Kiddofreedom

Best Air Purifier for Babies

The best air purifier for the nursery is remarkably quiet and usually offers 3-stage true HEPA filtration. Also, it’s dark enough to not scare sleeping babies at night. Additionally, the ideal baby nursery air cleaner packs relevant product safety certifications such as CARB, FCC, and ETL/UL.

Most importantly, the best air purifier for baby room fully meets the regulated ozone concentration safety standard. Air purifiers that ionize air are a no-no for delicate young lungs and airways.

There are different kinds of air purifiers on the market today. And in these nursery air purifier reviews, you’ll find 5 recommendations that work really well in your baby’s sanctuary.

5 Best Baby Room Air Purifiers

Here’s a nice little list of 5 great air purifiers that clean the air in baby nurseries without causing more problems than they solve:

1.Levoit core 300 Baby Nursery Purifier (Best Overall)

core 300 purifier for nursery

Here’s a detailed review of the Levoit Core 300. Read it to understand why I chose it as one of the finest options for nuking nasty air pollutants in the nursery and other spaces including bedrooms, living rooms, home offices, and more.

2.Dyson Pure Cool TP04 Air Purifier (Best Splurge)

Dyson nursery purifier

3.Medify MA-25 Air Purifier (Most Comprehensive Cleaning)

best baby air cleaner

4.Levoit LV-H132 Air Purifier (Best for Small Baby Rooms)

crib room purifiers

5.Honeywell HPA100 True HEPA allergen remover (Good)

Honeywell HPA100 for nursery

Below are brief reviews of each nursery air purifier I recommend. After the reviews section, you’ll find a detailed baby room air purifier buying guide. I believe it’s the only guide you’ll ever need to read.

1. Levoit core 300 Baby Nursery Purifier Review

Levoit air purifiers use True HEPA filters. That’s why they’re remarkably good as far as capturing the smallest airborne particles.  The Levoit Core 300 boasts even more powerful air filters, that is, medical-grade H13 True HEPA filters. These are high-efficiency HEPA filters that decontaminate the air down to 0.01 microns.

A small, compact, budget HEPA air purifier, the Levoit Core 300 flexes its air cleaning muscles through leveraging 3 effective filters. The prefilter takes out larger particles such as lint and pet hair while the medical grade H13 True HEPA sucks ultrafine particles out of your baby room’s air.

The 3-stage filtration process ends when the activated carbon filter deodorizes the room. If pet dander, dust, mold spores, pollen, or smoke are your scariest realities, the Levoit Core 300 pet allergy remover got your back.

It’s cute design-wise, and the air inlet is larger than most. Inside the air cleaning chamber is a powerful AC capacitor equipped with high-precision bearings that defy abrasion. That’s why this Energy Star rated, CARB certified, and ETL listed air cleaner is durable.

With such a motor and CADR ratings of 141 (smoke), 140 (dust) and 145 (pollen), the Core 300 gives a 200 square feet baby room 5 air changes per hour. Now, an ACH of 5 is great for anyone that suffers from asthma. The air gets dispersed in all directions, via the top.

New York Time’s Wirecutter recently performed a test on the Levoit Core 300. Results? The Core 300 cleared up 97.40% of heavy smoke in a 135 square feet New York space in just 30 minutes on the highest fan speed. On medium, it eliminated 92.60% of the smoke.

Its noise levels are stated as 24 dB on low and 50 dB on high. I measured the Core 300’s noise levels at 6 feet and on low, it operated at 39 dB. On medium, the noise levels hover around 43 dB. This attractive machine is suitable for baby rooms. Your baby should sleep soundly on medium or low.

However, the Levoit Core 300 isn’t the best energy saver. On high, it consumes 45W. It uses about 35W on medium and 32W on low. On the whole, it’s affordable energy consumption, pretty like your laptop.

Admittedly, the LED display gives too much light. If your baby is a light sleeper, use the display shutoff feature. Also, there’s a filter-check indicator light that comes on semiannually and an 8-hour timer (2, 4, 6, 8-hour intervals) conserves energy.

A display lock ensures your toddler won’t adjust the settings. But the unit lacks the auto mode, air quality indicator, and Wi-Fi capability. Not a huge problem, though. Most important, the Core 300 emits zero ozone.

Pros

  • Scores big in the looks department
  • An enticing price point
  • 360-degree purified air distribution
  • Cheap replacement filter
  • Quiet enough with a dimmable display
  • child-lock
  • Ozone-free HEPA purifier

Cons

  • Not very energy efficient

I don’t like that the cute Core 300 asthma trigger remover is rated for 45W. Compared to more powerful purifiers such as the Coway Mighty, it’s notably less energy efficient.

