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Cheap Air Purifiers, Best Cheap Air Purifier

Related Guides: Air Conditioners and Fans

Consumers spend between $250 and $350 million a year on air quality improvement devices, and approximately one in four households owns one type or another. The biggest factor affecting the price of a cheap air purifier is the amount of square footage it's designed to cover.

An air purifier meant for 150 square feet will always be cheaper than an air purifier meant for 550 square feet, regardless of features or performance. Larger air purifiers require a bigger motor, a bigger filter, bigger everything. Cheap small room air cleaners range in price from $35-$130 while high-end purifiers for small rooms cost more than $225. Cheap large room air purifiers start at $225 and top out at $300, while the up-market models start at about $375. High-end room air purifiers are easier to clean, more powerful, and feature technologically-advanced filters and conveniences like remote control and LED displays.

If you're just beginning your search for a cheap air purifier, the first step is identifying the air quality issue you want to address. Common irritants include smoke, dust, pet dander, pollen, mold, cooking and perfume odors, and chemicals and gases; some cheap air purifiers focus more on particulates than on odors or gases, or vice versa. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dedicates an entire section of its website to the topic of indoor air quality and discusses the performance characteristics of different types of air purifiers. Note that the EPA does not endorse any brand or any type of air purifier, and bluntly advises that air purifiers be only part of an air treatment plan that includes controlling the source of the pollutants and improving the ventilation.

In fact, unless you live next to an incinerator, the air outside is probably cleaner than the air inside. And if you or anyone in the household has allergies or trouble breathing, even the best air purifier is unlikely to solve your problems. No air purifier currently on the market makes any health claims whatsoever; promotional materials only refer to the quality of the air. So if you see a claim along the lines of "Improves lung capacity by 50%" you should automatically rule out that product.

The major players in the air purifier market are some of the same companies that hold sway in the appliance market, such as Whirlpool and Honeywell. Many of the better models, including cheap air purifiers, are made by specialty companies like Hunter, Holmes, and RabbitAir.

Air Purifier Technologies.

Once you identify what's causing the poor air quality in your home or office and have done your best to control the source of the problem and increase the ventilation, you have to decide which type of cheap air purifier will complement your overall line of attack. There are several basic technologies used in cheap air purifiers.

The first, and probably most popular, is a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. Cheap HEPA air purifiers, like the Hunter 30057 (starting at $56, Amazon), trap 99.97% of airborne particles -- think dust, pollen, mold spores, pet dander -- that are as small as 0.3 microns (one micron equals 1/25,400 of an inch). A less effective filter is a stepped-down HEPA filter like the one found on the Holmes HEPA-Type HAP242-UC (starting at $35, Amazon), which the company claims captures 99% of airborne dust and pollen particles that are at least 2 microns in size. The EPA points out, however, that airborne particles often settle before being drawn into the air purifier, so you won't get rid of all airborne pollutants by relying solely on a HEPA air purifier.

Cheap ionic air purifiers, like the Sharper Image Ionic Breeze 3.0 (starting at $155, Amazon), send out negatively-charged ions that attach to airborne particulates, which are then lured back to a positively-charged collector plate. Experts note, however, that some of these particles may be recirculated and some wind up settling on other surfaces in the room (like furniture and walls) and leave stains. In addition, ionic air purifiers produce small amounts of ozone, a known lung irritant, but supposedly at levels that do not exceed current safety standards (and do nothing to cleanse the air). The Holmes HAP242-CU augments its HEPA-type filter with an optional ionizer, as does the Hunter 30057. And the Oreck XL Tabletop Professional (starting at $300, Amazon) relies on a proprietary ionizing technology called a Truman Cell.

If smoke and/or odors are the primary problem, a cheap air purifier with a carbon (or charcoal) filter is a good choice. Carbon air purifiers use activated carbon to absorb the volatile chemicals in the offending gases but don't remove pollen, mold, or other allergens from the air. For that reason, HEPA and carbon filters are often paired in cheap air purifiers; the Whirlpool Whispure 450 (starting at $224, Amazon), the Winix PlasmaWave 5300 (starting at $171, Amazon), and the Hunter 30057, for example, have a carbon filter as well as a HEPA filter.

Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation destroys bacterial microorganisms as they pass through UV rays; the dead organisms are then collected in a filter. The scope of cheap ultraviolet air purifiers is limited to removing germs, viruses, and bacteria from the air, and they have no effect on allergens, smoke, or odors. Many cheap ultraviolet air purifiers, such as the Germ Guardian LW-18 UV-C (starting at $71, Amazon), are hand-held, so you can wave them like a wand over the area you wish to purify.

The most controversial air purifiers are ozone air purifiers, which convert air molecules into ozone that tackles odors. Although there is scientific concern about the loss of ozone in the upper atmosphere (think global warming), scientists are also concerned that ozone in the lower atmosphere may have harmful side effects. The EPA warns that ozone can seriously damage your lungs, and at the very least, exacerbate respiratory problems. Consequently, experts recommend only using ozone-generating air purifiers in unoccupied rooms where the stench is otherwise impossible to remove.

Another approach, incorporated into the AirFree Onix 3000 (starting at $269, Amazon), uses a ceramic core to kill off organisms like spores, fungus, viruses, and bacteria, at temperatures of 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The company has a patent on the core and claims it will reduce 70%-90% of the organisms in the ambient air within 10 days.

