Do not forget about the height of the position of the purifier. Specialists recommend placing the device on the floor, because it is near the ground that there is a higher concentration of pollutants. Setting it on a shelf can significantly reduce the filtration efficiency.
Placing your air purifier around three feet off the ground can help it capture air that is flowing both vertically and horizontally. However, any walls, furniture or other objects near the unit can interfere with this airflow, decreasing the rate at which it takes in and cleans the air.
Air purifier placement works best when positioned 3-5 feet off the ground. At this height, they can take advantage of air flow in the room. If you have a sturdy table, placing your air purifier on top of it will put it into this ideal range and help maximize its effectiveness.
A central place in a room works best, but it is not essential as long as air flow is free. Do not operate an air cleaner inside a closet, as this would limit its effectiveness. Consider running DIY air cleaners the entire time a space is occupied. The longer they run, the more particles they will likely remove.
Since air pollution is a pervasive and continuous problem, it's best to leave your air purifier on all day. There are no perceived drawbacks to keeping your unit running all the time, and if the filters are changed on time it can help to reduce pollutants in the home.
Leave your air purifier on all day, if possible. It will remove dirt, allergens, smoke, and odors from your indoor air. The longer you can leave it on, the cleaner your air will be. There's no clear downside to leaving your air purifier on 24/7.
If you want your air quality to remain high, it's best to run your air purifier 24 hours a day. If you want to conserve electricity, once your air purifier has had a chance to filter all the air in the room (which should take between 30 mins to 2 hours), simply turn it down a level or two.
Bedroom. The most important room to put an air purifier in is the bedroom — yours as well as the bedrooms of your children. This is the room where you spend the most time because this is where you sleep. As you sleep, you are breathing in all the contaminants in the air as well as anything else floating around.
A working air purifier features clear, consistent airflow. If the purifier is not blowing out air (easily determined by placing your hand in front of the system), there's likely a problem. If you are unable to hear anything, that's also a sign the purifier isn't working.
Air purifiers are devices designed to clean and sanitize the air in your home. They remove impurities in the air, including dust, smoke, odors, and other air pollutants. "Air purifiers (also called air cleaners) are designed to remove small particles from the air we breathe indoors," Mendez says.
Many ionizers, especially older models, can generate ozone when they are operating, which is known to exacerbate asthma. However, some manufactures have stated their newer models do not produce ozone or other reactive oxygen species.
If the problem is dust, pet dander, then the best air purifier location will be a living room. And if you have deep concerns about the air when you sleep, then it is also an excellent choice to put air purifier in the bedroom, after all, we all spend eight or more hours in the bedroom.
Most modern air purifiers are easy to move from room to room, so you may be able to move them around as you need them, making sure to use the best one for each room.
Our verdict:
Air purifiers contribute less than 1% to household energy consumption. That's only about 12% of the energy harnessed to run a fridge. You can expect to pay around $22 annually to power an air purifier, with an average daily consumption of 15W.
Even with a window open, air purifiers can work decently and still meaningfully reduce particulate air pollution in the home – by 60% in 20 minutes in our tests.
Having said that, a good, high-quality air purifier could have you noticing changes in half an hour. After a few hours, you may see significant improvement in your air quality.
Headaches, sore throat, coughing, Asthma attacks, and difficulty breathing are a few of the symptoms that can be brought on by some air purifiers. Yes, that's right. Your air purifier may actually aggravate many of the health issues you hoped it would solve.
Do air purifiers help with mold? Air purifiers help capture mold spores from the air, preventing them from reproducing and spreading throughout your home. While air purifiers won't help treat active mold that's already present on surfaces, they are a great way to control the spread of airborne mold particles.
Our Verdict. Ultimately, we think it's better to leave your air purifier running at all times to maintain the highest possible home air quality. While you'll spend a little extra money on electricity, the results are definitely worth the investment.
At the 15-minute mark, the air is 50% as dirty as it was before turning on the purifier. After 80 minutes, the air is just as dirty as it was before. This means that if you turn off your purifier before sleeping, for most of the night your air will be just as bad as not having a purifier.
All you need to do is ensure that the front is facing the area where your bedroom is. If you find this difficult to picture - go into the door frame of your bedroom and look in the direction of your bedroom. The air cleaner needs to have the back pointing in the direction of your bedroom!
Keep your purifier running
We recommend running air purifiers 24/7 on their highest “quiet” setting—usually medium.