When it comes to finding the most effective air filter for home use, the Coway Airmega AP-1512HH Mighty is the clear winner. Our testing has revealed that this air purifier is powerful enough to cover a large room, quiet enough to sleep nearby, designed to last for years, and affordable enough to be installed in multiple rooms. The Coway Airmega 200M is practically identical to the AP-1512HH Mighty in every important way, with the only difference being a square grille instead of a round one. In conditions where air quality is poor, such as when an area is affected by a nearby forest fire, it's best to set the air purifiers to a high temperature for one hour and then set them to a low or medium temperature to create and maintain clean air in the house.
We tested this method on the Airmega AP-1512HH Mighty and the Airmega 400 from Coway for three hours (one hour at high temperature), followed by two at medium temperature after burning 15 wooden matches to create a large initial load of fine smoke particles. Years of testing have demonstrated that a good air purifier creates and maintains excellent air quality simply when left to operate continuously in a moderate environment. These particle counters can detect how polluted the air is and automatically adjust the cleaning speed of the air purifier accordingly. In fact, our years of testing have shown that any properly sized purifier allows filtered air to reach the farthest corner of a room quickly.
Most high-performance air purifiers use mechanical filters with a dense network of fine fibers that trap air particles when they are pushed by a fan. We also appreciate that its design is child-friendly, as the filter cover and controls can be locked with a key, a relaxing night light, and a sleeping setting that automatically mutes and darkens the filter while it's in operation. Or buy a certified air purifier for a larger area, so that you can run it at a low speed and continue to work effectively. If your home has an open concept design, it can be difficult to find an air purifier that can efficiently filter all the air inside the room.
You'll also want to find an air purifier that has a variety of settings and an appropriate number of features to help you understand and improve the air quality in your room. Because activated carbon filters don't fight particulates, many air purifiers have both an activated carbon filter and a mechanical filter. Fiberglass, polyester, washable, pleated and electrostatic filters offer different air filtering capabilities. The same goes for the Winix C535, which is only available at Walmart and directly from Winix, but often sells for less than the 5500-2 and comes with a two-year supply of filters.
You can turn on the machine manually or use the Blueair app, where you can access more detailed statistics on air monitoring and filter status.