Aside from that, the core 300 is a great-looking air cleaner that keeps the air in baby nurseries pristine.

Note: To buy the Levoit Core 300 replacement filter (lasts around 6 months), search for Core 300-RF.

2. Dyson Pure Cool TP04 Air Purifier Review

So, what’s the CADR rating of the Dyson Pure Cool TP04? Though this purifying fan doesn’t provide CADR ratings, its engineers claim to have done extensive performance tests that gave great results. According to Dyson the tower fan should clean up to 290 square feet of space.

Dyson’s engineers claim that this purifying fan performs better than comparable AHAM-certified contenders. But quite a few independent reviewers view the product’s stated performance as being a little cloudy.

This Dyson purifying tower fan looks similar to its Pure Cool predecessors. Except it features an LED display screen that constantly communicates a room’s air quality situation.

The screen displays PM2.5 numbers and color-coded indoor air quality reports. And if you pair up the TP04 with the Dyson Link app, you should easily monitor humidity, temperature, VOC, NO2, PM10, and PM2.5 pollution in the nursery.

The tightly sealed glass 360-degree HEPA filter removes 99.97% of the most challenging particles to eliminate: 0.3-micron particle sizes. The TP04 captures these microscopic allergens really well, and you should notice a difference in air quality pretty soon. And, the activated carbon filter labors hard to reduce household smells and VOCs.

You can remote control the device as well as pair the fan with Siri or Amazon Alexa. That enables you to voice-control the unit. You can crank the thing up or turn it off via your voice. You can also adjust its fan settings. But sorry, the TP04 doesn’t offer users Google Assistant voice controls.

Or, you can turn on its auto mode and let the device run itself. If the air gets polluted, this mode chooses a higher fan speed out of 10 possible speed settings. As soon as air quality improves and the screen lights up green, the fan slows down accordingly.

And the best part? You can set weekly schedules so the machine knows exactly when to do what.

Among the best tower fans, the luxury-packed Dyson TP04 features a pleasing elliptical design. A loop at the top balances out a firm, circular base that houses a moderately powerful fan.

The fan relies on Dyson’s so-called Air Multiplier Technology to blow cool breezes out via openings in the loop. Also, the fan oscillates between 4 angles namely 45, 90, 180, and 350 degrees so you can clean every nook and cranny.

The display does get somewhat distracting, though. So, turn on the night mode and let your baby sleep in peace. Auto shutoff timer? Use the app to select as little as 15 minutes to as many as 9 hours.

As a fan, the TP04 isn’t the best option out there. And as an air purifier, the device doesn’t perform significantly better than considerably cheaper alternatives.

Pros

  • You can set a weekly schedule
  • Real-time PM2.5 particle tracker
  • Nice shape and tons of great features
  • Air quality indicator and detailed reports
  • Night mode

Cons

  • Expensive
  • No CADR ratings
  • Fan not super strong

Overall, it’s a True HEPA option that casts a purified cooling breeze around your baby room. And since you can reverse airflow, you won’t ever worry about blowing bucketfuls of cool air into your baby’s face.

But at that price, you can get CADR-rated deals that do the core filtration job better while offering more or less bells and whistles.

3. Medify MA-25 Air Purifier Review

A 2020 arrival on the air purification scene, the rectangular-shaped Medify MA-25 resembles its sibling the Medify MA-40. The base dimensions are almost similar, but at 13.5″, the MA-25 is noticeably shorter and more compact than the MA-40.

Like the MA-40, this large room purifier offers a sleek-looking glass control panel. The panel material is the exact same kind used to produce cell phone screens — tapered glass. If it ever hits a hard floor and breaks, you won’t find small, prickly glass pieces all over the place. It’s safer than ordinary glass.

Like Medify’s mightiest air purifier, the MA-112, the Medify MA-25 has two sets of air filters to thank for its matchless purification power. Two sets of H13 medical-grade filters join forces with a CADR of 250 to deliver 4 air changes per hour in a 250 square feet room. That’s the size of a relatively large baby nursery.

Since the MA-25 boasts 2 large air inlets, it decontaminates the air pretty fast. The downside is that the MA-25 replacement filters don’t last that long (typically 4-6 months). Plus, the replacement filters for the MA-25 are comparably expensive. There’s a pre-filter for stopping pet hair and other large-size particles as well as an activated-carbon-packed odor filter.

