Your search for the best air purifier will end here

By Gauri Kelkar

A list of air purifiers, as ordained by Amazon reviewers, that can help you and your home breathe better

Taking a breath has never been more fraught with risk. With microscopic contaminants, pollutants, pollen, toxic gases, and other scary-sounding invisible particles in the very air you breathe, fresh air has become a distant dream—at least in urban and urbanizing cities. There may be much that we may be helpless to do about the quality of air outside the home. Exorcising dust particles and pollutants from your home or office is a whole different matter though, and one that can be solved with a good, high-functioning air purifier.

The debate about its significance and efficacy does of course continue to raise questions: some hopeful—is this goodbye to cleaning and dusting? (No, actually, it isn’t); and some sceptical—are they really necessary? What about air-purifying plants huh? We believe, however, that it’s always a good idea to have all your bases covered and amass as much knowledge as possible to make an informed decision that may work for you. So, we went straight to the infallible, all-knowing Amazon marketplace, and scoured that court of public opinion—the Amazon reviewers—to bring you nine air purifiers that were the pick of the lot.

But first, a heart-breaking disclaimer for wannabe couch potatoes: The air purifier can do only so much. There is, alas, no short cut to mopping, dusting, cleaning, disinfecting.

HIGH ON TECH
Product: Dyson Pure CoolTM tower air purifier (WiFi-enabled)
Amazon Rating: 4 stars
Price: 35,900
User Speak: “This is a great product. Beyond its amazing design that suits perfectly in our apartment, what is most important is how well it works. I always keep it on ‘auto’ mode, which has improved my comfort while sleeping at night. Great app to keep track on AQI (air quality index) and manage the operation from your phone. It’s silent as well, so it does not disturb you while sleeping.” — Fernando R
Hot Tip: Air Multiplier TechnologyTM ensures capturing 99.95 per cent of really really really fine particles, not to mention projecting and circulating purified air. It comes with a HEPA filter too, which is a high-efficiency particulate air filter capable of absorbing particles that are as small as 0.3 microns in size.

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FOR LARGE SPACES
Product: Philips 2000 Series AeraSense AC2887/20
Amazon Rating: 4 stars
Price: Rs 16,750
User speak: “It’s a convenient size, considering the reasonably large volume of space it is claimed to be effective in. The display and keyboard are descriptive and easy to use for various settings. The ‘auto’ mode would normally take care of most scenarios for ambient air-quality control. The PPM reading* on the display and the colour-based indicator are added benefits. For those who prefer dark rooms, the unit offers a facility to cut off the display lighting. However, it does not have a remote control—this could have been a convenient feature. Spare filters are also available, which is an important factor while choosing any air purifier. Overall, a solid product from Philips, and worth the slightly extra spend compared to other brands and models.” — Kekoo Vacha [PPM stands for parts per million, which refers to the concentration of particles in water or soil (and air too).]
Hot Tip: The purifier (with HEPA-grade filters) comes with three automatic purification settings. Apart from the general mode, there’s also an allergen mode and a super-powerful bacteria and virus mode. Choose one that you need.

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FOR SMALL SPACES
Product: Philips 1000 Series AC1215/20
Amazon Rating: 3.5 stars
Price: Rs 9,927
User Speak: “The product is able to reach the optimum pollutant levels in a small room of 120 square feet. People with asthma and other respiratory disorders will be able to feel the difference with an air purifier working in the room. I would recommend this for a small room and when you are looking to try something moderately priced.” — Munish Gulati

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FOR SMOKERS
Product: Coway Sleek Pro AP-1009
Amazon Rating: 5 stars
Price: Rs 13,900
User Speak: “I am reviewing this air purifier after one week of use. The machine is very sleek and nice-looking. The sensor of this machine that detects room air quality is very accurate; I have personally tested it with cigarette smoke and cooking. While turning the purifier on, the colour changes immediately so I know the sensor is real time. The sound of the fan is also very low and it has a ‘turbo’ mode and ‘auto’ mode too. My room air becomes clean after 30 minutes of turning it on. (I have a 160-square-foot room.) Everything is nice but it would have been helpful if it came with a remote. I hope the HEPA filter lasts long.” — Amazon Customer

