Air purifiers that produce less than 60 decibels of noise are perfect for a bedroom. But making sure the purifier also covers the area of the room and has a good Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) is also important when choosing one for the bedroom.
Especially since the air in your bedroom may not be as clean as you think, and can even lead to poor sleep quality. Finding the perfect air purifier for your bedroom, however, can be a rather daunting task.
You’ll need a purifier that clears out most of the pollutants, is small enough to fit your space, quiet enough to let you sleep in peace and also set at a price that you can afford. In this guide we discuss the eight best air purifiers available for bedrooms and compare their features to help you pick the right device for you.
Why an air purifier for your bedroom is a good idea
According to the World Health Organisation, air pollution kills up to 7 million people globally every year. You would think that most of these deaths are a result of pollution from vehicles, forest fires and the like, but almost half of these are actually attributed to pollutants found inside our homes.
In fact, according to the EPA, some pollutants can become concentrated inside our home, or bedroom, to almost 2 to 5 times higher than outdoors!
Many of these indoor pollutants are biologic (which includes animal dander, mold and dust mites), while some are chemical (including radon, asbestos, lead and smoke from stoves or fires).
Considering the average American spends approximately 90% of their time indoors, the health risks of contaminated air shouldn’t be ignored.
Most air purifiers are capable of removing contaminants from your home so you get to breathe cleaner, healthier air.
Not every air purifier can deal with heavy amounts of pollution, but many offer a great degree of filtration to clear out most of the contaminants in your air.
Ideal Air Purifier For A Bedroom
There are three main factors that come together to make an air purifier ideal for a bedroom:
1. Quiet
Air purifiers that make less than 60 decibels (dB) of noise are considered quiet. This noise level is the same as a normal conversation. Any air purifier that makes less than 45 dB is even better.
However, the noise level rating on a product is often related to the fan speed. Air purifiers that have a low-speed option are often quieter than those without, similarly a small air purifier is typically quieter than a larger model.
2. Coverage
The coverage for each air purifier defines what room size it will be useful for. There’s no point investing in an air purifier only to discover that it can’t clean the air of your space properly.
Estimate the area of your bedroom then compare it to the coverage figure of each air purifier.
3. CADR
The Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) tells us how often a volume of air in CFM (cubic feet per minute) is cleaned.
So a high CADR means the air purifier can clean more air each and every minute, compared to a purifier with a lower CADR.
A good CADR rating should equal at least two-thirds of the room’s area.
8 Air Purifiers Perfect For Your Bedroom
With this information, let’s look at the 8 best air purifiers that you can purchase for your bedroom based on their aesthetics, performance, cost, noise and overall functionality. Feel free to click on the images or links for more information on Amazon about each air purifier.
1. Blueair Blue Pure 311 Auto
The Blueair Blue Pure 311 Auto has got almost every feature you can ask for in an ideal air purifier for your bedroom, including compact size, aesthetic appearance, fantastic performance, quiet functioning and an affordable price:
The first thing you’ll notice about the Blueair Blue Pure filter is its unique design that appears almost custom made for a bedroom.
The sleek cylindrical device with a fabric finish has a small footprint of just 10.2 inches but it does stand tall at over 20 inches.
The most attractive feature about this device, however, is it’s capable of completely filtering the air in a master bedroom of up to 388 sq. feet within just 12.5 minutes of starting, with a CADR of 250 CFM.
It filters out more than 99.97% of fine particles including dust, pollen, viruses and other particulates less than 0.1 micron in size.
This performance is better than that offered by most purifiers.
This is due to its combination filter that includes a fabric pre filter, a true HEPA filter and an activated carbon filter that work together to remove particulates of varying sizes, ensuring that you get clean, healthy air at an amazing speed.
This performance, has been independently evaluated and certified by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), making it an impressive choice for many customers who are skeptical of the performance offered by most air filters.
The Blueair Blue Pure air purifier is also whisper quiet, keeping the noise at or below 23 decibels at normal functioning (like a whisper) and up to 53 dB at maximum capacity (which is about as loud as a household refrigerator).
It also goes a step further with features like auto mode setting and an LED air quality display that gives you real time information on the quality of air inside your room. A dust and a gas sensor is included, which is also surprisingly lacking in most air purifiers
2. Conway Airmega
With sleek aesthetics, high filtering performance, low noise and an affordable price, the Coway AP1512HH Airmega is a great air purifier that you can get for your bedroom.