Like the Dyson or Levoit Core 300, the MA-25 offers a filter check indicator, a child-lock feature, and sleep mode/night mode. But there’s no air quality indicator or Wi-Fi connectivity. And that’s no bummer, really.

With three fan speed settings, the MA-25 is remarkably quiet on medium. It shouldn’t disturb your baby when they’re napping. You can buy the MA-25 in white, silver, or black. But I prefer black since it’s less visible especially when it’s dark in the room.

Every baby room air purifier recommended here emits zero ozone, and the MA-25 is no exception. Additionally, it’s CARB verified, and that’s massively comforting. Finally, the device has a power rating of just 28W. Evidently, it’s way more efficient than the Core 300. And it offers the most comprehensive air filtration of all 5 options here.

Pros

  • Comprehensive 3-stage filtration via 6 filters
  • Available in 3 color options
  • No anion generator
  • Filters down to 0.01 micron
  • CARB certified
  • No ozone produced

Cons

  • Costly filters that don’t last very long

With the MA-25 in the nursery, PM2.5 pollution panics no end! Two cartridges of H13 filters purify the air down to the tiniest particulates. But the filters are pricey. Even worse, they don’t last the longest.

Here’s a detailed Medify MA-25 Review

4. Levoit LV-H132 Air Purifier Review

Levoit claims this small room air purifier covers up to 129 square feet spaces. However, the Levoit LV-H132 arrives in a box that says its cleaning power maxes out at 86 square feet. With a circular design that amounts to a 360-degree air intake, the LV-H132 is similar to Core 300, and it releases sanitized air via the top.

For that reason, use this unit for purifying very small baby rooms, those measuring roughly 9 feet x 10 feet.

With a power rating of 28W and cleaning just 86 sq. ft vs Medify MA-25’s 250 square feet with the same rating, it’s considerably less energy efficient.

Just like the Levoit Core 300, the LV-H132 has really good looks. Your little one will love having this beautiful product around.

Costing about $10 less than the Core 300, the LV-H132 still offers 3-stage HEPA filtration. The filtration system features a fine prefilter for relatively big particles and an H13 HEPA filter for ultrafine pollution. Also, there’s an activated carbon filter for odor removal. I like that it’s a medical-grade air filter that dredges dirt all the way down to the 0.01 micron particle size.

The LV-H132 is insanely popular among parents and everyone else. As of this writing, the product has won nearly 17,000 customer reviews with a star rating of 4.5. Now, that says volumes about the overall utility of the air cleaner.

If you’d prefer a cute, compact True HEPA air purifier that takes up little space, the Levoit LV-H132 would be it. Weighing in at just over 6 lbs and standing 14.5″, the unit is as compact as it gets.

But unlike the Core 300, the LV-H132 doesn’t have a child lock. Meaning it’s ideal for babies that haven’t learned walking yet rather than for all-over-the-place toddlers and play-crazy children.

The device also lacks a timer. And that may be a big deal for moms who are away from home for hours daily. Additionally, the device lacks Auto Mode and Wi-Fi features — not unusual in that price range.

Finally, the amazingly silent Levoit H-132 (24dB on low and 50dB on high) comes with a nice blue nightlight that will enhance the baby room’s ambiance. And you can turn off this nightlight if it disturbs your baby’s sleep.

Pros

  • 3-stage H13 filtration
  • 360-degree air distribution
  • Ozone-free HEPA purifier
  • Nice blue nightlight
  • Super silent on low and medium

Cons

  • Cleans very small baby rooms
  • No timer and child-lock
  • No CADR ratings availed

Overall, the Levoit H132 is a nice-looking small baby room purifier that removes PM2.5 pollution like no one’s business. Small wonder it comes highly recommended by parents everywhere.

 5. Honeywell HPA100 True HEPA Allergen Remover Review

 There’s a reason Honeywell air purifiers are the Doctor’s Choice as far as asthma symptom management — they work.

Built to filter out nasty baby room allergens rather than look fancy and fabulous, the Honeywell HPA100 pet allergy remover purifies up to 155 square feet. Its CADR ratings are 106 for dust, 100 for smoke, and 100 for pollen. You should see the AHAM Verified mark on the box.

With a weight of 7.74 lbs, it’s pretty portable. And with these dimensions: 13.54″ L x 8.9″ D x 13.94″ H, the Honeywell is compact enough for a small nursery or a reasonably large one.

The air cleaner features sturdy parallel panels that make for a somewhat corrugated rugged look. Not the most eye-pleasing appearance I must admit, but your baby won’t likely hate looking at it.

