The ultimate air purifier buying guide: Match your space, budget, and needs

Every day, we breathe 12 to 20 times per minute, but we rarely think about what is actually in the air until smog, allergies, or even wildfire smoke hits us face to face

Nowadays, you're probably familiar with a not-so-little thing called smoke season, especially if you live on the western half of the U.S

As climate change-driven wildfires become more common during the summer months, many Americans, myself included, are starting to use air purifiers to help us breathe easier

While we can't always control the outdoor air, there are steps we can take to improve our indoor air quality

But how exactly do you find the right air purifier for your home without getting trapped in a cloud of marketing spin

Well, today we are breaking down the exact steps to choosing the perfect one for your home

Before you look at sleek designs or smart features, you need to measure your actual space

An air purifier only works if it can handle the volume of the room it's functioning in

So look for the clean air delivery rate or the CADR on the device's description

As a rule of thumb, you want a CADR rating of 300 for every 500 square feet of space

This ensures that the device cleans the air four to six times per hour

If you put a small tabletop purifier in a large open concept room like this one that we're in right now

it will run constantly without actually filtering all the air, which is just a giant waste of electricity

Step two is all about filters, and this is where the real science happens. A well-designed air purifier uses a three-stage system

Stage one is the pre-filter, a fabric layer that catches the big stuff like your pet hair, lint, and large dust particles

extending the life of the inner filters. Stage 2 is the most important, the true HEPA filter

Now make sure this says true HEPA, not HEPA-like or HEPA-type. HEPA, for those unaware, stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air

A true HEPA filter captures 99 of airborne particles as small as 0 microns This includes pollen mold spores dust mites and even viruses like influenza Stage three is the activated carbon filter

While HEPA traps particles, carbon absorbs gases, cooking odors, pet smells, and some volatile

organic compounds, also known as VOCs, which can come from cleaning products and furniture

so it can keep your home smelling fresh. If your main concern is allergies or illness

prioritize true HEPA. If your main concern is odor control, make sure the purifier has a thick

activated carbon layer. Step three is noise and placement. Portable purifiers are most efficient

when placed directly in the rooms where you spend most of your time, like the kitchen or even the

bedroom. But if your purifier is too loud, you might not use it as much as you'd like. For

bedrooms, look for units tested to operate at lower decibel levels. For reference, 60 decibels

is about how loud a dishwasher is. But it's really just up to you and what you can tolerate

Personally speaking, my wife and I mainly run our air purifier at night, and its sound doubles as a white noise machine for us while it runs

And this is a common use case for a lot of households that have air purifiers in them

And then there's all the fancy bells and whistles these things come with. Many modern units also include built-in air quality monitors

These monitors read the pollution levels in real time and automatically adjust the fan speed

saving energy when the air is clean and ramping up when air quality is a bit more severe

This is really cool, but it's not entirely necessary. Remember, an air purifier can only go so far

Your first step should always be source control, eliminating or reducing pollutants such as fuel-burning appliances

and strongly scented products. Another tip is obviously ventilation, opening the windows when the outdoor air is nice and fresh

But when the outdoor air is compromised or allergy season is raging on and on

a correctly-sized air purifier is a great investment