Best HEPA Air Purifiers for Smoke, Germs and Viruses: 2023 Reviews

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No matter how many cleaning essentials you stock up on for your home, according to medical experts, one additional item that people should be adding to their arsenal is an air purifier.

The best air purifiers (sometimes known as “air cleaners”) help to eliminate dust, pollen, smoke and other irritants from the air, but a good air purifier could also go a long way towards eliminating dangerous airborne germs and bacteria too. The CDC says air purifiers “can help reduce airborne contaminants, including viruses, in a home or confined space.” The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) adds that air purifiers are helpful “when additional ventilation with outdoor air is not possible” (say, when you can’t crack open a window at home or work).

According to the EPA, indoor air tends to be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air, since there is less ventilation and recirculation of air. This is where an air purifier can come in, to ensure that you can breathe easy, despite external stressors.

How Does an Air Purifier Work?

An air purifier works by drawing air into its chamber and running it through a filter that captures germs, dust, mites, pollen and other potentially harmful particles from the airstream. The air purifier will then return the clean air back into your home.

These days, the best air purifiers can also help to absorb or filter out odors, say, from cooking or smoke. Some air purifiers are also equipped with heating and cooling settings, to function as a standup fan or heater when the temperatures change.

What Is a HEPA Air Purifier?

The best air purifiers use a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter that better captures unwanted particles from the air.

Standard air purifier filters range from coarse to medium in terms of their design and filtration ability (similar to say, how a coffee filter works). These are among the most commonly used air filters in homes and workplaces today. But according to Kevin Shim, director of Coway US (a home appliance company known for their air and water purifiers), these standard filters, while certainly effective, are not as efficient as HEPA filters. “If you are looking for a high-performance air filter,” he says, “HEPA filters are among the best in the market today.”

While they used to be expensive and difficult to find, HEPA filter air purifiers are used everywhere these days, from homes and automobiles, to aircrafts and medical facilities.

Shim says it’s important to distinguish between HEPA and True HEPA air purifiers to ensure that your needs are met. “Essentially,” he explains, “True HEPA air purifiers capture up to 99.97 percent of particles as small as 0.3 microns, which include a range of allergens and odors. On the other hand, a purifier with a HEPA-type filter is capable of capturing 99 percent of particles that are 2 microns or larger, such as pet dander and dust. While these particles are too tiny for the human eye to see,” Shim cautions, “they are large enough to penetrate your lungs and cause problematic reactions.”

Can an Air Purifier Help With Covid?

Can using an air purifier protect you from getting Covid? The short answer is yes — and no. The CDC says these units can help “reduce the airborne concentration of the virus that causes Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2), which can reduce the risk of transmission through the air.” Still, the agency is quick to stress that using an air purifier or portable air cleaner is “not enough to protect yourself and your family from Covid-19.” You should still be washing your hands with soap and water, using hand sanitizer when soap is not available, and wearing a face covering when indoors.

Glory Dolphin Hammes is a Council-certified Indoor Environmentalist (CIE) who says an air purifier is an important item to have in your home or workspace. “Air purifiers can be helpful during the coronavirus pandemic because they can clean the air and circulate clean air in indoor spaces that may have little to no ventilation,” Dolphin Hammes says. “Research has shown that ventilation either through open windows or doors, or through air purifiers, is essential to decreasing transmission rates through dilution.”

Like the CDC though, Dolphin Hammes cautions against seeing air purifiers as an all-in-one solution or quick fix. “I think it is crucial for consumers to understand that not all air purifiers are made the same,” she says, “and not all air purifiers can remove the coronavirus from the air.”

What Does an Air Purifier Do?

An air purifier doesn’t just target harmful germs and bacteria, it can also be used to help reduce odors around the house and to filter out smoke. “Air purifiers became top-of-mind to consumers during 2020 especially, as wildfires continue to batter the West Coast, leaving behind significant smoke pollution,” says Shim. That, coupled with the coronavirus’ impact on respiratory health, Shim explains, “has driven consumers to think more holistically about how and what they’re breathing.”

Shim says Coway’s line of air purifiers has seen “record-breaking sales,” as wildfires continue in many parts of the country. The North Carolina-based Oransi, meantime, says their air purifiers have been “backordered” for weeks, after seven local school districts bought out their entire inventory due to increasing Covid infection rates in the state.

Oransi, whose popular Mod air purifier removes mold spores, pet dander and smoke, in addition to bacteria and dust, began after its founder sought to find ways to treat his asthmatic son. The company cites data from the World Health Organization, which finds that air pollution is the world’s top environmental health risk. A good air purifier will go a long way towards purifying the air in your space, helping to eliminate stuffiness, congestion and nasal irritation. As Oransi states on its site, “We believe everyone deserves to breathe clean, fresh air.”

What Are the Best HEPA Air Purifiers?

Looking for an easy and effective way to eliminate virus-causing germs and bacteria from your air? Here are some of the best HEPA air purifiers to buy online.

