recommendation of Wirecutter, I bought a Coway, and my headaches cleared up.
I’ve been very happy with it. The low and medium settings are quiet, while the high setting is a bit noisy for me. When the wildfires were running, I had it on low or medium all the time and it was fine. Since then, I mostly have it on Eco mode, where it samples the air periodically and kicks on at whatever speed it thinks is necessary. Mostly it just quietly pops on at low speed for dust or pollen or whatever, and I rarely notice that it’s done so. It always kicks in at high speed for a few minutes after I’ve changed the cat’s litter, and once it noticed that the bread was starting to burn in the oven before we did, lol.
Anyway, I got a Coway based on Wirecutter’s recommendation, and I’ve been very happy with it.
Edit: I got the 200m, which covers like 1700 square feet.
Depending on your needs, if you want the most effective filtering for the price (though at the cost of noise) you could make your own https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsi–Rosenthal_Box . I built one and found it to be great, but I did end up buying a commercial one through Costco years later.
I use the Amazon, not the online retailer, the rain forest.
I have the round IKEA one, works fine.
Mind linking it? I went there recently and didn’t see any air filters.
https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/starkvind-air-purifier-white-smart-40461947/
there’s a version with legs that turns into a coffee table too: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/starkvind-table-with-air-purifier-stained-oak-veneer-dark-brown-smart-20501954/
I got a 20-in box fan and four 20x20x2 air filters.
Tape the air filters together into a square and then tape the box fan on to one of the open sides.
Said it so the box fan is facing upward, plug in and turn on. You have a whole house air filter for like $50 or less that will do as good of a job if not better than pretty much any other device on the market.
When the air filters start to turn a dingy color, replace them for 20ish dollars. Fan should be good for several years.
