10 Reliable Air Purifier for Smoke Reviews – Breathe Better in 2024

User Manual

IQAir air purifiers are some of the most highly rated and frequently recommended options out there, and with good reason. The combination of top-level filtration with user-friendly features makes them an ideal choice for tackling a wide array of common air contaminants, including smoke. It’s also highly recommended for allergy sufferers and can help alleviate symptoms for a whole host of breathing-related ailments.

The secret to the HealthPro Plus’ next level filtration is its two-stage process. It first uses a microfiber pre-filter, followed by the standard HEPA filter.

This not only lets it remove more contaminants from the air (nearly 100% of particles as small as .003 microns) it also extends the life of your filters. The way the HealthPro is designed also makes it very efficient, which you can translate to mean less energy use and a quieter operation.

The filters are also triple-sealed so you know no air is going to escape without passing through the filtration system. It also uses charcoal in the filtration, which is very effective at eliminating odors.

Here’s the deal:

The HealthPro Plus is definitely not small or cheap.

The charcoal filtration adds some extra weight, and it’s a solid, sizeable piece of equipment with a fairly industrial look about it. Unlike some of the options on this list, it doesn’t come in a variety of colors or blend in with your home décor.

In terms of price, it’s also going to set you back quite a bit more than what you might expect from a home air purifier.

But, hear us out…

For that extra investment of space and money, though, you’ll get a professional-grade air purifier that will eliminate smoke smells so thoroughly it’s like they were never there, and that’s surprisingly easy to use given the amount of power it puts out.

Features:

• Coverage area: 1,125 square feet
• Operating noise: as low as 25 dB
• Filters: HyperHEPA
• Filter life: Up to 2 years
• Dimensions: 16” X 15” X 28”
• Weight: 35 pounds
• 10-Year Extended Warranty

User Manual

Alen takes its motto of “Pure air for life” seriously.

Their sole focus is on air purifiers and filters, and they’re experts in their field, taking advantage of the most modern technology and quality construction techniques to give consumers a product that will last for years—guaranteed. The limited lifetime warranty that comes on all of their products is proof of their confidence in the quality of their air purifiers.

The Alen BreatheSmart is a powerful air purifier designed to freshen entire rooms, up to 1,100 square feet in just a couple of hours. This makes it a great option for homes with open floor plans, but also gives it the versatility to work for offices, restaurants, and other public environments. It can cover this large area thanks to its super-powered fans, which blow air all the way up to the ceiling and circulating the air in the entire room.

We also liked that the BreatheSmart gives you options. It’s both smart and customizable. If you put it on auto mode, it’ll use its suite of smart sensors to assess and improve the air quality. You can also see the readings for yourself and make adjustments manually. The four different filters that come included give you a range of options, from odor control to allergy relief. The OdorCell filter is especially great for smoke, destroying the odor-causing particles at the molecular level to truly eliminate the smell.

As if that’s not enough…

Alen Air Purifiers are some of the most attractive on the market.

They’re designed with just as much attention to detail on the aesthetic side of the equation as they give to the inner workings. It comes in over a dozen different colors, and the sleek, compact housing will blend right in to any room. If you’re looking for the ultimate in style and functionality, the Alen BreatheSmart should top your list.

Features:

• Color options: 15
• Coverage area: 1,100 square feet
• Operating noise: 41-56 dB
• Power: 105w (120v power supply)
• Filters: HEPA-Pure, HEPA-Silver (Carbon), HEPA-FreshPlus, HEPA-OdorCell
• Filter life: 12 months
• Dimensions: 27”X18”X10”
• Weight: 21 pounds
• Limited Lifetime Warranty

User Manual

A lot of times getting a good value means sacrificing performance, but that’s not the case when you get the PureZone 3-in-1 Air Purifier.

It’s put out by Pure Enrichment, a relatively new company founded with the goal of creative attractive, high-quality air treatment that’s priced in a range anyone can afford. No product demonstrates this mission quite as well as the PureZone Air Purifier, which gives you reliable performance and a solid build.

Unlike some of the other options on this list, the PureZone only uses one filter—but that one filter does the work of three, combining the standard pre-filter, HEPA filter, and carbon filter combination into one product.