Unlike all the recommendations reviewed here, this purifier offers a 2-stage rather than a 3-stage filtration mechanism. The prefilter in this machine contains activated carbon and captures both larger particles as well as odors. The prefilter works too hard, that’s why it gets all clogged up in just 3 months. They really should have included a separate household smell filter instead of overworking the carbon filter.

Then there’s a certified HEPA filter dedicated to filtering out ultrafine particles such as mold spores, bacteria, smoke particles, dust, and pet dander. Combined, these filters take out 99.97% of suspended particles in the 0.3-micron neighborhood.

The unit provides 4-speed modes namely General Clean, Allergen, Germ, and Turbo. Think of these fan speeds as low, medium, high, and turbo. For regular maintenance, select the General Clean mode, and to tackle the flu season, turn to the Germ setting.

To filter out pollen and mold spores, select the Allergen mode. And to purify a room swarming with heavy indoor pollution, choose the Turbo setting and let it run for 2 or more hours before switching back to a lower speed setting.

The unit’s control features sit on a backlit panel at the top. Its easy tap buttons are responsive, but some users said they had to press them twice to get them working. A filter check reminder ensures you replace the filters when their performance diminishes significantly.

An 8-hour programmable timer automatically shuts off the machine when the chosen cleaning interval terminates, saving energy. And if the backlit panel seems too bright for your baby, you can always use the display dimmer.

It’s Energy Star rated too, drawing about 50W. But that’s not like commendable energy efficiency. You also get all the other necessary certifications such as CARB, FCC, and ETL.

Pros

  • Compact with powerful true HEPA filtration
  • AHAM verified
  • True HEPA filtration
  • Well-built and sturdy
  • Affordable pricing
  • A display dimmer for disturbance-free sleeping
  • programmable timer

Cons

  • Prefilter doubles up as the odor filter
  • Not the cutest purifier around
  • No auto mode or Wi-Fi connectivity
  • Not the most energy efficient

It’s not exactly an eyesore, and its black color makes it suitable for the nursery. But it’s not the best-looking option out there. And I don’t like

Best Nursery Air Purifier Overall

When it comes to raw air filtration power, no nursery air purifier touches the Levoit Core 300 air purifier. Like many great air cleaners, this choice levers a 3-stage H13 True HEPA filtration process to capture allergens, dust, pollen, mold spores, pet dander, and more. It removes 99.97% of all airborne particulates in the 0.3-micron particle distribution range and even smaller.

Also, the Levoit Core 300 doesn’t emit ozone. Whether your baby battles asthma and allergies or not, there’s nothing to lose sleep over with this option. The best part? The Core 300 emits no ozone.

For the most thorough air filtration, choose the powerful Medify MA-25 air purifier as it offers dual filtration. With two sets of H13 true HEPA air filters, this clean air maker purifies contaminated air faster and more comprehensively than most.

What if your baby’s place is rather small? Any of the recommendations given here would be overkill. Go with the cute-looking and super affordable Levoit LV-H132.

Best Nursery Room Air Purifier (Buying Guide)

When shopping for a suitable baby room air cleaner, there are quite a few critical considerations to keep in mind. Your baby means the world to you. And you want them breathing the purest air possible without exposing them to avoidable risks.

You also want to bag the best product in your range, an air purifier with peerless efficiency but whose price tag won’t break the bank. Such an air purifier packs a slew of great features that make it extremely effective at eliminating disease-causing airborne particles that stay suspended in the air in the nursery.

If you follow these baby air purifier buying guidelines, I can almost guarantee you’ll gift your little angel a device that’ll improve the air quality in their space tremendously.

9 Things to Look for When Buying a Baby Room Air Purifier

Below is a check list to help you choose a baby air purifier that checks most if not all of the boxes.

1. Babies Hate Ugly Things!

Let’s face it here: air purifiers aren’t the cutest consumer comfort products ever devised. In fact, some are a real eyesore and won’t be something your little loved one will want to see every morning.

Fortunately, the air filtration industry produces more than a few baby room air purifiers with great aesthetics. You know, air purifiers your baby will want to look at the whole time.

But obsessing about looks while not paying enough attention to the unit’s air cleaning ability is a bad idea.

2. Choose the Right Air Purifier Size

One reason to buy an AHAM-rated baby room air purifier is that you can tell right from the get-go how much raw air purification power the device packs. AHAM is a trusted third-party air purifier performance testing entity that lets consumers know each model’s airflow efficiency.

