7 of the best air purifiers to deal with pets, pollen, and pollution

If you were hoping for a more modern design, the Coway AP-1512HH Mighty Air Purifier is aesthetically pleasing AF. The design is as clean as the air it pushes out and will blend right in with any home’s contemporary decor. 
Called “mighty” for a reason, this puppy features a four-stage filtration system with a 99.7% HEPA efficiency rating (in a space up to 361 square feet). It also comes equipped with an energy-saving “Eco Mode,” which will turn its fan off when it detects 10 minutes of good air quality levels, then on again after 30 minutes or when it senses any sort of air pollution.
Walmart customer Farah writes:

What a difference this guy made to the air quality in our home! Within a day, both our pets and us stopped sneezing from the smoke filling the SoCal air. The Eco setting was really great, as it would turn on when the air quality dropped in the space. A little noisier than I would have liked, but a worthy trade off and a bigger than I anticipated in terms of size. Not intrusive at all, though and I like the simple white design.

Overall, it has a 4.7/5-star rating at Walmart with nearly 200 reviews.

Pet parents: We know you love your fur babies, but you can admit that their beds or litter boxes don’t smell the best. The Hamilton Beach TrueAir Compact Pet Air Purifier is your answer to combatting reeking rooms (and getting rid of pet hair that you constantly see floating in the air). This is due to its 99% HEPA filtration and use of zeolites, or non-toxic absorbent crystals, which are naturally activated when combined with heat and water, and are also being used in new efforts to reduce CO2 emissions. 
The Hamilton Beach air cleaner is said to be optimal for rooms up to 140 square feet, but numerous customers have mentioned that it can handle larger spaces.
Best Buy customer Brooklynn72180 writes:

I have a tiny apartment that I share with a dog and a cat. I have a large full-size air purifier in the living room, but my bedroom has a tendency to smell like dog, no matter how often I wash her beds, or my sheets for that matter. This worked perfectly! Within an hour of having it on, it didn’t smell like dog anymore! I keep it on the lowest setting and it still works. Great little machine, especially at the price!

Overall, it has a 4.7/5-star rating at Best Buy with almost 50 reviews.

For smaller rooms or offices, you might not need a massive cleaner that sits on the floor — but that doesn’t mean a mini one is your only other option. The Levoit LV-H132 Air Purifier is one of the sleekest little guys on the market, and though it’s small enough to sit on a desk, its cleaning capacity is massive. 
The three-stage filtration system apparently kills 99.7% of dust, pollen, and pet dander, including particles as small as .3 microns. It’s also 100% ozone free — this basically means that it does not use UV or ions, which produce trace amounts of measurable ozone.
Amazon customer Sasha raves, writing:

Worth every cent. We live in the heart of Manhattan and we bought this particular product as I can smell cigarette smoke coming through the walls from the neighbors. I also wake up with a stuffy nose most days. I put the product in the room to test it and was blown away by how awesome the air smelled. Like being up a mountain. I can’t smell cigarette smoke and after the first night of using the air purifier I didn’t have a stuffy nose in the morning.

I highly recommend this product for anyone who lives in a city. You don’t realize how low the quality of air is until you try this product, and it really does make a significant difference. Super impressed.

Overall, it has a 4.5/5-star rating on Amazon with nearly 20,000 (!) reviews.

Moving on to the big guns: Dyson rules the vacuum market (and now even the hair styling market), but its contribution to the world of air purifiers is just as impactful. The Dyson Pure Hot+Cool is truly ahead of its time, using bladeless Air Multiplier tech to circulate 99.97 percent pollutant-free air through the room. Dirty air is pulled in, sent through multiple diffusers and a HEPA filter, then pushed back out to give the room serious airflow. The hollow design may look complicated, but the Dyson Pure Hot+Cool is one of the simplest devices to use in the list.
A mini LCD screen on the front shows you the current status of your air, and the Dyson app gives detailed info on the quality of the air outside and the type of pollutants most affecting your home. If the app senses that polluted air increases in your home at a certain time of day, you can set timed cleaning schedules just as you would with a robot vacuum.
Amazon customer Marc Wexler writes:

“Bought it as a gift for my wife. She loves it. So do I. To call it pricey id an understatement, but like most things Dyson, it is a marvel of engineering. Functional and attractive. It move air so much better than all other fans I have seen to date. Quiet. It also heats, which is a plus in this part of the world. And in a way unlike other room heaters. It’s action is fast and gentle. Big Plus, it cleans the air…and it does it really well. The air quality was affected by the multitudes of wildfires out her in the west. This cleaned the air up very quickly and improved our quality of life indoors. The rains of fall will do the job outdoors. Expensive, but worth it”

The effortless peace of mind is enough justification on its own, but the cooling fan and heater addition make it a year-round favorite. So yeah, you’re paying nearly $500, but you’re getting the best-of-the-best quality and three appliances in one.
Overall, it has a 4.3/5-star rating on Amazon with over 650 customer reviews.

