Best Place to Put an Air Purifier?

Things to Consider When Determining Where to Put Your Air Purifier

You’d be surprised at the number of factors that come to mind when thinking about where to put an air purifier.

Where can you maximize air flow? Where will you notice that fresh air most throughout the day? Where will it be effective, but not too obstructive?

Our research helps you cut through the noise. We’ve found these are the 3 things you should focus on for proper purifier positioning when you want to improve your air quality.

Without further ado, those 3 key considerations are:

• Coverage area
• Position of your windows
• Distance between your air purifier and other small electronics

The Coverage Area

Whether your air purifying device uses a HEPA filter or an activated carbon filter, effectiveness decreases as distance from the purifier increases.

For that reason, if your air purifier has a clean air delivery rate with high enough CFM (cubic feet for minutes) to cover your entire home (or office), it’s best to put the purifier in a central location.

On the other hand, if your purifier has limited coverage, consider positioning it in a more targeted area, such as where you sit or stand for extended periods (such as at a desk in your home office, or near the stove in the kitchen).

The Position of Your Windows

Air from outdoors is a common cause of pollutants; this is an easy way for dust and other allergens to enter your house

What this means is that if your air purifier is placed near a window, it’s going to spend all its energy cleaning the air coming in from that window.

For that reason, it’s best to place your air purifier away from windows so it can work on filtering out pollutants that are already circulating in your home.

The Distance Between Your Air Purifier and Other Small Electronics

Air purifiers are classified as a “small electronic” device. What that means is that other small electronics (think TVs, microwaves, stereos, etc) operate on similar wavelengths. Because of this, they won’t do well when placed near other small electronics such as TVs, microwaves, and stereos.

Best Places to Put an Air Purifier (Reviewed)

1.   At the Source of Air Pollution

Air pollutants can easily travel from one part of your home throughout the building, so if you have one spot in particular that you suspect is causing an air quality issue you’ll want to put your air purifier at that source.

Common sources include the basement, a room where pets sleep, or a spot with mold build-up.

If you aren’t sure where the source of your allergens is, and you live in a bigger house (i.e. one with more than 2 bedrooms), it can be tricky to determine the source.

The good news is that you can use air quality monitoring devices and test kits to discover the area with the most pollution.

We recommend air quality monitors like the EGVOC-80 air quality monitor.

2.   In the Kitchen

Cooking and cleaning activities naturally generate air pollutants and odors, so the kitchen is a natural place for an air purifier.

This is especially true if you tend to inadvertently set off the smoke alarm while cooking!

If that sounds like you, you’d really benefit from an air purifier in the kitchen, because it will filter smoke if your cooking or baking goes awry.

If smoke coming from the stove is a concern, we recommend putting it next to the stove. Otherwise, try to find a spot next to your trash bin to remove odor coming from there.

3.   In the Bedroom

Fresh air is a simple comfort you want while you sleep. Any irritants or pollutants in the bedroom can interfere with the quality of your sleep, and can generally make you uncomfortable.

For best bedroom placement, we recommend placing the purifier 6 to 10 feet from your bed.

If you’re shopping for a purifier specifically for your bedroom, we recommend paying attention to two particular features.

First is the noise rating, for obvious reasons. If a unit is too loud while idling, it will interfere with your sleep.

The second one isn’t so obvious.

If the unit you’re looking at has LED lights, be sure the LED lights turn completely off when the unit idles, or when it’s in sleep mode.

Some units have bright LED lights that don’t turn off under any setting, which can really interfere with the quality of your sleep.

4.    In the Living Room

Many homeowners spend a lot of family time in the living room. What’s more, this area tends to get a lot of foot traffic (people coming and going, especially from outside).

Both of these factors make the living room a good spot for an air purifier.

It becomes an even better place if someone in the house smokes, as an air purifier with a good activated carbon filter will work to eliminate odor caused by smoke.

Smaller units that are aesthetically pleasing can be placed on a coffee table, while bulkier units can go next to your couch or behind furniture (just be sure there is sufficient room around the purifier for air intake and recirculation).

5.   In the Bathroom

An air purifier is a great alternative to air fresheners to help with any odor coming from the bathroom..

Smaller units can be placed behind the toilet or on a counterspace, while larger units can go on the floor (as long as they’re sufficiently far from the shower to avoid a water hazard).

6.   Near the Front Door

Having an air purifier near your front door will help prevent pollen and other contaminants from entering your house as you open and close the door.

This is a lot like our first suggestion, with the source being allergens coming in from your front door.

As noted above, this becomes less effective if your front door is a screen door or you tend to leave the front door cracked. This would be like leaving the air purifier near an open window.

Final Thoughts on the Best Place to Put an Air Purifier

Having an air purifier is a great way to keep yourself comfortable in your home. With some careful planning thinking through the factors we list above, you’ll be sure to get the most out of your device.