You might think this would lower the quality of each filtration level, but that wasn’t our experience. If anything, it just makes the unit easier to maintain, since you won’t have to worry about installing multiple filters, or which filters need to be changed when.

This also lowers the long-term costs of the PureZone, since the replacement filters only cost around twenty dollars apiece.

What’s even better?

The PureZone also has the user-friendly features you’d expect from a more expensive air purifier.

It has an adjustable three-level that gets down to an impressive 30 dB on the lowest setting. It can also be set to shut off automatically after a specified length of time, saving you both power and filter life. The inclusion of a UV light for sanitizing the air is really just the icing on the cake.

Our only minor quibble with this model is that it does have a pretty powerful plastic smell when you first unbox it. This will fade with time and use, but it is unpleasant and somewhat ironic for a piece of equipment designed to get rid of odors.

Having said that…

When it comes to smoke odors and particles, the proven combination of charcoal and HEPA filtration does the trick.

Features:

• Coverage area: 200 square feet
• Operating noise: 30-50 dB
• Power: 60w/50Hz
• Filters: 3-in-1 HEPA filter
• Filter life: 6 months
• Dimensions: 13.5” X 12” X 8”
• Weight: 8.5 pounds
• 5-Year Warranty

User Manual

Honeywell makes a wide array of products to improve your home, with a focus on smart products that integrate advanced programming and intelligent design into common household tools. They’re perhaps best known for their line of smart thermostats, but their appliances are designed with the same attention to detail. Their line of air purifiers gives you an option for every room size, all of which sell at a very reasonable price, considering the build quality and functionality.

The True HEPA Allergen Remover is aimed at eliminating particle pollution—in other words, the microscopic contaminants that are 10 microns or smaller.

These tiny particles are too small to see but can make a big impact on the quality of your air. Since smoke particles are some of the smallest contaminants, this makes the Honeywell Allergen Remover especially useful for smoke control.

The Honeywell Allergen Remover is focused on contaminant removal rather than odor control. You’ll probably notice that your air smells fresher because it’s more pure, but it will be less effective at removing set-in odors than some of the pricier models on the list.

For fresh smoke, though, the strong fan operation will take care of it easily. This is especially true when it’s on Turbo mode and can purify the air in a living room or bedroom up to five times every hour.

In our experience…

This isn’t the most powerful purifier—but it just might be the easiest to use.

You don’t need any special tools to change the filter and the controls are simple and easy to read. There’s even an auto shut-off feature that will power the purifier down after a specified length of time. You really can just set it and forget it, and you’ll notice a difference in your air pretty much as soon as you start using it.

Features:

• Color options: Black or white
• Coverage area: 465 square feet
• Cleaning levels: Germ, General, Allergen, Turbo
• Filters: HRF-AP1 pre-filter, HRF-R3 filters
• Filter life: 12 months
• Dimensions: 9” X 20” X 22”
• Weight: 21 pounds
• 5 Year Limited Warranty

User Manual

The AeraMax line from Fellowes features an option for pretty much every room size and user situation. While they’re all built to the same quality standard and feature a similar range of features, we’ve decided to highlight the AeraMax 290 here because we feel like it strikes the best balance between power and value.

Fellowes designed the AeraMax 290 to stand up to continuous use. It’s designed not just to remove odors and contaminants from the air but also to maintain your air quality in the long-term, making it a good choice for regular in-home smokers.

There are four fan speed levels ranging from Low to Turbo. An adjustable fan is a feature you’ll find on most air purifiers, but maybe our favorite thing about the AeraMax is that it uses on-board sensors to adjust the fan automatically, saving you energy while still keeping your air clean and fresh.

If you do want more control, you have the option. Lights at the top of the display panel will tell you the current quality of your air, and there are controls below to toggle auto mode on or adjust the fan speed manually.

The AeraMax also has a high performance mode for air quality danger times, great for seasonal allergy sufferers or those who live in wildfire-prone regions.

The filtration in the AeraMax uses a four-stage process. There’s an activated carbon filter for odor control and a HEPA filter for capturing airborne pollutants, with antimicrobial treatment for both the filters and the air.

The filters will need to be changed every few months, but there’s otherwise no maintenance to worry about. If you want absolutely pure air and don’t want to have to think about it, this is the ideal air purifier for you.

