If you’re heading off to college this fall, there are certain pieces of equipment you should get that won’t be standard in your dorm room. One piece of equipment you may want is a good-quality air purifier.
There are plenty of different models of air purifiers available, so finding one that suits your needs and budget shouldn’t be difficult. Plus, you should be able to find one that won’t take up too much space.
Below, we look at five purifiers to help you find the best air purifier for dorm living. We also offer some advice that will prove helpful, so you choose the right one for your needs.
5 of the Best Air Purifiers for Dorm Room Living
1. Best Air Purifier Under $100: Levoit Core 300 Air Purifier
If your budget for buying such equipment for your college dorm room is quite tight, consider getting the LEVOIT Core 300 Air Purifier. It’s a good air purifier that offers real value for the money.
Just as with any other LEVOIT air purifier, this purifier uses their trademarked VortexAir technology and comes with a CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) of 141.
The LEVOIT air purifier is a powerful compact unit, with a 360-degree air intake facility. Plus, it includes a 3-stage filtration system, which involves an H13 HEPA filter for greater efficiency.
Measuring only 14.2 by 8.7 inches is ideal for placing in a dorm room where limited space is available. It can also be freestanding on the floor or, if you wish, a desktop air purifier.
What We Like About This Model:
- The air purifier comes with excellent performance for an affordable option.
- This well-made little purifier works well in a medium-sized college dorm room.
- When it’s in sleep mode, it’s a quiet purifier.
- It’s a compact size, suitable for use as a desktop air purifier.
- It comes with an indicator to tell you when pre-filter or carbon filters need replacing.
What We Don´t Like About This Model:
- It doesn’t come with smart features (such as auto mode) on the control panel.
- It doesn’t come with extra features, such as an LED display to let you know what the current air quality is.
2. Best Easy-to-Use Air Purifier: Germ Guardian AC4825E HEPA Air Purifier
If you’re looking for an air purifier to take with you to college for use in your room, look no further than the Germ Guardian AC4825E HEPA Air Purifier.
This purifier is very easy to use, and even though it doesn’t have advanced control panel features, it is still a popular dorm room air purifier. It comes at an excellent value for the money.
Although it only has three speeds available, it’s still a 3-in-1 HEPA air purifier. This means it uses three different methods, including a UV-C light, to help clean the air in your dorm room. This is a great feature to have as it helps effectively kill mold spores and germs.
It can be used in rooms that measure up to 153 square feet.
What We Like About This Model:
- It comes with AHAM verification and is energy certified.
- It includes a True HEPA filter and a UV-C light for killing germs: it’ll meet your air cleaning needs, especially if you or those you live with suffer from asthma or allergies.
- It comes with a 3-year warranty.
- The Germ Guardian has extra features, such as indicators to tell you when filters and the UV-C light need replacing.
What We Don´t Like About This Model:
- The position of the UV-C light is bad.
- It doesn’t include a sleep mode function.
- It could include a better quality charcoal filter, as the current one isn’t great at removing air contaminants.
- The original filters for this are expensive.
3. Best Air Purifier for Daily Use: Pure Enrichment® PureZone™ Air Purifier
Are you looking for a dorm room air purifier that can be left to its own devices? One that you can leave running, even when you’re at your lectures?
Let’s suggest the Pure Enrichment® PureZone™ Air Purifier. The compact design of this model means it’s ideal for use in small spaces, yet can still remove unpleasant smells and airborne particles in a room measuring up to 300 square feet.
It comes with several settings that’ll allow it to meet all your purifying needs. If you use it daily, you´ll find the HEPA filter is more than adequate at removing unwanted items from the air in your room, via the 3-speed fan and auto mode feature.
Plus, this purifier comes with the additional feature of a UV-C sanitizing light that’s great for removing airborne germs that are measured in microns in size.
What We Like About This Air Purifier:
- This full-air filter offers excellent performance.
- It’s a convenient compact tower design.
- It’s fitted with an accurate smart sensor, providing better air-cleaning performance.
- Auto mode will adjust the equipment to clean the air effectively.
- A UV-C sanitizing light helps kill off airborne particles and germs that could prove detrimental to your health.
What We Don´t Like About This Air Purifier:
- It can be pretty noisy when you have it running at its highest speed.
- It comes with a low CADR rating.
- The cost to replace filters in this model is high.
4. Best Air Purifier for Use in a Small College Dorm Room: RENPHO 22db HEPA Air Purifier
Is space in your dorm room at college limited, but do you still want to be able to use an air purifier in it?
You may want to consider getting the RENPHO 22dB HEPA air purifier. This is one of the most compact air purifiers available and is ideal for use in small rooms or spaces. This HEPA air purifier can clean the air in a room measuring up to 206 square feet in size.
