Best air purifiers to buy for wildfire smoke and more, according to experts

FOX Weather meteorologist Marissa Torres has the latest on the impact from Canadian wildfires on the Northeast's air quality and visibility on 'Your World.'

As wildfire smoke from northeastern Canada continues to drift to numerous cities in the United States, precautious Americans are actively searching for air purifiers that they can use for current and future air quality alerts.

On Google, the term "best air purifier" has been highly searched in Washington, D.C., New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Hartford and New Haven, and other major metros in the northeast since Wednesday, June 7, according to data collected by Google Trends, a search engine analytics platform.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a "poor air quality alert" for parts of New England (Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island) on Wednesday, which was followed by similar announcements made by various city-level environmental and health agencies.

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"Wildfire smoke can rise more than 10 miles in the air and be carried hundreds of miles by wind currents," Dr. Joseph Alton and Advanced Practice Nurse Amy Alton, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said in a joint statement provided to Fox News Digital.

"Over 100 million people are thought to be at risk for health issues from inhalation of pollutants," the medical preparedness duo continued.

The Altons note that the U.S. Air Quality Index is rated on a 0 to 500 scale and a reading "over 200 is considered very unhealthy."

Children, pregnant women, seniors and people with respiratory or cardiovascular problems, like asthma or heart disease, are most at risk for medical complications from inhaling wildfire smoke, according to the husband-and-wife medical team.

As of Friday, air quality levels improved across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic and there are still "some pockets of unhealthy air remaining" from Canadian wildfires, according to FOX Weather and the FOX Forecast Center.

As smoke from the Canadian wildfires make its ways to the U.S. and make northeastern skies hazy, Americans are searching for air purifiers to ensure their indoor air quality declines. (Atmofizer/Clorox Home Appliances/LG Electronics)

Air purifiers with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters can help reduce harmful air particulates that have made their way indoors from wildfire smoke, according to Ready.gov, an emergency preparedness website run by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

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While there are countless air purifiers on the market, here are six options that are recommended by air filtration experts and medical professionals for wildfire smoke.

Retail price: $699

Josh Helman, of Tampa, Florida, a board-certified lifestyle emergency medicine doctor who's also a board member of Atmofizer, an air purification device company, recommends the brand's A500 Model One air purifier because it utilizes agglomeration technology.

The air purifying agglomeration process works by taking "the smallest of particles in smoke" and making the nanoparticles larger, so they can be captured and broken down by the machine, Helman explained.

The Atmofizer A500 Model One retails for $699. (Atmofizer)

"As a physician focused on my patients' health and wellness, I’m very aware of the damage and deleterious effects that the ultra-fine particles in wildfire smoke have on the brain, blood and a person's overall health," he told Fox News Digital. "It's extremely hard to capture the smallest of nanoparticles."

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The Atmofizer A500 Model One is currently on sale for $399.

Retail price: $149.99 to $169.99

Nicole Backus, of Richmond, Virginia, who's a home environment product and brand manager for Hamilton Beach and Clorox Home Appliances, suggests shoppers consider the air purifiers that are available at Clorox.

"The Clorox Large Room Air Purifier includes an air quality sensor that continuously monitors your indoor air quality," Backus told Fox News Digital. "The three-layer True HEPA filter captures 99.97% of allergens and fine particulates, such as smoke, and it's Clean Air Delivery Rated (CADR) to remove smoke particles from 206 cubic feet of air per minute when operated on the highest fan speed."

The Clorox Large Room True HEPA Air Purifier (without Amazon Alexa) retails for $149.99. (Clorox Home Appliances)

The Clean Air Delivery Rate is a metric that was developed by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) in the 1980s for measuring the performance of residential air purifiers, according to AHAM Verifide, the association's consumer website.

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Two versions of the Clorox Large Room True HEPA Air Purifier are available. The cheaper option, model 11010, which retails for $149.99, isn't designed to work with the Amazon Alexa voice assistant, while the more expensive option, model 11011, works with Alexa and retails for $169.99.

Retail price: $189.99 to $399

Daniel Taylor, of Pennsylvania Township, Illinois, co-founder of The Stock End, a shopping comparison service, told Fox News Digital that his company has noticed that American consumers who are being affected by the "current wildfire situation" are looking for HEPA filters that claim to "remove 99.97% of airborne particles that are 0.3 microns or larger, such as PM2.5."

