I hate math and so do you, but with a little calculation and a couple hours of research, you can do a great job picking an air filter and weeding out marketing nonsense.
First, the government CADR rating always has three levels that represent different *size* particles. They name them Dust, Pollen, and Smoke to represent big, medium, and tiny particles (of any kind!). The smallest, "Smoke", represent those tiny HEPA particles such as many allergens. Therefore, if you are shopping for a HEPA filter, you should only focus on the Smoke CADR results.
The second thing to know is that the government believes people with bad allergies need air exchanged in the room 4-5x per hour, and non-allergy sufferers 2x per hour, to make it worth it. Anything lower and the particles may fall to the ground on their own, or you may just not feel a difference. (Once they fall, I recommend a vacuum with a HEPA filter such as Miele). Their calculation includes an open door to another room, and results get much better with a closed door, but you still need fresh air so you don’t get overwhelmed with carbon dioxide imbalance so keep your door open a little.
Finally, CADR is calculated on max fan speed. NOBODY uses their air filter on max, lets face it!! In fact, my goal is to run my air filter on low because I know I can totally live with it no problem.
So now begin your shopping. Find the brands you trust or heard good word of mouth, and visit their websites and download their manuals. There you will usually find the CADR listed and the CFM output at different fan speeds. If only one CFM is listed it is for max speed, so you can look at the power use of the fan and calculate the CFM of different speeds proportionately. For example if the low power setting is 1/3 of the max, you are probably getting 1/3 of the advertised CFM on the low fan speed.
Take the CFM output from Smoke listed in the manual and divide it into the cubic feet of your room. The blue air Classic 205 says low fan speed outputs 75 CFM for smoke sized particles. (Again, smoke size are the HEPA particles that matter). My bedroom is 12 x 12 x 8’, so I divide 75 CFM (low output) into (12*12*8) 1152, and I get about 15. This means it takes 15 minutes to clean the air. Per hour, I will therefore get 4 air exchanges. Perfect! I never have to go higher than low fan speed.
Using this method, I discovered the Rabbit Air is totally useless on almost all settings. Of course people will say the low setting is quiet - its not getting the job done whatsoever. It needed a room so small nobody would live in. So make sure to use this formula and guesstimate or calculate the room you will use it in and the speed you will use. Don’t let them trick you! You may need to buy a larger air filter if you want the lower speeds to be practical. Some brands are pure marketing, and are useless on low speeds.
Finally, the filter replacement usually follows the same rule of max fan speed and 24/7 use. Blue Air says I need to replace it in 6 months. Since I run mine 12 hours per day (overnight) on low, I can calculate the proportion. 75 CFM is 35% of the highest setting 220 CFM, so running it 24/7 would mean I don’t change the filter for about 17 months. Since I will run it half the day, I don’t change it for 35 months! Sounds right; if you google for when to change HEPA filters it says they “typically” need to be changed every 3-5 years. Boom. Saved myself a fortune.
So far, the Blue Air is working great and has a smooth quiet sound. I will give it 5 stars if nothing goes wrong over time.
Hopefully this helps you. Do your own due diligence and good luck
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Update : After a year it is working the same as when I bought it so I moved to 5 stars. The app sometimes causes some trouble. I do not like companies that make you connect to the internet because they scrape your data. I believe the EULA says they upload your data to their servers which likely means it gets in giant correlative databases and sell it to unseen third parties, which is the basic business plan of Silicon Valley. For example, maybe people who live in Los Angeles who have their air filter turn on at bedtime who also recently bought fancy cheese are more likely to own a Tesla. This is the how Google and Facebook work and anyone who scrapes your data. I cannot be sure Blue Air does its well known companies are dying to get into your house (Google purchased Nest for this reason).
I also wish I bought the smokestop filter because many times toxic smells came up such as weed killer accidentally used outside etc.
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From the manufacturer
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Sleep Without DisruptionSleep without disruption with noise-levels no louder than a whisper on low speed (32 dB) and equivalent to the noise level of rainfall on high (56 dB) |
Lasting PerformanceBlueair Classic air purifiers are made from a durable steel body, built to stand the test of time. |
Intuitive DesignFrom the easy to use control dial, you can select from 3 different fan speeds. |
Certifications and AwardsENERGY STAR rated and independently verified by AHAM for a CADR: Smoke/155 cfm, Pollen/155 cfm, and Dust/155 cfm in 240 ft² room. Note 1: Certification Intertek 2016, 102274086CRT-005b. Note 2: AHAM verification, 2018. Note 3: Energy Star, 2018. |
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| Classic 205 | Classic 280i | Classic 480i | Classic 605 | Classic 680i | |
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| Customer Reviews |
1,590
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| Price | $330.49 | — | $370.42 | — | $315.36 |
| Suggested Room Size | 279 sq. ft. | 279 sq. ft. | 430 sq. ft. | 698 sq. ft. | 698 sq. ft. |
| Air Exchanges per hour | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Air Quality Indicator | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| WiFi/ Alexa Connectivity | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dimensions | 27 x 17 x 8 in | 27 x 17 x 8 in | 23 x 20 x 11 in | 26 x 20 x 13 in | 26 x 20 x 13 in |
| Casters | ✓ | ✓ |
Videos
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3 Month Review from a Moms Perspective
Reviews with Carissa
Focus on sustainability
Sustainable, Swedish design
Inspired by our Swedish heritage, sustainability and quality are at the heart of everything we do. It drives us to develop products that exceed industry standards for performance without being hard on the environment. We use materials like galvanized steel and recyclable plastics, design our filters to be recycled and ensure all Blueair purifiers are ENERGY STAR rated for energy efficiency. Please check your local recycling facilities for availability.