At first glance, the Conway Airmega air purifier looks quite futuristic with its glossy black and silver finishes, but the minimalistic appearance still manages to fit a regular bedroom without appearing out of place.
This purifier comes in a handy size of 16.8×9.5×18.3 inches and a weight of 12 pounds, making it one of the more compact devices in our list today.
Where the device truly stands out is in the wide array of features it provide along with a stellar filtering performance. Suitable for rooms up to 361 sq. feet, it uses a four-stage filtering mechanism, with a CADR of 233 CFM.
- At first, the air passes through a washable, permanent ‘pre filter’ which catches larger particles like dust, pet dander and hair, making the air healthier for people with allergies.
- The next stage is the activated carbon filter that acts as a deodorizer for your bedroom air.
- Next, the air passes through a true HEPA filter that removes even more minute particles like viruses and dust particles as small as 0.3 microns.
- The final filter is an ionizer that traps any particles which may have escaped the previous filters, giving you clean, fresh air to breathe.
The device can function in three manual speed modes, but there is also a fourth ‘auto’ mode that can automatically adjust performance based on the level of pollution in your room. There’s also an ’eco’ mode that keeps the filter at standby when the air does not need filtering.
It’s also a quiet air purifier, producing less than 54 decibels of sound even at maximum capacity.
It also comes with a pollution sensor that shows the quality of your bedroom air in real time using bright colored LEDs, and an indicator to let you know when it is time to replace the filter unit.
3. Levoit Core 400s
The Levoit Core 400s stands out in our list because of its smart features like voice control and an inbuilt smartphone app, and its whisper quiet sleep mode (24 dB).
Even though this purifier is compact in size (its just 10 inches tall), Levoit has spared no detail when it comes to performance. It’s equipped with a high efficiency activated carbon filter, a preliminary nylon filter and a true HEPA filter that the company claims is safer than medical grade surgical mask materials.
Combined, these filters can remove up to 99.97% of dust, smell and allergens as small as 0.3 microns from a bedroom of up to 270 sq. ft within just 8 minutes (CADR = 260 CFM).
It also comes with its own veSync app that means you can easily monitor the quality of the air in your bedroom, and receive notifications or change purifier settings remotely.
You also get a voice control feature where you can link your purifier with third party softwares like Amazon’s Alexa to control the purifier entirely with your voice.
This purifier is a great choice if you are looking for easier control as well as filtering performance as it offers additional features at roughly the same price as others on our list.
4. Levoit LV H128
If you are looking for a budget device that offers most essential features and functioning without breaking your bank, look no further than the Levoit LV H128.
The device is quite small (6.7×6.7×10.4 inches) and has a portable weight of just 3.3 pounds. The appearance is not exactly spectacular, but the compact size makes it easily fit into most spaces with appearing too out of place.
Performance-wise, the Levoit LV H128 is technically suitable for small to medium sized bedrooms of up to 161 sq feet, which we cover most bedrooms. But it does have a low CADR (44 CFM) so we recommend this purifier for small bedrooms only, around 100 sq feet.
Like many others, it too consists of a preliminary filter, a true HEPA filter and an activated carbon filter than can remove up to 99.97% particles as small as 0.3 microns, including dust, pollen, pet dander, mold, or even odors from the kitchen.
The filter is also incredibly quiet, running at a sound as low as 28 decibels in sleep mode.
In contrast to many other filters we are discussing today, it also has the added feature of functioning as an diffuser for essential oils and aromatics.
Where this purifier truly stands out though is in its budget. It’s priced at just $50 on Amazon, making it the undisputed best purifier available for its budget range.
It does lack some features like the replacement indicator or a real time air monitor, but the incredibly affordable price still makes it one of the best investments that you can make, especially if you are a first time buyer and want to test an air purifier out before deciding to make a bigger purchase.
5. Fellowes Aeramax 100
Another great addition in the budget category is the Fellowes Aeramax 100, which, although not as established as some of the other brands on our list, offers an incredible performance combined with an attractive design and affordable prices.
This purifier is designed for relatively small rooms of around 131 sq feet, with a CADR of 58 CFM. We would only recommend this purifier for rooms closer to 100 sq feet, this guarantees your air quality will have an immediate and noticeable improvement.
