A Stress-Free Guide to the Best Whole House Air Purifiers 2022

As we all know, plants act as air filters, cleaning the air around them. But with so many of us living in urban environments, there’s isn’t much nature around. Pollution is on the rise, and it simply isn’t enough to open a window. So the best way to get clean air in your home is with a whole-house air purifier.

There are tons on the market to choose from, so we’ve done the hard work for you and narrowed our research down to the top 3 recommendations for the best whole-house air purifier on the market today.

The air purifiers we’ll be looking at in this guide, all cover areas greater than 1,000 Square feet.

If you live in an open plan or a single-story home, you should opt for a large capacity whole-house air purifier. For two-story (or more) homes or you may be better off choosing an air purifier to cover each floor.

If you are not sure of the size of your home it’s easy to measure the length x the width of each room and add them together.

Our Reviews of the Best Whole House Air Purifiers

Editor’s Award	Brand	Click Image to Read review
Best Large Capacity Air Purifier [up to 3,000 Sqft]	GreenTech Environmental pureAir 3000
Best for Mold and Bacteria [1,100 Sqft]	Alen BreatheSmart Classic Large Room Air Purifier
Best Ultra-Fine Particle Eliminator [1,125 Sqft]	IQAir GC MultiGas Air Purifier – Medical-Grade

Best Large Capacity Air Purifier [up to 3,000 Sqft]: GreenTech Environmental pureAir 3000

And here’s how it does it:

Firstly, Photocatalytic Oxidation (PCO) technology works by producing a plasma that swiftly breaks down all those nasties from pollen, odors, mold, (including active mold spores in the air), and bacteria, to other pollutants, reducing noticeable pollution in just 15 minutes and dangerous pathogens by over 99% in 24 hours.

PureAir produces negative ions. These cause particles of dust and bacteria to stick together in clumps heavy enough to fall to the floor preventing them from recirculating back into the air.

This is much better than just having one giant filter that clogs up.

PureAir fully also uses advanced oxidation – customized ozone to break apart, and destroy VOCs or Volatile Organic Compounds to give it its full title.

VOCs are particularly nasty little compounds that at the drop of a hat can turn into vapers and gasses. They include such horrors as benzene, formaldehyde, ethylene glycol, methylene chloride, and terpenes to name but a few.

You don’t want that stuff building up. And it does build up.

You’ll find it sneakily emitting itself from paints and varnishes, carpet, vinyl flooring and composite wood, furniture, foam, upholstery and fabrics, cleaning products, laundry detergents, dishwasher detergents and disinfectants, air fresheners, cosmetics and aerosol sprays, hobby supplies, adhesives, permanent markers, smoking, dry cleaning, and cooking.

That’s a depressingly long list, isn’t it?

Short-term effects include eye nose and throat irritation, headaches, allergic skin reactions, nausea, fatigue, and dizziness but in the long term, these chemicals are toxic and may cause cancer and damage to the liver, kidney, and central nervous system. If you’ve read our ethanol fireplace guide, you’ll know why we recommend an ethanol fireplace over a wood-burning, stove any day).

Finally, any magnetized particles leftover from the ionization process are caught by a clever electrostatic filter and this keeps the pureAir 3000 clean.

So there you have it, no more pollen, mold, mildew, bacteria, viruses, odors, and dangerous pathogens in your home.

Buying Factors to Consider

If your home comes up smaller than 3,000 square feet, don’t worry the purifier has scaleable settings that allow you to select the size of your space by square feet and then set the purifier to that level. That means you won’t overdo it.

The pureAir 3000 is pretty quiet to run – similar to an ordinary desktop fan. You may notice an ozone odor if you get right up close to the unit while it’s running. This is normal but you should not smell it in your room. If you do, you have set it too high and you should simply turn the purifier settings down.

The pureAir 3000 comes with easy-to-understand instructions on set up, use, and maintenance. It isn’t cheap but for your dollar, it’s well worth the investment.

Best for Mold and Bacteria [1,100 Sqft]: Alen BreatheSmart Classic Large Room Air Purifier

It was designed by NASA airflow engineers!

Proven to help with allergies and asthma, it eliminates pollen, and dust, as well as odors, and fumes, including all pet and household odors.

And if that wasn’t enough to impress, its HEPA silver filter also kills airborne mold spores, bacteria, germs, fungi, and even viruses including the flu!

How does it do that?

The Alen BreatheSmart Classic features an ozone-free ionizer.

The ionizer produces negative ions that clump airborne particles together – making them easier to trap in the high capacity True HEPA layer filter – effectively removing 99.97% of all airborne particles as small as 0.3 microns.

Just imagine – that’s about 56 times smaller than human hair.

What’s more, smart sensors automatically adjust to your environment, and LED light indicators to give you real-time air quality readings of the surrounding air: Blue indicates excellent air quality, orange equals fair, and red indicates poor air quality.

Poor quality air is pulled in through the side chambers to the HEPA layer filters which offer four layers of filtration, and clean air then flows out through the top.

The sensor will adjust the speed of the fan according to the particle level, cleaning the air more quickly when the particle level is high. You’ll be able to watch the sensor lights change as your purifier gets to work.

What We Like:

• Four Layers of Filtration | A pre-filter traps pet hair and larger particles. A silver filter, traps and kills bacteria and mold spores. A True HEPA Pure layer, filters out dust, dust mites, dirt, pollen, and other airborne allergens. And finally, a carbon layer absorbs odors.
• LED Light Indicators |These automatically adjust to your environment and give you real-time readings of the quality of your surrounding air.
• Smart Sensor | The sensor automatically adjusts the speed of the fan according to the air quality.
• Soothingly Quiet | The turbofan has a frequency called pink noise which is lower in tone than white noise. It’s very soothing – and great for anyone who likes to sleep with white noise.

Best Ultra-Fine Particle Eliminator [1,125 Sqft]: IQAir GC MultiGas Air Purifier – Medical-Grade

Made in Switzerland and powered with the equivalent chemical removing abilities of more than 100 gas masks, this unit features the highest standard of filtration.

Recommended for homes with higher levels of gas and odor pollution such as in-home cigarette smoke, the unit features 12 Lbs of activated carbon and alumina pellets impregnated with potassium permanganate to remove gasses and chemicals including formaldehyde from the air.

What’s more, the unit (and its filter media) are 100% sealed – so no unfiltered air will escape uncleaned, and once filtered, clean air is distributed evenly (320 degrees).

What We Like:

• Highest Standard of Filtration | This unit features the highest standard of filtration, including alumina pellets impregnated with potassium permanganate to remove formaldehyde from the air.
• Powerful Fan | Delivers up to 300 CFM of air.
• Remote Controlled | With programmable options, filter-life monitoring, and a color-coded light indicator to show you when the filter needs changing.

Buying Factors to Consider:

It’s not the cheapest option. But it does have a lot to offer. The HyperHEPA filter will eliminate more than 95% of ultra-fine particles down to 0.003 microns.

And it’s worth remembering that approximately 90% of all airborne particles are ultrafine. These ultrafine have been linked to heart attacks, strokes, asthma, and even cancer.