After AHAM tests each model, they list down 3 numbers every parent or grandparent should pay attention to. These numbers are smoke, dust, and pollen Clean Air Delivery Ratings. While all these CADR ratings are critical, the smoke CADR is considered the most important.

If you know the CADR ratings of two comparable baby nursery air purifiers, it’s pretty easy to stack them against each other and choose the better option.

When buying, consider each device’s CADR or CFM (Cubic Feet Per Minute). Then, apply AHAM’s air purifier sizing guideline called AHAM’s 2/3 rule, and you’ll get the sizing right each time.

This simple guideline helps you choose an allergen remover that’s optimally suited to the area you wish to deodorize.

To apply AHAM’s 2/3 rule, multiply the nursery’s area by 2/3. Then, go buy an air purifier whose CADR rating hovers around the result you get.

For example:

If the baby nursery measures 210 square feet, multiply 210 sq. ft. by 2/3. The answer is 140. An air purifier with a CADR rating of 140 or 150 should be adequate for that space. Note: Always buy an air purifier with a cleaning power that’s bigger than your room.

That way, you can run your device on medium or low and still get decent purification power. Additionally, you’ll purify your baby’s place without disturbing them with excessive noise.

Some air purifier brands don’t indicate the CADR ratings of the air cleaning devices they produce. Dyson is one of those companies. With such products, it can be difficult to compare the performance with other purifiers. Usually, the producer has their own testing standards and usually states each unit’s air cleaning ability.

Non-AHAM Rated Purifiers Tend to Be More Expensive

If there’s no independent third-party testing, you’ll just have to believe the company’s word. That means you need to buy from highly reputable companies such as Dyson.

One downside about buying baby room purifiers with no CADR ratings is that they tend to be pricier than most. Take the Dyson Pure Cool TP04 air purifier, for example.

This Dyson purifier doesn’t offer any CADR numbers, but the device costs well over $500. And it cleans just 290 square feet. Compare the TP04 with the Honeywell HPA200 True allergen remover which purifies up to 310 square feet rooms.

The AHAM-rated HPA200 comes from a popular and trusted brand, Honeywell, just like its nemesis the TP04. But it cleans a larger area and costs 50% less! And while both use True HEPA filters, the HPA200 actually offers two, not one HEPA filters. And that means better, faster air filtration.

Typically, non-CADR-rated air cleaners use proprietary air filtration technologies like Dyson’s famous Cyclone Technology. I believe that’s the real reason these kinds of room air purifiers have interested parents and grandparents shelling out gobs of money. As for me, give me an air purifier with known CADR ratings any day!

3. Know Your Air Purifier’s ACH Rating

Knowing the CADR rating of an air purifier isn’t enough. You also need to know how many air changes the machine pumps out every hour.

UNDERSTAND this: Many manufacturers state each device’s ACH as though it were a fixed number, but it’s not. Each air purifier’s ACH stays fluid, increasing or decreasing as room size increases or decreases.

If a particular air cleaning device changes the total volume of air in a room 6 times every 60 minutes, the same unit will deliver just 3 air exchanges if installed in a room twice that size.

Each air purifier’s ACH number stays fluid, increasing or decreasing as room size increases or decreases.

4. Carefully Consider the Device’s Specs and Features

Every savvy consumer in the market for whatever product pays particular attention to the item’s features and specifications.

If you don’t understand what features and specs the baby room air cleaner you’re eyeing offers, you likely won’t walk away with the best deal possible.

Whether you’re shopping for a nursery air purifier or a machine for purifying the air in any other space, there are a few must-have features to watch out for. You need to insist on these features no matter which brand you end up with.

(i) Insist on At Least 3-Stage Air Filtration

It’s best to choose a unit whose air cleaning mechanisms deliver at least 3 stages of air filtration. Usually, such a device offers a large particle removing prefilter and a True HEPA filter (s) for eradicating fine particles suspended in the air.

The ideal purifier also features an activated carbon filter, a substantial one. The activated carbon filter is designed to reduce household odors, Volatile Organic Compounds, tobacco smoke, wildfires smoke, marijuana smoke, exhaust fumes, and more. This filter may also contain zeolite or activated alumina, which serve the same purpose as activated carbon. Activated carbon is sometimes called granulated carbon.

With some air purifiers, you may get as many as 7 air filtration stages. A good case in point is the Airthereal Pure Morning APH260 true HEPA allergy reliever. I’ve also seen 4-stage, 5-stage, and 6-stage True HEPA air filtration systems. Note that more filtration stages don’t necessarily translate into better air cleaning ability.

