[thombee]

Bit off topic, but seeing a lot of talk about air purifiers here recently. I've never even considered purchasing one, but now my interest is a little piqued. I've never really felt my air to be unclean, and I don't really have allergies. Still worth looking into? Anyone w experience tell me any benefits? cheers

[cmckn]

I bought one last summer when the air quality outside was terrible (Pacific northwest, fire season yay). It was actually necessary, the air quality in my home had gotten really bad, like to 200 AQI. I don't have asthma, allergies, etc. but my esophagus was irritated and I felt generally awful.

I got the Coway purifier that's currently the Wirecutter pick. It was about $150, has a HEPA filter and an ionizer. The replacement filters are pretty cheap. I leave it on 'auto' in my bedroom 24/7.

Am I getting great benefit from it right now, when the AQI outside is 10? Probably not. Opening your windows for 5 minutes every morning is totally sufficient to keep your indoor air in the green. But it will be great to have around when the inevitable fires start later this summer. If you're in a similar region, pick one up while they're cheap and in stock!

[danudey]

We live in British Columbia, and now that we have "wildfire season" every year, it's very easy to tell the difference between good air and bad air. I suspect a lot of people are jumping on this as well for the same reason - Silicon Valley is in California, and they're harder hit than anyone else with this.

[epmaybe]

I bought one cause my wife had bad allergies in our bedroom even after cleaning, most likely because of our dog.

I get itchy eyes with allergies, and I don’t think the purifier helped at all. Just my anecdote. An allergy pill helped me more haha.

[Netcob]

Look up the air quality in your area. If it's bad, an air purifier is probably a good idea for your long-term lung health.

If you leave your windows open for longer periods of time, then an air purifier might be ineffective.

[bogdanu]

Just because you don't have allergies now it doesn't mean you'll never have one. Until a few years ago, I've never heard of ragweed alleries. Guess who's allergic to it now?!