2023 Honeywell Air Purifier Review: True HEPA Efficiency

The small footprint of 10 by 8 inches belies the fact that it’s 32 inches tall—the height of a kitchen counter—and so it takes up a huge amount of visual space. The Coway Airmega 250 is the larger, more powerful sibling of the Coway Airmega 150. It’s equally attractive,  but it’s only slightly more powerful than our top pick, the Coway Airmega AP-1512HH Mighty, yet it costs $200 more. Finally, because the 211i Max is likely to be used in a living room or other public space, it’s gratifying that Blueair put some real care into its appearance and upkeep. The tweed-like cover (which also acts as a prefilter) is washable and, when the time comes, replaceable.

This can block the pores in a filter and stop the air from passing through efficiently. Your air purifier will alert you to a dirty filter by flashing its filter change indicator light. You’ll also want to make sure nothing is blocking the grilles either in or out of the device. Nothing should be resting on top of the outflow, and nothing should block the intake grille.

I expect this will come in handy on poor air quality days particularly during the summer months. The HPA300 boasts 4.8 air changes per hour in a 465-square-foot room. It stands at just under 2 feet tall, and it’s designed to be placed on the floor.

honeywell air purifier

There are just so many more fun things to do, and so I rely on air purifiers to keep the sneezing and itchy eyes under control. One of my favorites is the Honeywell HPA300 HEPA Air Purifier. It removes allergens and odors without making too much noise or requiring much maintenance.

Blueair explained in an interview that these attributes are the result of several engineering updates working in concert. The 311i Max’s motor and fan blade are more efficient than earlier models, with a gently flared shape and a slightly larger surface area than its predecessor (and former pick), the 311 Auto. In the 311i Max version, a redesigned outlet grille has more area for air to pass through. In the North American definition, “true HEPA” means that a filter removes at least 99.97% of airborne particles of a 0.3-micron diameter in a single pass. For reference, human hair usually measures between 20 and 180 microns across. A particle with a 0.3-micron diameter is the toughest size to remove via physical, HEPA-type filtration.

A pretty, silvery gray one comes standard with the machine, and three other soft, natural colors are available. We set four ACH as the minimum for a purifier to be considered adequate for each room size. Based on our years of real-world testing, we know that four ACH ensures rapid and nearly complete cleaning of highly polluted air. With quiet operation, good color options, and performance honeywell humidifier matching our other picks, this is a great choice, although the cost of filter replacements can run relatively high. Studies show that comfort levels inside your building impact health, satisfaction, and the productivity of occupants. This is influenced by factors such as comfortable temperatures and humidity, as well as air that is free of irritants, allergens and unwelcome odors.

But with more companies paying attention to their purifiers’ appearance, it’s no longer unique in combining form and function at a reasonable price. The Levoit Core 300, a former budget pick, is far less energy efficient than the current pick, the Clorox Medium Room, and also lacks most of the liveability features that set the Clorox apart. The 200M shares the Mighty’s display-shutoff feature, which we value highly because it turns off the overly bright air-quality indicator lamp and makes the 200M much more conducive to bedroom use. Visually, the 200M differs from the Mighty in that it has a square grille instead of a round aperture; like the Mighty, it’s available in both black and white versions. The problem is that many manufacturers dramatically overstate their machines’ abilities. A lot of “living room” purifiers are barely powerful enough to keep a walk-in closet clear.

Fortunately, Honeywell air cleaners contain a long-life HEPA filter which will typically last anywhere from 3 to 5 years or longer. Honeywell’s pre-filter will last up to an average of three months. The bulk of the pre-filter is a non-woven polyester which will continue to remove large, visible particles well beyond three months. After three months, the impregnated carbon, which is solely responsible for the odor and smoke removal, will have absorbed as much as it can.

We have also removed from this list many since-discontinued models we tested. Some units had fan issues (but they seem to be resolved). In early fall 2020, a few reader comments and reviews showed up mentioning an imbalanced fan in the machine, which caused the whole unit to shake uncontrollably and, in some cases, led the fan to break.

One is where a fan pulls dirty air through a series of air filters and cleans the air. The other style is using Activated Oxygen or 03 which makes the air smell clean and nice but does not really remove the allergens from the air like the filter type of air purifiers. The great thing about this air purifier is it is actually a perfect combination of both those systems. This model of New Comfort Air Purifier demonstrated, through independent laboratory testing, to be effective at removing 99.99% of Viruses, 99.98% of Symbiont Bacteria, and 97.03% of Black Mold Spores in the air. Test results showed reduction of 99.99% of airborne Human CoronaVirus 229E, 99.99% of airborne Influenza A H1N1 Virus, 97.03% of airborne Black Mold, and 99.98% of airborne Staphylococcus Albus (bacteria).