It uses an advanced four-stage hospital type filtration system that includes:
- An activated carbon filter for odors and large airborne particulates
- A true HEPA filter for germs, allergens and mold
- An ‘Aerasafe’ antimicrobial layer to offer additional protection against germs, and
- A plasmatube ion emitter that safely removes additional airborne impurities.
The filter also offers an ‘Aera Plus’ mode that increases the air turnover rate by up to 35%, which is particularly suitable in case of added pollution from smoke or traffic.
It comes in a glossy white finish and a black inset with clean, minimalistic blue buttons/display, making it particularly suitable for clean, minimalistic rooms, or for those that prefer a futuristic, ‘tech-y’ look.
Costing less than $200 and with a three year warranty, it’s a great choice for your bedroom, especially with a low noise output of 50 decibels.
6. Winix 5500-2
The Winix 5500-2 air purifier offers a great value for money with excellent room coverage, four different fan settings, and an eco friendly washable carbon filter replacement.
Although, with only a charcoal grey color available and its broad face, many of us might not find the design truly attractive.
What it lacks in design, however, it makes up for in performance with a CADR of 245 CFM.
Like many other air purifiers, it consists of a prefilter, a true HEPA filter and an activated carbon filter that can reduce majority of pollutants from your air, BUT it also features a hydroxyl releaser to neutralize bacteria and viruses.
The filter is AHAM certified for a large area of 360 sq feet, and unlike other filters, the activated carbon filter is also washable, making it a great choice for anyone concerned about their impact on the environment.
It also features a remote control system (that most other filters lack), an LED air quality indicator, four different fan settings which can be changed manually and also based on its automatic sensors.
An auto mode, light sensor and quiet sleep mode feature also increase its energy efficiency. It produces just 28 decibels of noise, putting it into the ‘whisper-quiet’ category of air purifiers.
7. Blueair Classic 605
If your bedroom (and your budget) is particularly large, then the Blueair Classic 605 may just be the perfect choice for you.
Owing to its capacity, the device is rather bulky as one would expect at 13*20*26 inches and a has massive weight of 31 pounds.
As such, this is not a purifier that you will be shifting around on a regular basis!
The performance, however, is praiseworthy. Few filters of its price range are AHAM certified to clean out air from a bedroom as large as 700 square feet within just 12 minutes of operation.
Although it’s CADR is 150 CFM, which means it would be more efficient for medium sized rooms (compared to the Blueair Blue Pure 311 Auto which has a CADR of 250 CFM)
It uses its HEPA silent technology that’s capable of filtering out up to 99.7% of viruses, mold, smoke, odors, pollen and most other contaminants.
At low speed, many customers have noted its whisper quiet functioning, though at high speeds it does tend to get noisy.
It’s also one of the few devices on our list that has an Energy-star rating for energy efficiency, as well as a 5 year warranty to go with the purchase. Additionally, it offers many useful features like voice control, smartphone control and wifi connectivity.
However, these features do come at a price. You should note that the annual operating costs including replacement filters can also go quite high, making it unsuitable for small to medium rooms.
The only caveat to this filter is it’s hefty price of just shy of $600 on Amazon.
8. Alen Breathesmart Classic
While it might be the last mention on our list, the Alen Breathesmart Classic Air Purifier has the largest filtration capacity of any filter we’ve discussed today and comes with an equally large price tag to go with it, BUT it’s ideal for anyone with a large master bedroom or open concept floor plan.
This purifier uses a medical grade filtration system that removes 99.99% harmful airborne particles including dust, dander, allergen and pet fur using the usual prefilter and four different advanced HEPA filter options.
It’s capable of cleaning a massive 1100 sq ft area every 30 minutes (CADR = 300 CFM), meaning it would definitely be overkill for a small bedroom, but it’s certainly an amazing option if your bedroom is particularly large.
It is also surprisingly quiet with just 49 decibels even at its highest performance setting.
Lasting more than three to five months longer than ordinary filters, the Alen Breathesmart Classic also offers the additional function of a soothing sound (called ‘pink noise’) with sleep friendly frequency.
It also has the usual features of an LED indicator to display room air quality in real time and has an energy star certification for efficiency.
Want more information on quiet air purifiers for your bedroom? Plentiful Air has a complete guide to the quietest air purifiers available here.
