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If pet dander has you wheezing and sneezing (or apologizing to your pet-sensitive guests), we have some great news. While using vacuum cleaners specially designed to filter out pet dander can help, you can also enjoy 24/7 relief with air purification technology. We’ve rounded up the best pet air purifiers so you can make the choice that works for you.
Why Air Purifiers Can Help
How do those small, unobtrusive air purifiers clean the air in an entire room? Let’s take a look at how they work.
Air purification devices are designed to reduce smoke, dust, and even some germs—as well as dander from your beloved kitty or pup. There are a few ways they can do it, and it’s worth comparing the different technologies.
Fans with filters. These air purifiers have fans that draw your air through a filter, or a series of filters, to capture pollutants. Bad air comes in, and good air goes out. Of course, you are going to need to clean or replace those filters periodically to keep your air purifier working effectively.
Fans with HEPA filters. For best filter performance, look for HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters, which are extremely dense. Many of these have multiple filters such as an activated charcoal (also called activated carbon) pre-filter that absorbs VOCs (volatile organic pounds) such as perfumes or paint fumes. Buyer beware: Filters labeled “HEPA-type” are not as dense as true HEPA and will not clean your air as effectively. For this reason, you’ll find true HEPA filters labeled—what else?—”true HEPA.”
Ionizers. Some air purifiers are a little more complex. They emit negatively charged ions that attach to dust and dander, removing them from the air but allowing them to drift down to the floor or settle on furniture. For that reason, ionizing air purifiers may not be the best solution for dealing with pet dander. Good Housekeeping warns that some of these ionizers use ozone to break down pollutants, but that ozone can irritate your airways. So if you are buying an air purifier to reduce asthma or other breathing issues, you’ll want to avoid ones that release ozone.
For this review of pet air purifiers, we’ve stayed with filter technology, both HEPA and non-HEPA.
iStock via Jomkwan
When it comes to pet air purifiers, you want to make sure to select a model capable of handling the amount of air in your office, apartment, or house. Measure your room before you shop. If you don’t want to run the air purifier on the “high” setting because of noise, consider buying one designed to handle a larger volume of air—it will be able to clean your air while running on a quieter, lower setting. (If you are looking for a whole house air-purification solution, you’ll need to work with an HVAC professional to see if your existing heating and cooling system can be upgraded.)
If you are comparing air purifiers by efficiency, look for their clean air delivery rate (CADR) numbers. There are separate CADR numbers for removing pollen, removing tobacco smoke, and removing dust. The higher the number for those pollutants, the better they’ll be at removing pet dander from your room—usually. But it gets complicated: Home repair consultant Bob Vila notes that “In general, the higher the CADR number, the more pollutants the purifier will remove from the air. The CADR scale runs as high as 450. However, some of the best filters (HEPA filters) might have a reduced CFM airspeed due to their density, so they actually remove more airborne pollutants yet come with a lower CADR.”
Vila also suggests making sure the pet air purifiers on your list have the blue Energy Star sticker. To keep pet dander under control, air purifiers should be run round the clock. An energy-efficient model can minimize the effect of air purification on your electric bill.
Concerned about noise? Many air purifiers list a decibel level. Keep in mind that high-speed operation is louder than low-speed (another reason to buy a purifier designed for a larger area and run it at a slower speed).
The Best Pet Air Purifiers
We’ve pulled together a list of several room-size pet air purifiers that will clear the air in small, medium, or large-size rooms in your home. One of them even handles extra-large spaces.
If appearance is an issue for your living room or office, you’ll find some sleek minimalist models.
Some of the fancier air purifiers can monitor the quality of the air in the room and adjust their fan speed to increase filtration rates when needed. And, yes, a few of them connect to your home Wifi system so you can control them using an app or Amazon’s Alexa.
With a true HEPA filter and the power to handle large rooms (up to 500 square feet), the InSight is surprisingly affordable. It boasts a CADR rating for dust of 355.
- Filters: HEPA filter
- Capacity: Small, medium, and large rooms
- Controls: The illuminated display shows four cleaning levels, an air quality indicator, and the auto-mode setting.
This pet air purifier gets top ratings for effectiveness and controls.
- Filters: Three filters, including a washable pre-filter and a HEPA filter.
- Capacity: Small, medium, and large rooms.
- Controls: With “smart auto-mode,” this purifier monitors air quality and can increase or decrease fan speed as needed.
This pet air purifier is designed to clean air in a 360-foot-square room—more than enough for a spacious living room.
- Filters: multiple filters, including a washable AOC carbon filter (for odor-reduction) and a HEPA filter.
- Capacity: Small, medium, and large rooms.
- Controls: SmartSensor checks air quality and adjusts fan speed to match; you can also set a nighttime mode for a lower-speed, quieter fan while you sleep.
Top-rated (and high priced), the Air Doctor offers ultra-HEPA, a filter that able to capture tiny particles that can get through regular HEPA filters.
- Filters: Multiple filters, including activated carbon, VOC, and ultra-HEPA filters
- Capacity: Small, medium, and large rooms
- Controls: Four filtration levels, and an auto-sensor to adjust filtration levels
This sleek, affordable model fits nicely into an office or living room. Note that the v-HEPA filter is a HEPA-type filter, not a true HEPA filter.
- Filters: Cleanable pre-filter, v-HEPA (HEPA-type) filter, and activated carbon filter
- Capacity: Small, medium, and large rooms
- Controls: The Intelligent Air Quality Monitor checks your air quality and adjusts the fan speed automatically.
You’ll pay top price for this model, which is of the top-rated pet air purifiers. It’s capable of clearing the air in a room with a floor area of 700 square feet—and is both WiFi-enabled and Alexa compatible.
- Filters: HEPA filter (dual-protection filters, sold separately, can be added for carbon filtration to remove odors and smoke)
- Capacity: Small, medium, and large rooms (check out the three smaller versions of the Blueair Classic if you have a smaller space)
- Controls: Wi-Fi enabled, this three-speed air purifier can be controlled via the Blueair friend app or Amazon’s Alexa.
If you are looking for an affordable, small portable air purifier, this is a great choice. The washable pre-filters are available in a range of colors.
- Filters: 3-stages of filtration, including two washable pre-filters and a carbon filter
- Capacity: Small, medium, and large rooms (check out the two smaller versions of the Blueair Blue Pure if you have a smaller space)
- Controls: Simple one-button control
The streamlined Mooka air purifier is designed to quietly clean the air in a 430-square-foot area.
- Filters: Three filters, including a pre-filter, a HEPA filter, and an activated carbon filter.
- Capacity: Small, medium, and large rooms
- Controls: Four timer settings, four fan modes, and an optional night light
- Filters: It includes a long-lasting, medical-grade HEPA filter
- Capacity: Small, medium, large, and extra-large rooms
- Controls: A sensor light changes colors from blue to red to warn of poor air quality (high level of particles). On automatic mode, the sensor will adjust the fan speed to deal with pollutants.
- Filters: Washable prefilter and main filter (an optional odor-reducing filter can be purchased and added)
- Capacity: Small, medium, and large rooms (up to 250 square feet)
- Controls: Touch controls for fan speeds and a timer setting
