Air Purifiers

[Donut417]

Long story short. My mom has COPD as well as other health issues. We live right next to I94, it's literally in our backyard, we also have the rail road up the street in front of our home. We are concerned with the air quality. Speaking of Air Quality it's been crappy as of late due to Canada being on Fire, the smoke has been drifting in to the Detroit area. For Christmas I drew my mom (We draw names to make it easier on everyone), I was considering getting her an Air purifier, in the hopes it will help her breathe easier. The good news her COPD isn't bad enough she needs oxygen, but the poor air quality causes her issues. 

 

• Do they work? 
• What should I look for in one? 
• What kind of on going costs are there for one? If there are any.
• Im going to guess they are sized to the room kinda like an AC? 

[Dedayog]

15 hours ago, Donut417 said:

Long story short. My mom has COPD as well as other health issues. We live right next to I94, it's literally in our backyard, we also have the rail road up the street in front of our home. We are concerned with the air quality. Speaking of Air Quality it's been crappy as of late due to Canada being on Fire, the smoke has been drifting in to the Detroit area. For Christmas I drew my mom (We draw names to make it easier on everyone), I was considering getting her an Air purifier, in the hopes it will help her breathe easier. The good news her COPD isn't bad enough she needs oxygen, but the poor air quality causes her issues. 

 

• Do they work? 
• What should I look for in one? 
• What kind of on going costs are there for one? If there are any.
• Im going to guess they are sized to the room kinda like an AC? 

Yes.

 

Ionization and hepa level filtering.

 

Get one with washable filters, costs are minimal 

 

Yes.

 

Firstly, get the absolute best air filters for your central air system too.  More air flies thru that than you can shake a stick at.

 

An air filters/purifier will improve air quality by a lot.  My office neutralizes the smell of old furniture and the ionization of the computers power supplies.  Yeah, this actually changed the smell of the room over time.

 

100% worth it.

 

Talk to a doctor for more information about what someone with COPD will benefit from.

 

As always, we are good for general info only.  Unless someone here is a doctor.

[Poinkachu]

7 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

As always, we are good for general info only.  Unless someone here is a doctor.

^ this

Just gonna put this link here in case you wanna / need something to read while bored

https://housefresh.com/air-purifier-buying-guide/

 

The review site that was featured in one of LTT's video due to 

 

Seems like a good enough of a review site / channel.

[TetraSky]

They do work. Have one that has been working 24/7 on low setting in my room for the past ... 10+ years now I'd say (it did cost me a lot, too).

The worst part about them is the filter. Mine has 3 filters, two are washable. But the HEPA one is not. At one point I just gave up on HEPA and now just buy cabin filters for cars instead. It's less than 1/5 of the cost of the damn filter. Sure it does not filter 99.97% of particulates. But 98% is good enough for me as I don't have any sort of sickness or anything. I mostly use mine for dust and pollen.

 

+1 for checking out housefresh

There's also Vacuum Wars that do some air purifier reviews

https://vacuumwars.com/vacuum-wars-best-air-purifiers/

 

And these guys for quick information such as room size and what not :
https://www.ahamdir.com/room-air-cleaners/

[Donut417]

7 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

Firstly, get the absolute best sur filters for your central sur system too. 

We use decent filters, and changed them monthly but we dont have central air, so in the Summer is windows open or Window air conditioners. 

 

 

I looked a little on Amazon. Would I be better off getting a unit that does a large space, or smaller ones for the necessary rooms? Our home is NOT open concept, and we have two floors. My mom spends most of her time in the Living Room and her bed room when she sleeps, I was going to buy one unit now and see how it works.

[Bitter]

Is the heating central forced air? A good electrostatic filter on that and just have the blower on a timer to run once an hour or two for 15 minutes would definitely help too. Be careful with ionizer products in closed spaces, too much ozone can be a lung and airway irritant. 

[superbuu]

Imo, just get one with HEPA filter. No wireless, smart stuff. I don't want even more electronic waves thing bouncing around just to filter some damn air. Live Core 300 used to sell a base model without smart stuff, but I think they all now have wifi stuff. It is a good basic filter imo. The problem is trying to filter VOC's. From what I've read, commercial grade purifiers don't have big enough activated carbon thing to filter VOC's, but they will filter pm2.5 whatever dust particles. Perhaps some engineers or something here can deliver more information.