Compare with similar items
This Item  Blueair BLUEAIR Air Purifier for Allergy Hay Fever Reduction in Large Rooms, HEPASilent Technology with WIFI features ALEXA Compatible, Removes 99.97% Pet Dander Pollen Mold Dust Viruses, Classic 605, White |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | — | -20% $279.97 List: $349.99 | -10% $89.99 List: $99.99 | $79.98 | -7% $259.00 Typical: $279.00 | -6% $159.99 List: $169.99 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16 | Get it as soon as Friday, May 17 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Easy to use | ||||||
| Noise level | ||||||
| Value for money | ||||||
| Sleep mode | ||||||
| Maneuverability | ||||||
| Sold By | — | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Priestley Store | Elevate Your Home | Rippleyacht Media INC |
| filter type | HEPA | Activated Carbon | Activated Carbon | HEPA | HEPA | HEPA |
| floor area | — | 635 square feet | 432 square feet | 986 square feet | 2145 square feet | 1830 square feet |
| control method | application, voice, touch | application | touch | touch | touch | application, remote, touch, voice |
| power source | Ac/dc | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | ac | Corded Electric | AC/DC |
| particle retention size | 0.1 micron | — | — | 0.3 micron | — | 0.3 micron |
| noise level | 32 decibels | 23 decibels | 24 decibels | 24 decibels | — | 24 decibels |
Reviews with images
2nd Blueair. Happy!
I’ve had a Blueair classic 200 series that I got probably 5+ years ago and have run 24 hours a day. It’s quiet even on the high setting in my opinion. From my past job, I would say it’s almost like airplane noise on high. I now added the Wi-Fi capable 480i that I just got today. It must’ve been a return. I got it “like new” for about $100 off in the original packaging, no damage for a fantastic price! It looks like it was never opened just returned so ecstatic about that! So far I’m playing with the auto mode and not sure because I like it to blow usually at medium speed all the time which you can do with but I am just seeing how the auto works. I am seeing that when I cook. It will look like the air quality is bad because of odors and come on hire for a short time, but then return to low which I feel is not as much as I like for a larger room. But it’s probably a matter of me adjusting to it. I opened my trash that I noticed a smelly odor about 15 feet away from my Blueair and the air quality went to moderate from excellent and cleaned the air of the odors and then went back to excellent. Impressed so far but I don’t know if I’ll use the Wi-Fi -it’s very easy to turn off , with holding down the Wi-Fi button and the filter button for about three seconds simultaneously. You can turn it right back on again by pressing the Wi-Fi button. What I really dislike about the Wi-Fi is it tells you you must put in your precise location in order to use all of the functions in the app and if you look at that I do not want my address and name in there and I can see everyone in my city listed that has one of these. so it looks like I probably will not be using all of the Wi-Fi functions. You can connect to Wi-Fi but you can’t use the app without your location??! Sorry I don’t need to be tracked that much! It is almost the same size as my other one but for larger rooms and the filters do look different and are a bit more expensive. But this one also has the carbon which is more expensive for the 200 series than the basic. I noticed some one said in a review that they wish the duo filters were separate, but you can vacuum them out and keep them going a little longer if you want. You can tell by the color when it’s time to exchange-it’s not quite as white and can go towards a gray ,My 200 has been flawless and I’m hoping this newer version will also. This one’s in the living room the other is in the bedroom. I don’t wake up congested when I have it in my room where I used to wake up several times a night and not be able to breathe out of at least one side. I do have a lot of allergies and there’s a lot of pollen in the air where I live now and it keeps my air “excellent“. Better for everyone including the pets! Really glad I finally bit the bullet and got a second one now that I live in a larger place , PS these are heavy metal but that’s a good thing and medical quality.
Top reviews from the United States
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Top reviews from other countries
Akiiki
A great air purifier for chronic allergies.
Reviewed in Canada on December 2, 2022Style: Classic - 205Verified Purchase
Margaret Eslinger and Ralph
ideal unit
Reviewed in Canada on August 23, 2022Style: Classic - 480iVerified Purchase
Michelle MacDonald
Worth the money for asthma sufferers!
Reviewed in Canada on January 9, 2022Style: Classic - 605Verified Purchase
Rbt M
quiet as a kitten
Reviewed in Canada on September 15, 2020Style: Classic - 405Verified Purchase
Roy
Basic yet highly effective.
Reviewed in India on November 21, 2019Style: Classic - 205Verified Purchase
