The Best Air Filters for Apartments: What You Need to Know

Are you looking for the best air filters for your apartment? With so many options on the market, it can be difficult to know which one is right for you. Fortunately, we’ve done the research and can provide you with all the information you need to make an informed decision. When it comes to air purifiers, the Germ Guardian is a great choice for bedrooms. It doesn’t have a timer, but it does have a UV light designed to kill bacteria and viruses that are small enough to pass through the HEPA filter.

HEPA filters are usually the best for filtering dust from your space, as they can remove 99.97 percent of dust particles measuring 3 microns in diameter. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established an Air Quality Index (AQI) that measures the concentrations of major air pollutants, such as soil ozone and carbon monoxide. Our testing has shown that any purifier of the right size will distribute filtered air evenly throughout a room.

Ideally

, you want an air purifier with a HEPA filter, which removes at least 99.97% of air pollutants down to 0.3 microns.

This prevents air from bypassing the filter around the edges and ensures that virtually all air passing through the machine is filtered HEPA. Some brands use an even newer type of photoelectrochemical oxidation (CEEC) filter that supposedly filters down to 0.1 microns, but its effectiveness has not yet been proven. That said, keep in mind that while Blueair claims that the system filters out 99% of contaminants and that its performance has been independently verified by the AHAM (Appliance Manufacturers Association), the filter itself is not HEPA certified. When choosing an air purifier, you want one that is powerful enough to clean the air in a large living room or playroom, quiet and dark enough that you can sleep near it in a bedroom, and economical enough that it is reasonable to have several spread across the whole house.

Any of the following air purifiers should improve indoor air quality, filter smoke and airborne particles, and at the same time provide fresh air:

• Germ Guardian
• Shark Air Purifier 6
• Shark Air Purifier 4
• Levoit Compact Air Purifier

My apartment is bigger than that, however, leaving it in the living room managed to improve the air quality throughout the space. In addition to HEPA filters, some air filters are electrostatic, which means that air passes over a series of electrically charged plates and causes particles to stick to other things. It comes only in dark gray, lacks Wi-Fi connectivity and uses a one-year VOC filter, unlike the three-month filters on the AM90. The True HEPA filter is certified to clean air in spaces up to 560 square feet, and the 26% activated carbon particulate filter helps remove contaminants from the air. Small enough to fit on your desk and designed to filter up to 129 square feet, this compact Levoit model is equipped with a HEPA filter that removes 99.97% of dust, pollen, smoke, odor, mold spores and pet dander. Now that you know more about what makes an excellent air purifier for apartments, you can make an informed decision about which one is right for you.