Btw about ionizer, it seems like a waste of time imo, plus the ozone thing potentially creating a problem, I think with a good HEPA filter you are filtering a lot of crap already.

[Donut417]

5 minutes ago, Bitter said:

s the heating central forced air?

It is, but as I stated it's only for heat, we turn the system off in the summer. It's the summer months that we have most issues due to outside irritants getting inside, not only the pollution but my mom is allergic to the outdoors. She had an allergy test done a while back, it was not good. 

 

[Bitter]

11 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

It is, but as I stated it's only for heat, we turn the system off in the summer. It's the summer months that we have most issues due to outside irritants getting inside, not only the pollution but my mom is allergic to the outdoors. She had an allergy test done a while back, it was not good. 

 

I understand it's for heat but a blower and duct is a blower and duct, most thermostats have a toggle to turn just the fan on to circulate air and if you don't adding one with the function is generally trivial. That would help by being able to filter a very large amount of air (the whole house) for the price of some drop in filters or a fancier electrostatic washable filter. It can also even out temps in the house by moving the air around to reduce hot and cold areas in the summer and make the whole house an even more comfortable temperature and move around still air to help keep dust, pollen, mold spores, etc from settling out and getting stirred up later on. 

[Donut417]

Just now, Bitter said:

I understand it's for heat but a blower and duct is a blower and duct, most thermostats have a toggle to turn just the fan on to circulate air and if you don't adding one with the function is generally trivial. That would help by being able to filter a very large amount of air (the whole house) for the price of some drop in filters or a fancier electrostatic washable filter. It can also even out temps in the house by moving the air around to reduce hot and cold areas in the summer and make the whole house an even more comfortable temperature and move around still air to help keep dust, pollen, mold spores, etc from settling out and getting stirred up later on. 

We have an old thermostat. It doesn’t have a way to turn on the fan only. No we are not replacing it. We tried a programmable one back in the day and didn’t like it. So we went back to the old school ones. 

[Bitter]

11 hours ago, Donut417 said:

We have an old thermostat. It doesn’t have a way to turn on the fan only. No we are not replacing it. We tried a programmable one back in the day and didn’t like it. So we went back to the old school ones. 

Not to beat a dead horse but mine is like this, non programmable as well, just has a toggle for fan on it. 

https://www.amazon.com/Suuwer-Non-Programmable-Thermostats-Home-Heat/dp/B09N6ZV3PN

 

There's even an "old style" type with the fan toggle too.

https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-CT31A1003-Heat-Non-Programmable-Thermostat/dp/B000BP7ZFW

[Donut417]

5 minutes ago, Bitter said:

Not to beat a dead horse but mine is like this, non programmable as well, just has a toggle for fan on it. 

https://www.amazon.com/Suuwer-Non-Programmable-Thermostats-Home-Heat/dp/B09N6ZV3PN

 

There's even an "old style" type with the fan toggle too.

https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-CT31A1003-Heat-Non-Programmable-Thermostat/dp/B000BP7ZFW

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Honeywell-Round-Mechanical-24-Volt-Non-Programmable-Thermostat/5004044545?user=shopping&feed=yes&srsltid=AfmBOorWdKc5ucQm23DCER6G9tALF5sjELlmmg8kyzE4sGCJ_eq-i5hys3w
 

this is the type we have. 

[Dedayog]

I use this in my office...

 

Amazon.com: LEVOIT Air Purifiers for Bedroom Home, 3-in-1 Filter Cleaner with Fragrance Sponge for Better Sleep, Filters Smoke, Allergies, Pet Dander, Odor, Dust, Office, Desktop, Portable, Core Mini-P, White : Home & Kitchen

 

We have much larger ones in our living room and kitchen.  can't recall the make or model tho.