I’d have recommended the multi-stage filtration APH260, but it emits ozone. And as explained elsewhere in these baby nursery air purifier reviews, ozone isn’t good for babies.

Replaceable Filter Baby Room Purifies Vs Washable Filter Air Purifiers

There’s a temptation to buy purifiers that don’t rely on disposable filters to do the air purification job. The Honeywell HFD-120Q is a good example. The upside is that these washable filter air purifiers typically don’t use true HEPA air filters. Instead, they feature filtration media with HEPA-like qualities but which don’t as excellently as true HEPA filters.

While True HEPA filters can remove 0.3 and even 0.1-micron airborne particles, HEPA-type filters used by washable filter purifiers don’t filter out contaminants and asthma triggers smaller than 2 microns. A huge performance difference right there.

(ii) Filter Change Indicator

Another feature a good baby room air purifier should have is the filter-check indicator. This feature is basically a reminder light that comes on when it’s time to throw away the clogged-up filters. This ensures you never forget to swap out old air filters whose air purification performance has started to decline.

With most air purifiers, expect a filter lifespan of between 6 months to 8 months. But some air filters like those of the Honeywell HPA100 last significantly longer.

(iii) Auto Shutoff Timer

Young babies may know when they’re hungry and cry their lungs out for Momma’s attention. But they don’t know how to power an air purifier off when the air in the room no longer needs any further filtration!

To save energy, it helps to choose a baby room air purifier with the auto-shutoff feature. This function shuts down the device after the specific duration you selected in the programmable timer expires. Typically, air purifiers offer 8-hour to 12-hour timers, but 24-hour timer options exist, too.

Some timers allow you to choose 1-hour air cleaning intervals while others allow 2-hour cleaning intervals. I’ve not seen any that lets you select a 3-hour interval, though.

Once the device has thoroughly cleaned the baby room, the auto-shutoff feature turns it off, saving energy.

(iv) Child-lock Feature

If your baby walks, you never know what those busy little hands can do when you’re in the other room doing whatever. Those tiny hands tend to be groping all over the place, endlessly.

So, find an air purifier that features a child-lock. A child-lock makes sure the settings you enter stay intact. And that your lovely baby or pet won’t change them during play.

The anti-tamper feature is especially essential when it comes to cleaning the air in playrooms. Good thing is that quite a few entry-level air purifiers offer this feature.

(v) Display Dimming Mode

Some air purifiers have displays that are so bright when it’s dark.  And that can be a bad thing if your baby has trouble falling asleep. You want an option with a control panel dimmer or sleep mode that launches the purifier’s lowest fan speed.

Not only does this mode dim the control panel, but it also has the machine operating at near-silent noise levels. And who wants too much noise in the nursery?

Additional Features of Good Nursery Air Purifiers

Your baby’s air purifier may also have additional features such as an air quality indicator to track air quality changes consistently. Typically, an air quality indicator works by displaying specific colors that denote a particular air quality situation.

For example, the color red may represent BAD while Blue may indicate GOOD and Green Excellent. The colors used vary across air purifier brands.

Others purifiers such as the Dyson TP04 have digital PM2.5 counters that show real-time PM2.5 concentrations in actual numbers. I find this feature helpful as you can quickly tell how bad, in actual numbers, the air in the baby room is.

Pricier purifiers may also be Wi-Fi-enabled or Amazon Voice-enabled. Wi-Fi connectivity empowers you to control the unit remotely, or from another room. And the Amazon Voice capability lets you literally talk to your infant’s room air purifying machine.

But an air cleaner for the baby room really doesn’t need to have an air quality indicator, the Wi-Fi feature, or even Amazon Alexa to function effectively. For the most part, these are just nice-to-have bells and whistles that tend to keep prices where manufacturers want them — in the stratosphere!

But…

Avoid Anion Generators or Ionizers in the Baby Room

I don’t recommend air purifiers that produce ozone for use in baby nurseries. Why? Because ozone is a known irritant, even when it navigates the respiratory system in small amounts, according to Mayo Clinic.

So, give devices that feature an ionizer a wide berth, even if the ionizer is optional. Why? Because such air purifiers automatically turn on the negative ion generating feature or ionizer every time you fire up the unit. Imagine what would happen over time if a parent regularly forgot to turn off the ionizer.

5. What Air Cleaning Technology Does the Baby Air Purifier Use?

Different air purifiers clean the air differently. Some like HEPA air purifiers deliver mechanical air filtration at the prefilter and fine particle filters. They also offer chemical filtration during the carbon filtration stage. Effective air filters don’t come cheap, but HEPA-based baby crib room air cleaners come highly recommended.