PM2.5, also known as fine particulate matter: PM2.5 is a type of air pollution that's made up of tiny particles that are equal to or less than 2.5 microns in width, which can get deep into the lungs and cause health problems.

PM10, also known as coarse particulate matter: PM10 is a type of air pollution that's made up of "larger particles" that are generally 10 micrometers or smaller, which can irritate the nose, throat and eyes.

"If you're looking to justify spending higher amounts on purifiers, I would recommend higher-end purifiers such as the Coway Airmega AP-1512HHS ($299) in two situations," Taylor said. "One is where the size of the particle matter in the air is smaller than usual viruses, and two, is if you live in a larger home with minimal airflow."

The air purifiers made by Coway are best suited for households that are in dense industrial areas, according to Taylor.

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Taylor told Fox News Digital that he recommends consumers avoid air purifiers that use ionization because the process indirectly creates ozone gas, which can be harmful in excess. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that ozone gas is a lung irritant.

The Coway Airmega 250 (left) retails for $399 while the Coway Airmega 160 (right) retails for $189.99. Both air purifiers have three-stage filtration, but some of their specs differ. (Coway)

A spokesperson for Coway suggested alternative options from the air purifier brand, including the Coway Airmega 250 ($399) and the Coway Airmega 160 ($189.99), which are both built with a three-stage filtration that reportedly eliminates 99.97% of air particulates.

The Coway Airmega 250 is designed to clean air in rooms as big as 930 square feet while the Coway Airmega 160 is designed to clean air in rooms as big as 214 square feet.

Retail price: $189.99

Tim David, of Huntsville, Alabama, the CEO of Airlucent.com, an online resource for HVAC/Heating/Air Quality issues, recommends the True HEPA Air Purifier from Dayette, an air purifier brand that can be found on Amazon.

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"I really like the Dayette HEPA Air Purifier as it has an H13 HEPA filter with 360-degree suction which pulls in smoky air that is all around it," David told Fox News Digital. "They also have a special filter made specifically for wildfire smoke so that you can get a room up to 1,700 square feet with fresh breathable air again quickly."

H13 HEPA filters are considered medical-grade and can reportedly remove 99.95% of all particles 0.2 microns in diameter, according to Air Quality Engineering, a New York-based panel of air filtration experts.

Retail price: $549

Blerim Billy Marku, of New York City, an associate product manager at LG Electronics, suggests American consumers consider the LG PuriCare AeroTower Air Purifying Fan with True HEPA and UVnano LED for minimizing smoke particles.

The multifunctional air purifier was built with an energy-efficient true HEPA filter that can clean air in rooms that are up to 818 square feet by capturing 99.97% of fine dust particles, according to Marku.

The LG PuriCare AeroTower Air Purifying Fan with True HEPA and UVnano LED retails for $549. (Courtesy of LG Electronics)

The particulate matter (PM) the PuriCare AeroTower Air Purifying Fan removes pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which Marku said could be helpful to American consumers "in light of the current environmental circumstances" in certain areas of the U.S. and in Canada.

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Other integrated features the PuriCare AeroTower Air Purifying Fan has, include "UV Nano LED Technology" that can reportedly "eliminate 99.99% of airborne bacteria" and LG ThingQ app compatibility, according to Marku.

The LG PuriCare AeroTower Air Purifying Fan is currently on sale for $399. If the discounted price is still too high, the appliance maker is partnered with Klarna, a Swedish fintech company that's offering interest-free financing if four on-time payments of $99.75 are made after signup.

Retail price: Starts at $55.99

American consumers who don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on an air purifier should consider Slevoo, a modestly priced air purifier brand, according to Taylor.

"For those on a budget and are looking for a smaller range model, the Slevoo Air Purifier is perfect especially if you want fresh feeling air without it costing an arm or a leg," Taylor told Fox News Digital. "These contain carbon filters which remove odors."

Slevoo air purifiers can be found on major e-commerce platforms, such as Amazon and Wayfair.

The brand has a Slevoo Air Purifier for Bedrooms and Pets that retails for $55.99 and a Slevoo Air Purifier for Large Rooms that retails for $113.12.

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Taylor noted that small air purifiers like the ones Slevoo sells are noisier than more expensive models and "typically require more on time to get the best [air quality] results," which could entail four to seven hours of runtime.

Cortney Moore is an associate lifestyle writer on the Lifestyle team at Fox News Digital.

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