6 Home Air Purifiers Built To Filter Wildfire Smoke

Wildfires have become an unfortunate reality for many in the U.S. over the last decade as climate change has induced fluctuations in temperature, precipitation, and drought. In some places — like certain parts of California, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, and the Pacific Northwest – they have become a seasonal occurrence. Hundreds of people have died, tens of thousands have been displaced, and even more were left struggling to breathe through the ash and smoke that blanketed the air for miles around each of these fires — sometimes lasting weeks.

Wildfire smoke can be very hazardous, even for those who are miles away from the actual flames. According to the CDC, inhaling it can result in respiratory issues, asthma attacks, stinging eyes, scratchy throat, irritated sinuses, headaches, tiredness, chest pain, and an elevated heart rate. It can make anyone who breathes it sick, but it poses a particular risk to children, those who are pregnant, and those with pre-existing chronic conditions. Staying indoors with the doors and windows shut tight can help keep you away from the worst of it, but you might also want to invest in a good air purifier as well.

Not all air purifiers filter out smoke, however. Smoke particles are quite small and can slip through many filters that are simply designed to remove dust, hair, and other larger forms of particulate. That said, there are several purifiers out there with HEPA filters that are built to filter out smoke and other fine particles, helping to keep the air in your home safe to breathe.

Levoit is one of the first brands you're likely to come across when you start looking into air purifiers. The company is a subsidiary of Vesync, which has been around since 2012 and has rapidly expanded. Over 2 million smart devices were connected to the company's proprietary app by 2021, and it looks like that number has only continued to increase. Levoit has a wide range of air purifiers that come in different form factors and offer a number of different filtering specializations. The VortexAir and Plasma Pro lines both have True HEPA filters that promise to trap 99.97% of airborne particles 0.3 microns in size — including smoke particles which typically range from 0.4-0.7 microns. These are available in several different sizes that can accommodate a variety of different-sized rooms.

Of these products, the Levoit Core 300 True HEPA Air Purifier is one of the highest-rated and most popular models. It's ranked as Amazon's best-selling HEPA filter air purifier and has a 4.7 out of 5 with over 123,000 ratings. Air Purifier First gave the device a 9.3 out of 10 in their review, stating, "the Core 300 offers almost everything expected from a small air purifier: an affordable price, excellent performance, inexpensive filters, it's easy to use, and easy maintenance."

The device is able to purify the air in a 219 square-foot space (roughly the size of a large bedroom or a medium-sized living area). It uses three stages of filtration to capture dust, smoke, pollen, and pet dander. Additionally, the company's patented QuietKEAP Technology keeps the noise under 24dB, and it has a sleep mode if you want it to be extra quiet during the evening hours.

Those who are interested in smart home appliances have probably heard the name Govee. The company is most well-known for its smart lighting solutions, but it also makes smart heaters, humidifiers, ice makers, and a variety of other devices, including air purifiers.

The GoveeLife Smart Air Purifier Lite isn't exactly a powerhouse, but it's an effective little workhorse that comes at an incredibly reasonable price, has tons of app control options, and is fully compatible with Apple, Google, and Alexa smart home ecosystems. It has high, low, and sleep settings that can all be controlled and scheduled through the app.

The device uses a three-stage filtration system that includes a pre-filter for hair, lint, and fibers; a HEPA filter for PM 2.5 and any other 0.1-micron particles; and an active carbon filter for cooking odors, smoke, VOCs, and harmful gases. It's best for smaller rooms (up to 181 square feet) which makes it a great option for people who want to spread filters throughout their house and those who simply need one to keep near their bedside.

It has a 4.6 out of 5 on Amazon and received a 4 out of 5 from TechHive in their review. "It's unlikely to be effective in living rooms and other large rooms, but Govee offers purifiers for those spaces as well and if the H7120 is an indication of Govee's quality, they are worth looking into as well." I've also personally used one of these in my room for over a year and have found that it's extremely effective.

Aroeve is another popular brand in the air purifier space. The company currently has eight different models available, from the affordable MK01 which is ideal for a small bedroom or office, all the way up to the MK09W, which offers a substantial 1,682 square feet of coverage. The smaller model is one of the more popular options as it's one of the more affordable small purifiers available that can clean up smoke. Vacuum Wars even performed some head-to-head testing against the MK06 and found that the MK01 reduced smoke particles faster and was overall more efficient.