Other air purifiers work mainly by ionizing the air – avoid these. A few others use UV-C light to shellac shameless microbes and pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. But tell you what? UV-light air purifiers emit ozone, an emission you never want your little loved one to inhale.

Still, other options such as Airfree air purifiers claim to offer exceptional air cleaning power without using filters. Such devices typically use heat to kill pollutants (Thermodynamic TSS technology). I don’t recommend filterless purifiers for baby nurseries or wherever as they rarely are the best bang for the buck.

Finally, there’s air purifiers that rely on PCO (Photocatalytic Oxidation) technology and its improved version, PECO technology (Photo Electrochemical Oxidation) to clean contaminated air. A technology greatly favored by Molekule Air, PECO technology purportedly filters out particles 1000 times smaller than the smallest particles True HEPA filters remove.

However, many of the Claims Molekule air has made have been profusely contested by Dyson engineers and even New York Time’s Wirecutter.

6. Air Purifier Certifications Matter, Too

Watch out for these 5 certifications: AHAM rating (CADR rating), Energy Star rating, CARB certification, ETL/UL rating, and FCC rating.

An AHAM-rated option gives you tested and proven air purification performance and an Energy Star rated purifier saves you money over the long term.

And, an ETL or UL-listed baby air purifier is safe to use in the nursery or any other place. Finally, FCC-listed air cleaners emit electromagnetic waves that stay within the safe ionizing radiation threshold.

7. Opt for an Energy Star Rated Baby Air Purifier

According to the EPA, an Energy Star-rated air purifier requires 27 percent less energy than one without the Energy Star rating. Fortunately, all the baby room air purifiers reviewed here are Energy Star rated.

8. What Do the Maintenance Costs Look Like?

You’re busy, and you don’t want to spend all your free time cleaning filters or collection plates (for filter-less purifiers).

If you have the money, go for a device that uses long-lasting filters such as the AP1512HH Mighty. These ones don’t need to be replaced every few months. Unfortunately, the Coway Mighty emits ozone, so definitely not a good choice for a nursery.

But there’s no avoiding filter replacement. Thankfully, most filters work well enough for roughly 6 months before getting all clogged up.

Air cleaners with separate filters need somewhat more work when replacing dirty air filters than those that use single-cartridge filters. When the filters are combined, all you need to do is click the filter cartridge into place and voila’! You’ve done it.

Oh, there’s also wiping off dirt from the purifier, but this happens occasionally rather than frequently. Also, vacuuming the filters may be necessary as it adds to their longevity.

Where to Buy Baby Nursery Air Purifiers

The online marketplace is awash with decent, good, and amazing air purifier deals. Spend enough quality time on the web, and the best possible deal won’t remain elusive for long.

You can buy these devices directly from the manufacturer. Or you can source them from trusted, authorized dealers.

But I highly recommend Amazon due to its generous return policy. Plus, there’s always a deal to grab at Amazon. In fact, tons of products cost significantly less on Amazon than they do on the producer’s online store! Odd but true.

Baby Room Air Purifier FAQs

1. Do Air Purifiers Really Work?

Yes, they do. Air purifiers remove nasty allergens such as pet dander, mold spores, dust, seasonal pollen, and other contaminants from polluted indoor air. And this makes the air pristine and healthier.

Using the right air cleaner in the nursery offers a slew of great benefits you wouldn’t want your baby to miss. Fewer allergens and pollutants in the crib room means fewer opportunities for germs and microscopic particles to wreck havoc on a baby’s delicate respiratory system.

This post provides comprehensive information as to whether portable room air cleaners are worth it.

2. Are Ionizers Safe for Babies?

The short answer is no. According to Mayo Clinic, inhaling ozone can worsen asthma symptoms. And ionizers pump out ozone. Contrary to what air purifier producers say, ozone generators and negative ion purifiers don’t filter out asthma triggers, Mayo further states.  There’s really no safe levels of ozone, and even breathing small quantities of ozone can cause lung irritation.

Inhaling this gas from ion generators can culminate in chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and shortness of breath. If ionizers aren’t good for adults, how could they ever be safe for infants, babies, and toddlers?

3. Do Babies and Toddlers Really Need Air Purifiers?

Yes, they do, just like everyone else who craves fresh air that’s FREE of allergens and pollutants. If your baby struggles with asthma or other breathing-related conditions, installing a good purifier in their room may help.