[Bitter]

4 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Honeywell-Round-Mechanical-24-Volt-Non-Programmable-Thermostat/5004044545?user=shopping&feed=yes&srsltid=AfmBOorWdKc5ucQm23DCER6G9tALF5sjELlmmg8kyzE4sGCJ_eq-i5hys3w
 

this is the type we have. 

Yeah so those two I linked are pretty similar, I run the fan only very often to even the house out and filter out dust in the air. I'm between a highway and a railroad too, and they're doing construction about 1000ft away in a dusty field, plus when it's tilling season around here the dust is baaad.

[Donut417]

1 hour ago, Dedayog said:

I use this in my office...

 

Amazon.com: LEVOIT Air Purifiers for Bedroom Home, 3-in-1 Filter Cleaner with Fragrance Sponge for Better Sleep, Filters Smoke, Allergies, Pet Dander, Odor, Dust, Office, Desktop, Portable, Core Mini-P, White : Home & Kitchen

 

We have much larger ones in our living room and kitchen.  can't recall the make or model tho.

That might work. I’ll have to see what filters cost. 

[flibberdipper]

I'll throw another recommendation towards Levoit. I have two of the 200S model, one for my kids bedroom and one for ours + the loft space that opens up into the rest of the house. Both of them run on the lowest "normal" fan speed for about 14 hours of the day, with the rest spent in the much lower flow bedtime mode. We also unfortunately live on a dirt road that gets horrendous during the warmer months.

 

The one in our kid's room is mostly just responsible for making it smell better, because waaaaaay back there used to be mothballs in the connected attic space and then of course now there's the diaper genie. Even with the in-box filter it has done a really good job at keeping the smells in check, so much so that we thought someone sprayed Fabreeze in there the first day that it ran because it went from smelling like mothballs to... almost sweet?

 

The one in our room has its work cut out for it; our room is where the two long-haired cats stay, and between opening up to the rest of the house AND the attic fan we get an ungodly amount of dust in our room. However, it also seems to do a generally very good job. In-box filter doesn't do a whole lot for cat box smells as one kind of would expect, but it's definitely doing something for dust because the filter actually gets clogged enough to warrant vacuuming it off every two or so months. Strictly speaking I think we actually technically exceed the space this one should be used for, however I also didn't really have the money for the next size unit up... but all things considered it does do a good job. If I could do it again though I would def spring for the 300S

[Dedayog]

14 hours ago, Donut417 said:

We use decent filters, and changed them monthly but we dont have central air, so in the Summer is windows open or Window air conditioners. 

 

 

I looked a little on Amazon. Would I be better off getting a unit that does a large space, or smaller ones for the necessary rooms? Our home is NOT open concept, and we have two floors. My mom spends most of her time in the Living Room and her bed room when she sleeps, I was going to buy one unit now and see how it works.

I'm pretty sure that no air purifier can compete with an open window

 

What filters are on the window units at least?

[Donut417]

30 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

What filters are on the window units at least?

Standard reusable ones that come with the units. Not sure how often they clean them, but for reference they don’t use the downstairs unit unless it’s like 90 degrees. The air conditioner screws with my mom’s sinuses, so they use it sparingly. Hence why the window is open. 

[Kisai]

17 hours ago, Donut417 said:

Long story short. My mom has COPD as well as other health issues. We live right next to I94, it's literally in our backyard, we also have the rail road up the street in front of our home. We are concerned with the air quality. Speaking of Air Quality it's been crappy as of late due to Canada being on Fire, the smoke has been drifting in to the Detroit area. For Christmas I drew my mom (We draw names to make it easier on everyone), I was considering getting her an Air purifier, in the hopes it will help her breathe easier. The good news her COPD isn't bad enough she needs oxygen, but the poor air quality causes her issues. 

 

• Do they work? 

Yes, but be careful, because usually the stuff you find in Walmart or other general merchandise stores are literately just a HEPA filter and a box fan.

 

17 hours ago, Donut417 said:

• What should I look for in one? 

 

At the bare minimum before you buy one, make sure your room is "sealable", because the air filter's efficiency is basically zero if the room constantly pulls in air from outside the room. You want the air not leave the room unless the door has been opened. Basically use the same logic you use for the fridge. You aren't looking for a perfect seal, but because the air purifier only works by recirculating the air, even an air conditioner is more effective than an air purifier because it pulls the moisture out of the air that the dust/smoke/pathogens cling to.

