If you’re looking for a way to minimize allergies at the office you came to the right place. In this brief review, we’ll look at Holmes’ desktop purifier. It is equipped with a HEPA filter and ionizer. But, is it the best desktop purifier? Read on to find out.
For some standard home air purifiers can be loud and bulky. Lucky for you, there are hundreds of models of desktop air purifiers. In a small home office or even a cubicle, you create better air quality and fresh scent at the same time. Before you jump on Google to find the best desktop air purifier we have a few suggestions. We’re also going to give you a quick breakdown on how to pick one. And, our pick for the best desktop purifier will provide a baseline for comparison.
It may surprise you to hear that the EPA rates our indoor air as five times more contaminated than outdoor air. Pollutants get trapped in our carpet fibers, float in through tiny cracks in our windows and are compounded on by dust and dander. While an initial office cleaning frenzy may help your allergy and asthma symptoms initially, you may ultimately want to invest in one of these little devices to alleviate allergy reactions.
What Am I Looking For?
To determine the be air purifier for your room you first need to determine what exactly is your purpose for the purifier, is it solely for odor elimination, are you looking to rid the room of pollen, or is it destroying germs you are after? For the first two needs buying a purifier with HEPA type filters is going to be necessary, and for extra fine particles, you are going to want a purifier that has an ionizer option.
HEPA is a filter that uses air circulation through a very fine mesh to sort out and trap small particles through the air; pet hair and dander, dust mites, and even smoke get collected in the filter allowing you to take deeper, cleaner breaths.
For your last potential need, germ elimination, check out the purifiers that use ultraviolet technology. It zaps away even the smallest of bacteria to keep you feeling healthy and breathing clean confident air happily while working away at the office.
You are also going to want to look at size, both the size of the room and the air purifier, each device will have room dimensions listed and for your machine to really clean you are going to want to get the right specs. Luckily most devices now are set to be ultra quiet, so you can get on with your work day without being disturbed, larger models do not necessarily have this feature, so keep in mind the bigger you go the louder it may be. Finally, when you are shopping around look for purifiers that have different settings so you can turn down the purifier when you are out of the office to preserve energy.
How Do They Work?
Now that you know what to look for you may be wondering how does one of these devices actually work to clean your air. A desktop purifier uses ultra fine filters to sort out harmful particles and trap them in the filter. The small noise coming from a desktop purifier is the fan. It moves the air through the filter. On one side all the nasty particles. And on the exhaust side… clean air for your enjoyment.
So what is the deal with the ionizer? A desktop purifier with a built-in ionizer, which without getting too into the science, emits negatively charged ions which then find dander and other small debris that is positively charged and latches on. This once microscopic debris became large enough to be trapped in the filter. Meaning that even the most difficult allergies to deal with can be eased by a purifier with a good filter and the addition of an ionizer.
Best Desktop Air Purifier
Blue Pure 411
The Blue Pure line from BlueAir is one of the most recent additions to a great family of purifiers. However, unlike the strictly business appearance of the traditional BlueAir purifier… these look as good as they work. For desktop duty we like the compact 411 model. It scrubs the air you breathe with the help of activated carbon and a HEPA filter.
Pro:
So the big news here is that this purifier is backed by one of the most respected names in the industry. They’ve been making great purifiers for quite some time and now BlueAir is creeping into the affordable and effective niche.
Next, you have some solid stats and it’s ozone safe. That is a big deal at this price point. If you’ve looked at a few already you’ll know that more affordable units typically have gimmicks installed like UV lights and mediocre ionizers. But this purifier is gimmick free… just like it’s older siblings. It’s rated to work well in rooms that range in size from 100 to 170 square feet. Which is perfect for most small offices or cubicles.
Con:
The main con that comes to mind is that the colorful palette isn’t going to fit in well with many interiors. However, since it’s pretty small it shouldn’t be very noticeable. That is if you don’t like the way it looks. We think it looks great and has a quality appearance that you typically don’t find at this price point. And, if you really hate the colors… you can buy a new prefilter and completely change the purifiers appearance.
On the highest fan speed it can be a little loud, but to be honest we rarely use any purifier on its highest setting. And, unless your desk is next to a dirty factory, above a smelly restaurant, or in a cigar bar… the quieter settings will work just fine. The other minor con is that the prefilter can be just a little tight. But, that taught fit is what gives the purifier it’s clean look… so we’d rather suck it up with a tight cover than have to look at a poorly tailored sack wrapped around the purifier.
Holmes HAP242-NUC
This purifier features an optional ionizer. But its best feature is a small HEPA filter. This tiny device filters out even the smallest of dander and dust particles to help with allergies and asthma. Down to .3 microns (the hardest size to remove). Holmes went a step further with this small desktop filter and enhanced it with Arm & Hammer to knock out any nasty odors in your office. This little purifier is excellent for rooms 10’ x 11’ or 109 square feet and has a three-year limited warranty.
Pro:
What do we love about this purifier? Not only is it swift and small the machine comes with three settings making it user and environmentally friendly. At its incredibly reasonable price, it freshens the air of any small home or work office without disturbing your work. Unlike some desktop filter that are difficult to find replacements, these have common filters to swap out. It obliterates smells quickly, and helps people who suffer from allergies and asthma. Whether it’s pets or pollen, you can breathe easier with this little machine whirring away by your side.
Con:
There are a few things that we are not big fans of when it comes to this particular filter. Unfortunately, customers reported that they ha to return their purifier. Most frequently due to a persistent rattling noise on medium and high settings. That being said, the company does honor its three-year warranty and will replace the unit free of cost. Finally, they can be a bit difficult to clean. When you own a purifier you are going to want to clean and replace the filters regularly. It is easy with this machine, but a deep clean of the entire machine can be difficult.
Recommendation
For small offices and rooms, either machine will do an adequate job. If it were our money we’d still opt for something a little more effective. Something that sits on the floor and moves a lot of air. But, finding something else this small with a HEPA filter is difficult. So if you have your heart set on desktop we’d go with the Blue Pure 411 (or one of its slightly larger siblings).
The Holmes is much more affordable and is probably the best option at its price point. Just make sure don’t toss the box in case it is too loud. This machine is meant to be whisper silent, so any deviation is a malfunction.