I’m not saying I would, but if I visit your house, I might look around to see if you have an air purifier. If you have one, I might calculate the cubic meters of your room and then, if I don’t have anyone, I might open up the purifier to look at the filter.
I know I’m a bad guest, but I’m serving a greater good.
Depending on what I find, I’ll fight the urge to tell you that your air purifier is too small to effectively clean the room, or that the purifier shouldn’t be placed against a couch or a wall, or that the filters need to be changed, or worse, that the plastic covering the filter was never removed when the purifier was first purchased.
This need to give unsolicited advice about indoor air runs deep. I knew nothing about it until I started researching indoor air quality. I didn’t think about the indoor air in my home or understand how making a few changes and using one or two appliances could have a lasting impact on my health, sleep quality, and mental acuity. And I want the same for you. Be sure to check out our related guides, such as the best air purifiers, best indoor air quality monitors, and best robot vacuums.
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Size Matters
You may already have an air purifier. Is that the right air purifier for the room? I, too, used to think that a small, aesthetically pleasing air purifier was all I needed. Not anymore.
First, find out the square footage the air cleaner is designed for, and keep in mind that air purifiers are often sold by advertising the square footage at their highest setting. Remember that the highest setting is also the loudest.
Chances are you’re not using your purifier on full power, so what’s the square footage for the setting you typically use? And you’re looking for this formula: what’s the number of air changes that can occur in a specific sized room in one hour?
The ideal number, known as the clean air delivery rate, or CADThe number on the air purifier’s label is located. The higher the number, the larger the room it can clean. Keep in mind that the CADR is based on rooms with 8-foot ceilings. If your ceilings are higher, such as those found in an A-frame structure, you’ll need a purifier with a higher CADR.
The right setting for the right speed
Photography: Lisa Wood Shapiro
You’re not quite done when you’ve determined the CADR. There’s still an air quality process that needs to take place. For example, if you’re using your air purifier in your bedroom, you should know that “sleep mode” means the purifier is running on its lowest setting.