Like many of the other filters on this list, the MK01 uses a pre-filter for hair and dander, a central filter that can capture particulate at 99.97% down to 0.1-0.3 microns, and an activated carbon filter for odors. But what's even more exciting is that Aroeve makes a special Enhanced Smoke Removal version of the filter which is specific to the MK01 and MK06 models. This adds a four-layer filter that is specifically designed for removing smoke from the air.

"AROEVE's enhanced smoke removal filter can remove and purify smoke in the air, and also effectively deodorize," the site states. "Combining gas phase purification material with activated carbon, not only has excellent air purification efficiency performance but can solve the problem of odor during the use of activated carbon material." The purifier has a 4.5 out of 5 on Amazon.

A more midsized option that you might consider is the GermGuardian AC5900WCA. The name of this brand might not sound overly familiar compared to some of the others that are out there, but Guardian Technologies is actually a subsidiary of Lasko, which is a fairly well-known appliance manufacturer.

This particular air purifier has a HEPA filter that is able to capture 99.97% of dust and allergens as small as 0.1 microns (such as smoke) and can circulate air in a 1,760 square-foot space every hour, or a 365 square-foot space 4.8 times per hour. It also has a carbon filter to reduce odors, and a UV-C light to reduce bacteria and mold spores in the air. It has three speeds, a timer that can be set for up to 8 hours, a built-in night light, and a filter change indicator.

The AC5900WCA has a 4.6 out of 5 on Amazon where users reported that they were happy with its overall functionality, ease of use, and effectiveness, but some were a bit disappointed with how quickly the filters needed to be replaced. Breathe Quality stated in their review, "With this air purifier, Guardian Technologies made a striking statement, not just from a design perspective but from a business perspective, too — it wants to be considered an equal to the big players in the mid-range air purifier arena, such as Blueair, Rabbit Air and recently Levoit."

Those who are looking for something that's a little beefier might be interested in checking out some of the air purifiers made by Winix. This is a company that has built a reputation for building powerful purifiers that are able to keep their costs low by swapping out ionizers and other gimmicky features in favor of substantial filters and raw, high-CFM air movement. This is just one of the reasons that Consumer Reports ranked Winix as one of the best major air purifier brands on the market.

The Winix D360 is able to clean the air in spaces that are up to 1,740 square feet in size, with the company promising a rate of "870 sq ft in 30 minutes, 580 sq ft in 20 minutes, 435 sq ft in 15 minutes." Unlike most air purifiers, the D360 includes a washable fine-mesh pre-filter outer layer that extends the life of each filter in addition to the activated carbon layer and the True HEPA filter that promises to capture "99.99% of airborne allergens including pollen, dust, smoke, pet dander, and other ultrafine particles as small as 0.003 microns."

It has four power settings: High, Medium, Low, and Sleep. But it can also be set to Auto, which allows the purifier to respond to the air quality detected by its dual smart sensors.

This purifier doesn't seem to be available on Amazon and there aren't a ton of professional reviews out there for it, but it is one of the popular models that can remove smoke on the Home Depot website where it also enjoys a respectable 4.7 out of 5 star rating. Customers stated that the D360 is effective, quiet, and easy to use.

Shark makes a wide selection of home and beauty products, but it also makes several fans and air purifiers. One of the best models that the company makes for removing smoke is undoubtedly the Shark Air Purifier Max 3-in-1 with True HEPA. The company makes two different versions of this filter: One that can clean up to 500 square feet and one that can clean up to 1,000 square feet. There is a slight uptick in price for the larger capacity model, but the feature set is otherwise very similar.

"The Shark Air Purifier MAX 3-in-1 uses Pure Air Microforce to deliver fast, powerful, and quiet purification with added purified heat and purified fan modes for spaces up to 1000 square feet," the company's website states. "Clean Sense IQ senses air quality & auto-adjusts to improve and report results in real time." It also has a True HEPA filter that removes dust, dander, and of course, smoke. Not only that, but it has three different operating modes. It functions as a regular air purifier, a fan, or as an electric heater that can purify and heat air at the same time.

This model has a 4.3 out of 5 on Amazon and received a 4.5 out of 5 from James Holland of Tech Radar in their review. "I found the Shark Air Purifier 3-in-1 with True HEPA to be a pleasure to use," Holland stated. "Maybe there's no app. But, the control panel doubles as a removable remote control. No matter how hard I push it, it's much quieter than the single-purpose space heater sitting next to it. It purifies, heats, and fans to your whims."