8 Tips for Placing an Air Purifier

If you’re looking for something that will help you breathe easier, then an air purifier is an excellent addition to your home. An air purifier will get rid of toxins, allergens, and pollutants, and it will sanitize the air.

You need to know how to get the most out of an air purifier. When you correctly place the air purifier, you can increase its efficiency. In this article, we will share a couple of tips on placing an air purifier.

An air purifier in a living room representing good placing of an air purifier.

1. Place It Near the Source of the Odor

The air purifier can fix the problem more quickly if it’s closer to the source of the problem. The best way to keep your indoor air clean is by placing an air purifier in the room that has the dirtiest air, as close to the source of pollution as possible. For instance, if you have a designated indoor smoking room, the air purifier will be much more effective if you place it in that room.

2. Keep It Off the Ground

Air circulation indoors has two specific directions. The first one is vertical, the air moves from floor to ceiling, based on a slight difference in temperature, and the second one is horizontal, for instance, from door to door. Air that is hotter moves towards the ceiling.

By placing an air purifier a few feet off the ground, besides exposing your air purifier to horizontal air movement, you will also capture the vertical indoor air movement. Ideally, your air purifier should be placed 3 to 5 feet off the ground, and the best possible position for it is to mount it on the wall. You can also place it on a piece of furniture, such as a dresser.

3. Avoid Corners

You will prevent your air purifier from effectively purifying the air by placing an air purifier in a corner since this is the place where the airflow is the lowest.

The reason why corners are the worst location to put your air purifier in is that most air purifiers have an intake near the front of the machine, and you want it to have access to the many airborne particles that have run rampant and be able to see the whole room.

4. Keep Coverage in Mind

The area of coverage of your air purifier should be kept in mind when you’re deciding where to place it. For instance, if your air purifier can purify only 200 feet, then it’s probably not a good idea to place it in a huge living room.

The same thing applies in the opposite situation, even though the effects aren’t as bad if you do it this way. If the coverage area of your air purifier is 1200 square feet, don’t put it into a smaller bedroom.

5. It Works Best Alone

If you think that opening windows and doors and letting in some fresh air might help your air purifier, you’re wrong. By doing this, you will erase all of the work that the air purifier is doing.

By opening doors or windows, you will be letting in outdoor air that contains particles that the air purifier is actively trying to remove. The air purifier will be most effective when all the windows and doors are shut since this will allow it to clean the air without any interference.

6. Avoid Places with High Humidity

Humidity means heavier air. This is a problem for air purifiers because humid air can reduce the capacity of the filters, and the air purifier will need more energy to create airflow with heavy air.

A location that would be a bad placement for an air purifier is the bathroom since the humidity caused by showering can strain the air purifier’s capacity. Moreover, the moisture will be absorbed by the filters inside the air purifier, which will result in shorter filter life.

In case you have a humidifier in the same room as an air purifier, make sure that they are located on opposite sides of the room and that the humidifier is working on a lower setting.

7. Keep Away from Electronic Devices

One thing that doesn’t impede airflow, but you should be careful about, is the presence of electronic devices near your air purifier. The function of the air purifier can be harmed by things like a TV, microwave, or stereo.

By putting your air purifier close to other electronics that work on the same wavelength, it can actually cause interference for both of the electronics. The best solution is to avoid placing the air purifier near electronic devices and keep a minimum of 5 feet between them.

8. Move It Around

Air purifiers are portable, which means that you can easily move them around. When it’s time to rest, you can locate your air purifier in your bedroom an hour before bedtime. During the daytime, you can place it in the living room and watch some TV while breathing clean and fresh air.

By moving the air purifier around, you can effectively increase its access to polluted indoor air.

Final Thoughts

Many of us invest in air purifiers hoping to keep air pollution, allergens, and germs at the door. As you can see, it all comes down to where you place the air purifier since you increase its efficiency when you place it correctly.

We hope that our tips have helped you find the perfect location for your air purifier!


Do you want to know the quality of the air you breathe? Download AirCare – our free mobile app that tracks air pollution from your pocket, and check out the AirCare blog!

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