 

When I first bought mine, it literately worked too well and started pulling air through the electrical outlets. The previous tenant had taped over them with cello tape and I didn't know why, but I figured out THIS was why, because it was getting outside air through them.

 

If your room isn't sealable that you want to use it in (eg it's connected to a shared bathroom, or a high traffic location where the door is frequently opened) then the air purifier just becomes a box fan.

 

Don't buy one just because of a buzz word.

 

They fall into three categories, regular "push air through the HEPA filter" or "push air through a HEPA+Charcoal filter", "Ozone" and "Ionizer"

Don't buy Ozone ones, these are meant for "Sterilizing" a room you are NOT in because the Ozone will irritate lung-related medical conditions. Ozone will also bleach things it comes in contact to.

Ionizers (Electrostatic Ionizers) also generate Ozone, but their design is closer to "static cling" to attract pollutants. This is more common in central HVAC systems. These also work, but are only really effective in low-humidity environments (eg Air conditioned or winter conditions), they will get clogged up really quick during spring.

 

Like from experience, I'm going to say that changing conditions in your environment is required when there is a medical condition you're trying to address, but air purifiers should be considered AFTER addressing environmental aspects. If it's just dust and smoke, then any HEPA filter solution is fine. If you are trying to address a condition that requires clean air, then you need more than an off-the-shelf system, like you would need an actual ventilator system that has these filter systems in them for COPD.

 

 

 

17 hours ago, Donut417 said:

• What kind of on going costs are there for one? If there are any.

My electric bill with the PC running normally is around $40/mo, when the air purifier runs it goes up to like $42. It's one 500sq space. The Air purifiers will not turn off when they hit 0PPM, they will keep going even if the sensor is at 0PPM.

 

17 hours ago, Donut417 said:

• Im going to guess they are sized to the room kinda like an AC? 

Yes.

Basically if you have a 500sq room, that's equal to a 12000BTU AC, and look for an air purifier for a room about that size.

 

But if the room itself is already air conditioned, then the air purifier is not going to help. Find a HEPA for the AC unit first since it will pull the moisture out as well as the dirt, dust, pollen, smoke, soot, etc.

 

Like it has to be stated. Talk to the doctor first to see what they recommend and then compare purification systems that have those features of what they recommend. If her COPD is bad enough or progressing, then the wrong air purifier might just exacerbate the problem. 

 

I would personally suggest isolating a room to run one air purifier in that is not an ionizing/ozone model and see if that helps. If that helps, buy more and put them in more rooms. If you have a central HVAC, upgrade that to have HEPA filters.

 

 

[Donut417]

54 minutes ago, Kisai said:

it's just dust and smoke, then any HEPA filter solution is fine. If

Dust and allergens are the biggest thing. She’s allergic to the outside. Unfortunately our living room doesn’t have a door and if it’s a nice day she opens the Window. So based on what you state an air purifier might not work. 
 

56 minutes ago, Kisai said:

If you have a central HVAC, upgrade that to have HEPA filters.

Only for heat and the filter we use is for allergens and dust, and is replaced monthly, my mom can smell when the filter is at end of life. 

[Dedayog]

6 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Dust and allergens are the biggest thing. She’s allergic to the outside. Unfortunately our living room doesn’t have a door and if it’s a nice day she opens the Window. So based on what you state an air purifier might not work. 
 

Only for heat and the filter we use is for allergens and dust, and is replaced monthly, my mom can smell when the filter is at end of life. 

I simply can't wrap my head around this.

 

COPD

Allergic to outside

Windows open

 

The COPD can't be that bad nor the allergies if she opens the window (I capitalized it too, habit). 

 

I think when you mention COPD, we're all in OMFG is she okay!?!?!  mode.

 

But you're just looking for a little filtering, not some sort of HEPA filter life saving device?

 

Then again, my Grandmother had emphysema and asthma and still smoked till she died.  People do what people does.