This model may not come with the same kind of features as some of the other models we review here, but it also makes it easier to use. Like most air purifiers, you’ll find that the controls are placed on the top of this model.
Along with the HEPA filter, it also comes with a pre-filter and activated carbon filters. All of this helps to remove as many particles from the air as possible to make it as clean as possible.
What We Like About This Model:
- It comes with four different fan speeds.
- It’s fitted with a HEPA filter that helps to improve indoor air quality, even on the lowest setting.
- The purifier uses a three-stage filtration system that can remove larger particles along with dust, cigarette smoke, and smells.
- The sleek design makes it ideal for use in small spaces.
What We Don´t Like About This Model:
- You’ll find, when placed into sleep mode, it’s pretty noisy compared to other similar models.
5. Best Air Purifier for Removing Pollutants: Hathaspace HSP002 Smart Air Purifier
If you want an air purifier that can remove as much as 99% of airborne contaminants from your dorm, look no further than the HATHASPACE HSP002 intelligent air purifier.
This floor model includes five different filters, which air in your room will pass through and get cleaned, even on the lowest setting. It comes with a CADR rating of 450 and can clean air in a room measuring up to 1,500 square feet in size.
The HATHASPACE HSP002 is a powerful piece of equipment, yet it doesn’t produce a great deal of noise on any speed setting.
Like other stylish design models, this one is easy to use as all controls are found on the top of the unit.
What We Like About This Model:
- The primary filter in this model is a medical-grade True HEPA-type filter that easily gets rid of odors such as cigarette smoke.
- It’s 100% ozone-free.
- The purifier is fitted with an air quality sensor and a five-stage filtration system.
- It comes with four different fan speeds that can be activated through the control panel.
- It comes with max, sleep, and auto modes.
- It’s fitted with a washable pre-stage filter.
- It’s energy star certified.
- You get a 5-year warranty with this model.
What We Don´t Like About This Model:
- It doesn’t come with a remote control.
- Filter replacement needs to be carried out often, as the filter life in this model is around 3 to 4 months.
- The cost of replacing the filter assemblies regularly can be as much as $150 a year.
Things to Consider When Buying an Air Purifier
As you’ll be spending quite some time in your dorm room with others, there are certain things you need to consider to choose the right air purifier.
Whether you want help controlling odors, protecting against viruses, or providing relief from allergies, certain factors will come into play. We take a look at these factors below.
1. Is It Built to Last?
You want a purifier you know is going to last for a few years. So ideally, look for purifiers for dorm rooms with a warranty of upwards of 3 years.
2. Is It Able to Remove Unwanted Dorm Room Odors?
Unfortunately, odors tend to linger in college dorms, but if you purchase the right kind of air purifier, this shouldn’t be the case in your room.
Ideally, choose models fitted with HEPA filters or with activated charcoal filters. Both are effective at helping remove dorm room odors, bad smells, gasses, and much more from the air in your dorm room.
3. Will It Eliminate Airborne Viruses and Germs?
The risk of you getting ill at college is relatively high, but installing an air purifier fitted with a standard HEPA filter reduces the risk of this occurring.
An air purifier fitted with a HEPA-type filter can remove upwards of 99.7% of any harmful pollutants from the air in your college room.
Choose an air purifier that’s fitted with a HEPA-type filter that can remove contaminants from the air measuring only 0.1 microns.
4. Can It Capture Allergens?
If you suffer from allergies, you want to ensure that you remove as many 0.3-micron particles as possible that can trigger an attack.
So make sure you read through the specification of each air purifier model to ensure it can remove any air particles, such as pollen, dust, mold, or dander from the air.
5. Key Features to Check
When choosing an air purifier to take with you to college, here are two key features to look for:
- Filter Type – Choose purifiers fitted with HEPA, carbon, or pre-filters.
- CADR Rating – Choose models with as high a Clean Air Delivery Rating as possible, as this will be more effective at cleaning the air.
Getting the Best From an Air Purifier
It is essential to set it up and operate an air purifier correctly. To get the best from it, make sure any wrappers covering the filters inside have been removed.
Also, place the air purifier in a position that sits at least 18 inches away from any wall or furniture: if you can, place it about midway in a room. Also, it’s important that, when the indicator says the filters need replacing, do so as soon as possible.
Let’s Wrap Things Up
We hope you’ve found this article in which we review five of what we consider to be among the best air purifiers for dorm room living helpful.
As you’ll have seen above, there are many different styles of air purifiers to select from that’ll meet your needs. If you choose one of the models we’ve reviewed in this article, rest assured you’re getting a good-quality air purifier: it’ll be one that’ll help keep the air around you in your dorm room clean.
Plus, by keeping in mind the points we discussed above, you’re sure to find one that meets your requirements and won’t break the bank. Now is the time for you to choose the purifier that’ll be right for you!
