health
Do air purifiers help with wildfire smoke?
As massive wildfires ravage the West Coast, thousands of people are experiencing smoke that's so severe, it's drastically impacting the air quality index (AQI).
In some areas, the air is so smoke-filled that many residents say it's become difficult to breathe when outside and it's affecting their quality of life.
Keeping the windows closed keeps almost all of the smoke out but during the hot California weather, it’s hard to not turn on the AC or open the windows.
Even the most well-sealed home can still allow for some of this smoke to make its way inside your home.
One potential solution are air purifiers. But how well do air purifiers actually work in removing smoke from the air?
Are air purifiers effective against smoke?
Experts say having a purifier in your home can be an effective way to reduce your exposure to any wildfire smoke that has found a way inside your home
However, how effective theair purifier is depends on both the purifier itself and the pollution level of the air.
How to choose the best air purifier for wildfire smoke
Not all air purifiers are created equal—i.e. there are certain features that make some purifiers better at removing smoke from the air.
HEPA filters are great at filtering the particulate matter, but with high smoke exposure, an active carbon filter is also helpful.
Make sure the entire room has purified air by ensuring proper air circulation. Without proper air circulation you risk only purifying a small area of the room
Look for a purifier that has a built-in air projection system. This pushes clean air into the room, circulating dirty air back to the machine to be purified.
What's the best air purifier to buy?
Of all the air purifiers we’ve tested in our Reviewed labs, we found the Sharp FPK50UW to be our solid pick for most people.
The LG PuriCare 360-Degree Air Purifier has extreme purification with an ultra-fine pre-filter, True HEPA filter, and sorbent filter.
We also love the Dyson Pure Hot + Cool—it has the same carbon and HEPA filters, but it also filters formaldehyde, heats and cools your room, and integrates with Alexa and Siri.