Features:

• Coverage area: 600 feet
• Power: 6-86 watts (120v)
• Filters: Antimicrobial True HEPA, Carbon
• Filter life: 12 months (HEPA filter), 3 months (Carbon filter)
• Dimensions: 28” X 18” X 12”
• Weight: 15 pounds
• 3-Year Limited Warranty

User Manual

The HealthPro Plus reviewed above is the top of the line as far as what IQAir has to offer, but it’s not your only option from the company if you’re shopping for a great air purifier for smoke. The HealthPro Compact is from the same product line and gives you the same medical-grade filtration power that’s perfect for allergy and asthma sufferers, with a few key differences.

Now when this model says it’s compact, that’s relative to the other options in the HealthPro line. It doesn’t include the charcoal filter that you’ll find on the other HealthPro air purifiers, which makes it about ten pounds lighter.

The dimensions are also slightly smaller, making it less obtrusive in your space, although it’s definitely not what you would call small.

The flip side of this is that it only uses two filters, instead of the three that are on the HealthPro Plus. The pre-filter and HEPA filter are still enough to clean smoke from the air and remove most of the odor, but won’t be as effective against heavy smoke smell as the larger versions.

Having said that, if you’re getting the air purifier to remove irritating particles from the air, this will work just as well as the other IQAir models.

Of course, one of the first differences you’ll notice between the HealthPro Compact and the other options in the product line is the price. It’s about a hundred dollars cheaper than the HealthPro Plus—a pretty significant difference.

If you don’t need the deep cleaning power you’ll get from a charcoal filter, this is a great way to get professional filtration for an impressive value.

Features:

• Color options: White, light gray
• Coverage area: 1,238 square feet
• Operating noise: as low as 25 dB
• Power: 50-60 Hz (120v)
• Filters: HyperHEPA H12/13, PreMax pre-filter
• Filter life: Up to 2 years
• Dimensions: 24” X 16” X 15”
• Weight: 25 pounds
• 10-Year Extended Warranty

User Manual

A lot of air purifiers claim to be compact, but the LV-H132 from Levoit really means it. At just over a foot tall, it’s the smallest air purifier you’re likely to find, light and compact enough to use on a bedside table. This makes it the perfect choice for dorm rooms and apartments.

Don’t be fooled by its small size, either.

It can provide powerful multi-stage filtration on par with models that are twice the size (and price).

The LV-H132 uses a three-stage filtration system. It starts with a preliminary fine filter, followed by a true HEPA filter, and finishing with an active carbon layer to break down stubborn odors. It also has three different fan speeds, so you can set the level of filtration that you need.

It’s an ideal option for a bedroom, not just because of its size and near-silent operation, but also because it includes a night light feature.

As you might guess from the small size of this model, it’s not designed to take care of big rooms. If you want to cleanse the air in a space larger than your typical bedroom or home office, you won’t be able to do it with the LV-H132 (at least not if you want to do it all at once).

For smaller spaces, though, it’s a perfect, unobtrusive way to remove contaminants and eliminate odors. It’s also great for regular maintenance of your air, preventing the accumulation of dust, dander, and pollen that can aggravate allergies and lead to congestion.

Since it’s not an ionizer—and therefore doesn’t emit any ozone—you can breathe easier knowing it’s perfectly safe to use in any environment

Features:

• Color options: White or black
• Power: 60 Hz (120v)
• Filters: HEPA (LV-H132-RF)
• Filter life: 6 months
• Dimensions: 8.5” X 8.5” X 14.5”
• Weight: 6.5 pounds
• 1-Year Warranty

User Manual

Charcoal filtration is key for getting the ultimate in odor reduction, whether those odors are from pets, smoke, or the food you cook. While most air purifiers with a carbon filter are in a higher price point, you don’t have to spend a fortune to take advantage of their smell-killing power.

This 3-in-1 air purifier from GermGuardian gives you access to that next level filtration power for less than a hundred bucks.

The activated charcoal used in the GermGuardian Air Purifier is in the pre-filter stage. This is also the area that captures pet hair, dust bunnies, and other larger particles that can reduce your home’s air quality. Considering the pollutant levels in indoor air can be 5 to 10 times those of air outdoors, this can really help you to breathe easier.