Measurements.

For cheap HEPA air purifiers with fans, there are two measurements worth noting. The first is the number of times air flows through the filter each hour; the more passes, the more opportunity to catch pollutants. Experts set the ideal at six air exchanges an hour. Among the cheap HEPA air purifiers on our list, the Hunter 30057 claims up to six air exchanges an hour and the Whirlpool Whispure 450 falls a bit short at 4.8 pass-throughs an hour, which is considered OK.

The second measure is the clean air delivery rate (CADR), which indicates the volume of cleaned air delivered by a HEPA air purifier. There is a CADR for three types of pollutants -- tobacco smoke, pollen, and dust; each is determined separately by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), an independent third party, and is listed on the packaging. The maximum CADR, based on the testing protocols, is 400 for dust and 450 for pollen and smoke; the AHAM recommends you choose a cheap air purifier with a CADR for tobacco smoke whose value is at least two-thirds the square footage of the room where the air purifier will be used. The smoke CADR for the Whirlpool Whispure 450, for example, is 317, making it suitable for larger rooms (about 475-500 square feet); the Hunter 30057, with a smoke CADR of 101, and the Homes HEPA-Type HAP242-UC, with a smoke CADR of 70, are both designed for smaller rooms (about 100-140 square feet). Cheap HEPA air purifiers with a higher CADR relative to the room size will clean the air faster and more often. (The CADR is not relevant to ionic air purifiers.)

Coverage.

Room air purifiers are designed either for small rooms (less than 200 square feet) or large rooms (200-600 square feet). Among the cheap air purifiers we researched, we found the Holmes HAP242-UC and Hunter 30057 to be the best cheap air purifiers for small rooms and the Whirlpool Whispure and AirFree Onix 3000 the best cheap air purifiers for large rooms. Many rooms straddle the line between small and large, so err on the side of large when considering which size cheap air purifier to buy. Note that placing a cheap air purifier designed to work in a 400-square-foot area in a 200-square-foot room won't clean the air in a neighboring room that's also 200 square feet; moreover, any room air purifier does a better job if you keep the door and windows closed and in a spot where the air can freely circulate.

Air Purifier Filters.

An air purifier with a filter is only as good as the filter, and the best are HEPA filters, which trap very near 100% of airborne particles as small as 0.3 microns. In appearance, HEPA filters on cheap air purifiers resemble the lint screens used in clothes dryers except that air purifier screens are made of small, tightly woven fibers (often glass) as opposed to metal or plastic. As noted above, many cheap air cleaners, including the Hunter 30090 (starting at $70, Amazon), also incorporate a carbon (sometimes referred to as charcoal) pre-filter that helps absorb odors and trap some larger particles; the filter on the Holmes HEPA-Type HAP242-UC gets an odor-absorbing boost from baking soda. Some cheap room air purifiers feature three filters; the Whirlpool Whispure 450 boasts a pre-filter (front cover), a carbon filter, and a HEPA filter.

Cheap ionizer air purifiers, like the Ionic Breeze 3.0 and Oreck XL Tabletop Professional, catch the contaminants on electrically-charged plates or cells instead of filters.

Expenses.

It would be great if you could buy an air purifier, plug it in, and forget about it. Unfortunately, that's not the case with HEPA models. Whichever cheap HEPA room air purifier you choose, you face two ongoing expenses: the energy cost, and more significantly, the cost of the filter. The increase in your energy bill will correspond to the size of the cheap room air purifier you're using and the frequency with which it's used. Experts recommend using a cheap air purifier on the lowest setting possible (most air purifiers come with three -- high, medium, and low) and leaving it off when you don't need it. Cheap ionizing room air purifiers also consume energy, but less of it, and they're meant to run continuously (as is the AirFree Onix 3000, with its ceramic core technology).

Then there's the cost of filters, both the primary HEPA filter and the carbon pre-filter. The HEPA filter on many cheap room air purifiers should be changed at least every 12-18 months, although some users report replacing filters as often as every three months; some models, like the RabbitAir BioGS Fresh Spa 421 (starting at $329, Amazon), claim the filter lasts up to three years when the unit runs 12 hours a day, and Holmes says its HEPA-type filter should be replaced at least twice a year. Replacement filters can cost upwards of $55, and some users get around this expense by removing the filter and cleaning it; you can try vacuuming or wiping it down with a damp cloth, and some can be soaked in water. The carbon pre-filter on cheap air purifiers lasts three to six months; many are washable, but replacing a carbon pre-filter for a cheap room air purifier will set you back less than $10, and do-it-yourself types report finding generic charcoal pre-filter material at home improvement stores. Bottom line: The more you use your air purifier and the more pollutants in the air, the more often you'll have to change the filters

The steel plates (and charging wires) or the collection cell on ionic air purifiers must be kept clean to work at maximum efficiency. These catchments should be wiped down with a damp rag periodically, and some models need this attention as often as every four to five days; dirty plates make popping and crackling noises. The Ionic Breeze 3.0 has an LED light that indicates when the plates are past due for a cleaning and the LED display on the RabbitAir BioGS also signals when the plates need cleaning.

With the AirFree Onix 3000, there are no filters to clean or replace.

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Sharper Image Ionic Breeze 3.0
Oreck XL Tabletop Professional
Hunter 30057
AirFree Onix 3000
Holmes HEPA-Type HAP242-UC
Whirlpool Whispure 450

 

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