1. Coway Airmega 250S Air Purifier

Smartly-designed, Coway’s air purifier keeps track of the air quality in your home so that you don’t have to. The shoebox-sized unit also packs a powerful filtering punch, using a combination of a washable pre-filter, activated carbon filter, and a Green True HEPA Filter to better reduce and eliminate 99.999% of airborne contaminants up to 0.01-micron. 

We were most impressed by the Airmega 250S’s Smart Mode, which automatically adapts to the air in your space and adjusts fan speeds accordingly based on the room’s air quality. That makes the air purifier more energy-efficient without compromising effectiveness. Lights on the unit also let you know when the filter needs replacing, but you can also use the IoCare app to check the filter status, get indoor and outdoor air quality, set timers, and change the speed. 

Though it’s small in size, Coway says the Airmega 250 can cover up to 930 square feet of space, making it great for a living rooms, offices or studios. The air purifier is also compatible with Amazon Alexa, so you can use your voice to say, tell it to switch to Sleep Mode for low-noise operation at bedtime. 

We like the natural-looking colorways, too, that easily fit into any decor style. This makes the AirMega 250S air purifier a nice alternative to the more industrial-looking basic black and white units on the market.

2. IQAir Atem Desk Personal Air Purifier

Dolphin Hammes recommends the IQAir Atem Desktop Air Purifier, which uses the company’s exclusive HyperHEPA filters to remove ultra-fine particles down to 0.003 microns. Hammes says the filters are effective enough to remove airborne viruses and particles that are ten times smaller than a virus. What you get: 99% purified air to your personal breathing zone. The unique circular design is great for airflow and everything can be easily monitored and adjusted through the MyAtem app.

This portable air purifier is great for your desk or a small room. It can cover up to 150-square-feet of space.

3. Oransi Mod Air Purifier

Oransi says the Mod has been lab tested to remove 99.4% of the tiniest particles down to 0.02 microns (think harmful bacteria, viruses, odors and gases). Its filter also helps to remove allergens, mold, pet dander and smoke.

The Mod uses a high-efficiency motor and unique cylindrical design to cover a 878-square-foot room with use. Monitor your settings via the intuitive swipe-touch control system.

The Mod is Energy Star-certified for efficiency, and has a super-quiet motor too — in our testing, the fans barely registered on the decibel scale, making this one of the quietest units we’ve reviewed.

4. PhoneSoap AirSoap

PhoneSoap is best-known for its UV sanitizing devices, which are great for eliminating bacteria on your phone, keys and small accessories. Now the company is getting into the air purifier game with the introduction of AirSoap, which swaps a traditional filter for a “high-energy ‘Electric Wind’ technology,” that PhoneSoap says is more effective at cleaning the air.

The company says the AirSoap’s advanced purification system — which uses a high-energy plasma field to trap and ionize the air particles that flow through — can trap and kill even the smallest viruses, down to 14.6 nanometers (most disposable HEPA filters can only filter down to 300 nanometers). And while the AirSoap is not marketed as a Covid-killing device, the company says the air purifier is able to capture extremely small viruses like coronaviruses and Influenza, that are usually “too small for traditional filters to capture.”

5. Samsung Bespoke Cube

For an effective and gentle clean, you’ll want to pick up the Samsung Bespoke Cube. Backed by Samsung’s years of research in both technology and design, the Cube uses a five-stage filtration process with 360 degree air suction intake to reduce and remove irritants like pollen and smoke, while eliminating up to 99.97% of ultra-fine dust.

Samsung says the device is certified to reduce allergies, and it’s safe enough to use in a child’s room or nursery as well. The Cube is whisper-quiet and doesn’t release any wind. Its air quality sensor, meantime, uses a laser to monitor air particles, with instant feedback on the front digital display. Use Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or Bixby to control the device with your voice, and monitor your settings on the SmartThings app.

What we like: the Cube is a modular design purifier — a single unit covers rooms up to 350 square feet, but you can also get a second unit to stack, to easily double your coverage.

6. EnviroKlenz Air System Plus

This EnviroKlenz air purifier harnesses the power of HEPA filters and UVC bulbs to provide both germicidal irradiation and removal of harmful bacteria from the air. The company says recent tests have show that the EnviroKlenz Mobile UV Model “is able to capture and filter droplets in the air, which is mainly how the Covid-19 virus is transmitted from person-to-person.” What’s more, the company says results showed a 99.9% reduction rate for viruses as small as 0.025 microns in size (about 1/4 the size of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and influenza particles).

Though the FDA has not yet verified these claims, the results suggest that the EnviroKlenz air cartridge could be effective in warding off pathogens similar in size to the coronavirus.

In addition to germs and viruses, this professional-grade air purifier can help to remove toxic and noxious odors and chemicals from the air, while the HEPA filter captures dust, allergens, pet dander, and other microorganisms. A four-speed blower encourages efficient airflow, while two 9-watt UVC bulbs help provide additional germicidal irradiation and internal cleaning of the system. Handy indicator lights let you know when the UVC lamps need to be replaced.