But that’s just part of the story…

The GermGuardian doesn’t just filter your air, it also purifies it. It titanium dioxide activated by UV light to kill micro-organisms that are lurking unseen in your air. This could be things like germs, viruses, and bacteria, including common infections and illnesses like the flu or staph, as well as mold spores and other typical household ailments.

This air purifier is designed for use in small and medium-sized rooms. It’s not going to work as well in large spaces as some of the heavier-duty options on the list, but it’s also much smaller—less than ten pounds, with a convenient tower design that makes it easy to move from room to room.

If you’re looking for an all-purpose air purifier to remove smoke from an apartment or small home, the GermGuardian can fill that role, and at an exceptional value.

Features:

• Cord length: 6 feet
• Filters: HEPA (B/FLT4825)
• Filter life: 6-9 months
• Dimensions: 7” X 10” X 21.5”
• Weight: 7 pounds
• Limited Warranty

User Manual

Tower-style air purifiers are great in a lot of ways. They’re convenient, unobtrusive, and effective at treating the air around them. Their range, though, does tend to be more limited—they’ll need to be moved around a few times to treat all the air even in medium-sized rooms.

That’s not the case with Environ Ionic Pro Turbo Ionic Air Purifier, whose super-powered fan can quickly clean the air in rooms as big as 500 feet.

This would be the perfect air purifier for an office building because it’s efficient, relatively quiet, and doesn’t require much maintenance. These same qualities make it a great choice for a living room, game room, kitchen, home gym, or other more open spaces in the home.

It’s very effective at removing smoke odors quickly, and it can remove about 99% of the contaminants from your air. Like most air purifiers in the price range it captures microscopic particles as small as .3 microns, which will remove most (if not all) of the irritants in smoke.

The Environ Ionic Pro promises absolutely silent operation, and it is exceptionally quiet—as long as it’s clean. The more dust that accumulates on the blade, the noisier it will be.

While this does make it easy to tell when it’s time to clean your machine, it can also be kind of annoying if you don’t have time to get to it right that moment.

On that note...

While the collection blade is easy to access and remove, the process of cleaning it is more involved than simply swapping out the filters on other models.

Considering how bulky and expensive other filters can be, though, it’s a worthwhile trade in our book, especially if you’re looking for an air purifier that’s a bit more eco-friendly.

Features:

• Coverage area: 500 square feet
• Filters: Reusable collection blade
• Dimensions: 7.5” X 28.5” X 9.5”
• Weight: 8 pounds
• 1-Year Limited Warranty

User Manual

The Blue Pure from Blueair is, in our opinion, the most stylish air purifier you can buy. The two-color retro-inspired design will add a nice mod-inspired décor touch to any room. While it is a fairly large air purifier—about the size of a typical end table—it’s nice enough to look at that you probably won’t mind the size. It’s unobtrusive otherwise, too, with a fairly quiet operation and low energy usage—only as much as a 60-watt bulb, even on its highest setting.

The only down-side of the stylish look of this air purifier is the corresponding hike in price. You can get a similar performance from air purifiers that cost half as much. The Blue Pure does give you a slightly larger coverage area than most cheaper options, but you’re definitely paying for the aesthetic appeal more than you are for the expanded function.

That’s not to say this isn’t a good air purifier. It uses a similar carbon filtration to other options on the list, and is very effective at eliminating smoke odors and removing microscopic particles from the air you breathe. It’s also a very efficient model, both in terms of operating speed and energy use. It’s Energy Star rated and 60% more efficient than most air purifiers, using about as much energy as a light bulb even on its highest setting.

What it ultimately comes down to is how much you care about the look of your air purifier. If you want it to be something you’re proud to have on display, the Pure Blue is a good choice. If looks don’t matter, you can save yourself a couple hundred bucks and get similar performance from another brand.

Features:

• Color options: Blue, orange, gray, pink, black
• Coverage area: 600 square feet
• Filters: Re-usable pre-filter, activated carbon filter
• Filter life: 6 months
• Dimensions: 13” X 13” X 28”
• Weight: 18 pounds
• 5-Year Limited Warranty