[Kisai]

42 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Dust and allergens are the biggest thing. She’s allergic to the outside. Unfortunately our living room doesn’t have a door and if it’s a nice day she opens the Window. So based on what you state an air purifier might not work. 
 

 

Yeah, it would not work in that case. I'd probably suggest trying to convince her NOT to open the window, or to use it in a bedroom and keep the windows and door closed. I'm allergic to the outside too, and I basically never open my window ever. My allergies are under control without medication but, geezus the minute I go to the lobby of the building, I can literately smell people's dogs/cats/wet laundry in the elevator even if the elevator is empty when I go inside. This is why I generally do most tasks I want to do after the sun goes down so I don't run into as many residents.

 

 

 

42 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Only for heat and the filter we use is for allergens and dust, and is replaced monthly, my mom can smell when the filter is at end of life. 

Yeah, and the same happens for the air filters in the air purifier. So you're probably already covered for colder months. If it's not an unreasonable cost consider upgrading the heating system to a heat pump with air conditioning. 

 

Like to the extent that matters, she should not be opening the window at all if she has a medical condition with her lungs. If she is unwilling to keep the window closed, then you need to draw that connection for her.

 

 

[Donut417]

2 hours ago, Dedayog said:

The COPD can't be that bad nor the allergies

Her COPD is controlled via inhalers. As she has one she does daily and she has a rescue inhaler. Its not like she is bed ridden and cant breath to save her life. She just struggles on some days. Before all these bullshit medical issues she was a fairly active person, she liked to go for walks, and does gardening. 

 

2 hours ago, Kisai said:

cost consider upgrading the heating system to a heat pump with air conditioning. 

 

2 hours ago, Kisai said:

If she is unwilling to keep the window closed, then you need to draw that connection for her.

They will not upgrade to Central Air, their HVAC guy said it wont work well on the second floor, for what ever reason and we would still need Window units. So they dont see it as an upgrade. Personally If I had the money Id look in to a mini split system. 

 

The other side of this, electricity isn't cheap. DTE keeps asking for rate increases and the PUC keeps allowing it. Our governor has been on their ass to upgrade the grid, but god forbid they use the billions of dollars a year of profit to do it. So air conditioning is used sparingly. If its 90+ degrees then I will turn it on, out side of that we just suffer in the heat and open the window for some ventilation. 

3 hours ago, Dedayog said:

But you're just looking for a little filtering, not some sort of HEPA filter life saving device?

No she's not on any medial devices yet.

 

What I might do is wait until she find a pulmonary doctor, as her primary doctor right now is treating her, but technically she should be using a specialist, it just the doctor she was referred to she didnt like. So she might find a new one. Though she might not, she is stubborn. 

[Kisai]

Just as a "on topic" addition:

https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/ANNALS-25-00577

 

90% of air cleaning tests were performed on empty rooms. So *shrug* I guess there is no real way to prove if a air cleaner is effective for medical situations because most of them were tested on empty rooms. 

[flibberdipper]

On 8/20/2025 at 6:22 PM, Donut417 said:

They will not upgrade to Central Air, their HVAC guy said it wont work well on the second floor, for what ever reason and we would still need Window units. So they dont see it as an upgrade. Personally If I had the money Id look in to a mini split system. 

 

The other side of this, electricity isn't cheap. DTE keeps asking for rate increases and the PUC keeps allowing it. Our governor has been on their ass to upgrade the grid, but god forbid they use the billions of dollars a year of profit to do it. So air conditioning is used sparingly. If its 90+ degrees then I will turn it on, out side of that we just suffer in the heat and open the window for some ventilation. 

No she's not on any medial devices yet.

1. Is it an older house that's been renovated? That's how our house is (records go back to 1947 and it had been built well before that), and the airflow on the second story is abysmal, even with a significant portion of the downstairs vents closed. Our bedroom is the worst, the vent feels like a light breath and it accomplishes next to nothing.

 

2. Dude right, DTE is pissing me off. The bill here is INSANE (to the order of 250-280 a month). And since it's rural, the reliability is sub-optimal, especially on hot summer days.