4. Do Air Purifiers Remove PM2.5?

Yes, they do. According to the EPA, a True HEPA filter must have a clearly demonstrable ability to filter out at least 99.97% of airborne particles as small as 0.3 microns. Everyone focuses on 0.3-micron particles because they’re the most penetrating particle size (MPPS). Smaller particles, as small as 0.1 microns, should actually be easier to remove, the EPA adds.

In fact, HYPERHEPA filters such as those used by IQAir Purifiers are advertised as having the capability to filter down to 0.01 microns.

5. Do Air Purifiers Remove Smoke?

Yes, they do. According to the EPA, smoke particles are in the 0.4 to 0.7-micron range. And since the best True HEPA air purifiers can purify impure indoor air in the baby nursery down to 0.1 microns, it means these portable room purifiers can (and do) help with smoke.

4. Will an Air Purifier Prevent My Baby from COVID-19?

Theoretically, yes. According to NCBI, the COVID-19 virus measures 0.125 microns. Since True HEPA filters can purifier air down to 0.01 micron, they can (theoretically) remove these viruses. But is the virus even airborne? In July 2020, a bunch of scientists wrote to the World Health Organization arguing that the virus is airborne. Also, scientists in August 2020 asserted that the virus is airborne after finding these germs floating in hospital air.

In the end, an air purifier ISN’T a medical device. It’d be unwise to rely on this machine wholly to shield your baby from the deadly virus.  Instead, you should view an air purifier as part of a more comprehensive strategy to combat indoor air pollution.

Editor’s Note:

The author of this section isn’t a doctor. Nothing they say here or elsewhere should be taken as express medical advice. For advice about viruses and other pathogens, please talk to your doctor.

5. What’s Better for a Baby, a Humidifier or Purifier?

If the nursery’s main problem is low humidity rather than bad air, get a good baby room humidifier. But if there’s a gazillion of trouble-packed air contaminants darting in there and humidity isn’t an issue, your baby would be better off with a purifier rather than a humidifier. And if you’re waging war against air polluting particulates and low humidity, buy a purifier-humidifier combo.

Both an air purifier and a humidifier improve indoor air quality. However,  they don’t equally focus on the same air quality improvement areas. While a humidifier mainly vaporizes or humidifies and sometimes warms the air (some options), an air purifier mainly extracts potentially harmful air pollutants.

Some humidifiers also infuse essential oils into spaces, and so do some air purifiers. Few air purifiers diffuse essential oils, though. The kind of device your nursery needs depends on the specific problems you’re looking to address.

6. What’s a Good Price Point for a Baby Room Air Purifier?

A good budget air purifier can cost as little as $90, and the Levoit LV-H132 is a good option at that price point. Mid-range devices stay within the $150 to $300 price range. In this pricing band, you can expect a pretty decent air purifier that combines raw air cleaning potency with great design and quality parts.

Some mid-range air cleaners pack as many features (and sometimes more) as high-end choices. Premium-level choices such as the Dyson TP04 cost somewhere North of $500. But they amount to way more technology than most deals boast.

7. What Are the Best Air Purifier Brands for Nurseries?

The best air purifier brands when it comes to baby-friendly devices are Honeywell, Levoit, Dyson, Medify, and a few others. But note that some options from these brands may generate ozone, a lung irritant. So, be sure you understand whether or not the device in question gives off ozone and has the CARB certification.

Author: Esther Moni

I'm Esther Moni, a proud stay-at-home mom and a psychology graduate of the United States International University (USIU) . I hate it when anyone calls me a housewife, because what does housewife even mean? Being a mother of two babies and a pup, Bailey, as well as being Ricky's wife tires me to no end, but I still manage a smile at the end of it all. And when my boys aren't done doing mischief, I juggle writing a post on parenting or baby gear performance for this blog and running my little counselling office based out in Nairobi. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/esther.moni/">Visit my Facebook profile here</a>, and this is my <a href="https://ke.linkedin.com/in/esther-moni-3841b573/">LinkedIn profile</a>, and here's my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKcVb3NNDrURDH8C0KiAE1g/">nascent youtube channel.

Esther Moni

I'm Esther Moni, a proud stay-at-home mom and a psychology graduate of the United States International University (USIU) . I hate it when anyone calls me a housewife, because what does housewife even mean? Being a mother of two babies and a pup, Bailey, as well as being a wife tires me to no end, but I still manage a smile at the end of it all. And when my boys aren't done doing mischief, I juggle writing a post on parenting or baby gear performance for this blog and running my little counselling office based out in Nairobi. Visit my Facebook profile here, and this is my LinkedIn profile, and here's my nascent youtube channel.