Once you’ve chosen a cleaning level, the InSight HEPA Air Cleaner will illuminate that setting so that you know exactly how your portable air purifier is performing. This new series of portable air cleaners also includes a VOC Sensor that actively monitors the surrounding air. The Molekule Air Mini+ is designed for small spaces, like a bedroom or home office. In our testing, it performed far worse than our pick for those scenarios, the Clorox Medium Room—which costs about $100, versus the Air Mini+’s typical $350 or more. On its medium setting (speed three, out of five), the Air Mini+ reduced smoke levels by just 58.7%, versus the Levoit’s 92.6%. And even on its highest setting, at which it emitted an intolerable 66 decibels, the Air Mini+ reduced the smoke only by 91%; the Levoit captured 97.4% on high, while emitting 54 decibels.
The Honeywell InSight HPA5300B, a large-space model, likely performs well, but after measuring its electricity demands, we dismissed it. It’s an absolute power hog, drawing 33, 60, 94, and 117 watts on its four (low to turbo) speeds, respectively. Install your purifier at least 18 inches from a wall and any furniture, ideally near the midpoint of the room you’re using it in.
Honeywell Healthy Buildings help keep facilities safer for occupants, in part by cleaning the air automatically as people come and go. Controlling bacteria, pollen, pollutants and other contaminants can be done with proper honeywell humidifier filtration, and the HEPA Portable Air Purifier is a perfect place to start toward creating a healthier environment for your occupants. Some concentrations of organic chemicals are higher indoors than outdoors.
The tweed-like cover (which also acts as a prefilter) is washable and, when the time comes, replaceable. A pretty, silvery gray one comes standard with the machine, and three other soft, natural colors are available. The 211i Max’s filters have a shorter replacement cycle than many of our other picks, at six to nine months (versus a typical year). The replacement alert on the display reflects actual usage, though, not simply the elapsed time since the last replacement, so if your purification demands are low, you’ll wind up on the long end of that range. Honeywell HRF-APP1 Pre-Filters can be used in a variety of honeywell purifiers. This large pre-filter can be cut (cutting templates included) to make 1-12 pre-filters based on your particular model.
But because of its higher energy consumption, it costs more to maintain than our current budget pick, the Clorox Medium room. And it’s a tall, garish device that won’t blend into any decor outside of an Alien set. The GermGuardian AC5900WCA was a star performer in our 2019 test, but we also found it to be much louder than the top-pick Coway Mighty, measuring 47 decibels versus 39, on its quiet/medium setting. And the quality of the sound was rough and whooshy, versus the Mighty’s steady white noise. The Coway Airmega 150 is the first small-space machine from that company.
In early fall 2020, a few reader comments and reviews showed up mentioning an imbalanced fan in the machine, which caused the whole unit to shake uncontrollably and, in some cases, led the fan to break. We asked Coway about this problem, and a spokesperson replied that Coway was aware of the issue and was working on strengthening the fans’ balancing mechanism. As of late 2022, the issue seems to be resolved, based on recent customer reviews. We place the purifiers at the midpoint of the test room (this is best practice in your room, too). The particle counter goes in the farthest corner of the room, ensuring an accurate reading of whole-room purification.