For a little more oomph, the Winix 5300 Air Purifier is great for those big, open rooms, up to 360 square feet. A whopping five cleaning modes are present (sleep, slow, medium, high, or turbo), but you don’t have to make the judgment yourself: This powerhouse uses a smart sensor to gauge the level of pollution in your air, then signals which level of cleaning is underway by changing the color of the light. If you’re cooking and things get smokey, you’ll see red or orange — and when everything’s chill, blue signifies less cleaning and good air.
Amazon customer Tarutastic writes:

“Plain and simple works. I put it up in my living room and went to my bedroom to fold laundry. I was gone about 30 minutes. I came back to the living room and my daughter said to me mom this is crazy I feel a difference in the living room (she suffers from bad allergies). Now I have had it running everyday for about a week. I can tell you I have a dog and even the dog sneezes less! This product is great. This does a great job at getting rid of the dust, pet dander, and over all the quality of the air is much better. I recommend it so much that I purchased 3 more for the bedrooms.”

There are way too many other positive reviews to count, with numerous customers mentioning how quiet this thing is — even on the Turbo setting. 
Overall, it has a 4.7/5-star rating on Amazon with almost 5,000 reviews.

The name “GermGuardian” may seem corny, but it’s literally what this thing can do for a room. The HEPA filter captures 99.7 percent of allergens like household dust, pet dander, mold spores, and plant pollens, even as small as .3 microns. For rooms that need a heavy-duty cleaning, the UV-C light technology sanitizes air by working with Titanium Dioxide to kill airborne bacteria, viruses, germs, and mold spores.
Not only is it cleaning the air by trapping particles you can’t even see, but it’s making it smell better, too. The filter battles odors like cigarette smoke, litter boxes, or overly-smelly furnaces to provide a fresher feel every time you walk into the room. Though it sits on the floor, it’s slim enough to be tucked in a corner, in between furniture, or somewhere else out of the way.
Amazon customer Voodoo writes:

Love this! This really really cleans the air. It makes my life a lot nicer during allergy season. I can tell the difference. I have a lot of cats and it make my house smells clean. I loved it so much, I bought another. We have a big house and you can tell the difference when they are running. People who visit our home alway say “If you didn’t see the cats you would never know they were there, it doesn’t smell like pets”!!! Awesome!

The GermGaurdian isn’t the quietest thing in the world on its highest setting, but if you’re anything like us, that white noise could actually be great for drowning out city noise, neighborhood lawnmowers, and more. 
Overall, it has a 4.2/5-star rating on Amazon with nearly 23,000 reviews (whoa).

Go ahead and throw out that little evergreen-shaped air freshener dangling from your rearview mirror: LG’s new PuriCare Mini will do a much better job deodorizing your car.
Released in mid-2020, this ultra-portable, dual-fan air purifier features a 3,600mAh battery that lasts for up to 8 hours on a single charge (in Low Mode) and charges with a USB cable. At just 1.2 pounds, it’s no heavier than a water bottle — you can easily stash it in a purse or backpack for use in a hotel, on a plane, or at the office. (There’s a built-in leather wrist strap that makes it easy to carry.)
On the outside, you’ll find an LED smart display that shows you the air quality in real time, though you can also control its airflow, keep tabs on air quality history, and monitor its filter and battery life via Bluetooth using the PuriCare Mini app.
LG customer Suzhappy writes:

I have a lot of allergies plus I have fragrance sensitivities which is very hard to live with because there are fragrances everywhere! This mini air purifier is perfect for me! It’s a perfect size and it lasts a good 8 hours on a charge. I put it in a cute little bag and I carry it with me. How many air purifiers can you do that with? Not many! All in all this this LG PuriCare Mini Air Purifier is totally awesome!

The PuriCare Mini hasn’t gotten a ton of feedback yet since it’s so new, but as of Oct. 2020, it’s got two 5-star ratings on Amazon and a 4.6/5-star rating on the LG website with 17 customer reviews so far.