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VALUE FOR MONEY
Product: Honeywell HAC25M120W
Amazon Rating: 4 stars
Price: 8,799
User Speak: Excellent product; for a room size of 20X17 [ft] with a ceiling height of 11, ft it took approximately one hour to go from red to blue—superb value for money.” — Pradip

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FOR COMBATTING MOULDS AND VIRUSES
Product: Sharp FP-F40E-W
Amazon Rating: 4.5 stars
Price: Rs 16,400
User Speak: “I think this one is Sharp’s best air-purifier models, as it doesn’t have the limitations that other Sharp models have. It has a pre-filter (absent in A80), dust and odour sensors (A80 only comes with a dust sensor) and the filter life and replacement costs are reasonable. I’ve been using it for around six months now. We use a vacuum cleaner with a blower to maintain our filters and the filters appear very effective. The best part is the plasmacluster unit*, which makes the air inside the room feel light and crisp every morning.” — Anurag
Hot Tip: Along with HEPA, the purifier also features Sharp’s innovative plasmacluster unit, which has been scientifically tested to prove its efficacy as an air-purifying technology. It mimics the positive and negative plasmacluster ions that occur in nature to remove airborne mould and viruses.

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FOR SILENT PURIFICATION
Product: Blueair Blue 211
Amazon Rating: 3.5 stars
Price: Rs 18,399
User Speak : “Hi, I have a Bluair in New Delhi for around a year now and in my experience, it is a high-performance product. It’s the iPhone X of air purifiers. It’s very silent, quite effective, super good-looking with its interchangeable pre-filters and has a fantastic ease of operations. I didn’t buy it from Amazon but instead bought it directly from an electronic store. This air purifier is used by leading companies in their offices and many embassies in Delhi, as a testament of its high quality. You have many brands to choose from but choose carefully if you choose some other brand instead of Bluair; I believe that no better brand exists in India at this point of time. It may be expensive but then all good things are. As the saying goes, ‘Quality comes at a price’.” — Amit Saxena
Hot Tip: It’s efficient, with a 360-degree air intake; all its functions can be managed with the push of a single button; it’s easy to maintain; and it’s pretty to look at, with interchangeable coloured fabric that works as a pre-filter as well. And it is HEPA compatible too. What more could you want?

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FOR REMOVING ODOURS
Product: Honeywell Air Touch i8
Amazon Rating: 4 stars
Price: Rs 17,771
User Speak: “Excellent performance; within few days of usage I could see the amount of dust accumulated on the filter which I would have otherwise inhaled. I could also enjoy an odour-free and soothing breathing experience.” — Pranav Patel
Hot Tip: The reason this HEPA-compatible purifier could steal a march over the competition is the Honeywell HiSiv technology, which absorbs harmful gases but leaves the moisture in the atmosphere untouched.

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FOR 360-DEGREE AIR FILTRATION
Product: Mi Air Purifier 2S
Amazon Rating: 4 stars
Price: Rs 8,599
User Speak: “Does what it says. Clear-cut readings of temperature, humidity and pollution levels. To test it, you can burn an incense stick and put it in the room and watch it clean it like a pro. Will be a good buy for parents as they deserve clean air, which we don’t realise. The connectivity through the app is amazing and it works like a charm with Alexa. Highly recommended.” — Kartik Pareek
Hot Tip: This purifier has 943 intake holes to optimise its capacity for air take, which forms a 360-degree, three-layer “cyclical air-filtration pathway”. The first layer is for the big bad dust, the second for the micro-sized particles and even harmful bacteria, and the third, made of “highly activated carbon”, removes formaldehyde and odours—perfect division of labour. How’s that for high efficiency?

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