
If you suffer from asthma, you know that it can be a real pain having to constantly take your asthma pills or use your inhaler. However, the best air purifier for asthma will help to keep your asthma under control and reduce your intake of medication.
According to statistics, millions of people around the world suffer from asthma. And the fact that the quality of the air we breathe inside our homes is more poor than outside is making matters worse. While it’s not known what exactly causes asthma, nor the actual cure for it, there are some reasons why it’s getting worse for you at home. One of the major culprits is a decline in the quality of your indoor air.
This may be caused by the way your home is designed. Very little air conditioning and heating create a tight seal throughout your home. Another issue is not opening your windows for ventilation, thinking that you’re protecting yourself from outside allergens. Meanwhile, the real problems are the harmful pollutants in your home that don’t have anywhere to escape to. So they build up inside your home and trigger your asthma.
Fortunately, you can use one of the following options of the best air purifier for asthma to find relief for your condition.
What Is Asthma And What Are Its Symptoms?
Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the respiratory system of children and adults, and it can be genetically passed on or developed as you grow. It’s an incurable illness that affects your airways, causing inflammation and tightening of muscles, restricting air supply. As asthma develops, your airways become swollen and sensitive to substances you might inhale like pollen, dust, chemical fumes, cold and dry air, or tobacco smoke.
Some common asthma symptoms include:
- Tightness in the chest
- Wheezing
- Coughing
- Shortness of breath
Features To Consider In The Best Air Purifier For Asthma
The best air purifier for asthma is one that can remove all particles in the air that might trigger flare-ups. With clean and fresh air indoors, it will help improve your health and help you breathe easier and reduce your asthma attacks. However, there are some features to look for in an air purifier to avoid buying the wrong type that might even make your asthma worse.
HEPA filter
Air purifiers with HEPA filters are very common in most homes and offices. This is a highly dense paper filter that collects most of the large and smallest particles that irritate your asthma, with a 99.9% efficiency. Once the particles are trapped inside the filter, they can’t float back into the room which leaves the room with clean, fresh air. The true HEPA filter is the best if you’re suffering from asthma. It’s the only filter that can remove most of the particles in the air. Standard HEPA filters only capture larger particles and not the tiny ones. So if you have asthma, look for an air purifier with a true HEPA filter to help reduce the majority of your asthma-inducing triggers.
Activated carbon filter
Carbon filters use activated charcoal to absorb airborne odors, smells, and gases from your indoor air. As an asthma sufferer, carbon filters help you by chemically removing all the impurities instead of just filtering the particles in the air. Although carbon filtration is designed to remove VOCs from the air you’re breathing, it can also benefit people with asthma by absorbing some of the chemical irritants in the air. Together with the HEPA filter, this traps all the particles. This will help to minimize your exposure to chemicals, odors, and VOCs that will irritate your lungs.
PECO
PECO stands for Photo Electrochemical Oxidation, a new technology that is used to destroy pollutants instead of just filtering them from the air. By incorporating the physical filter and the photochemical reaction, there is oxidation of the organic matter in the process. This helps to destroy allergens like pollen, pet dander, mold, and VOCs that trigger your asthma symptoms.
Air Purifiers To Avoid
Ionizers
An ionizer air purifier emits negative ions into the air which attract positively charged particles in the air. This weighs the particles down and the pollutants then fall from the air. However, ionizers affect asthma sufferers because they’re not very effective in getting rid of dust, spores, and smoke. They also generate ozone, which is an asthma irritant that can trigger your symptoms. Even the smallest amount of ozone can cause complications and lead to the development of chronic lung disease.
Ozone generators
Some air purifiers claim to use ozone to improve indoor air quality and create a safe byproduct. This can be harmful to your health and even cause chronic respiratory issues, including asthma. Exposure to ozone can irritate your lungs and trigger a severe asthmatic attack. Although low levels of ozone in an air purifier may not cause a serious reaction, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Review: Comparison Table For The Best Air Purifier For Asthma
Product | Type of Filter | Check on Amazon |
---|---|---|
BioGS HEPA filter, carbon filter, ionizer | ||
True HEPA filter and carbon filter | ||
HyperHEPA filter and carbon filter | ||
Particle or Smokestop HEPA filter and carbon filter | ||
True HEPA filter, carbon filter, and UV light filter |
Rabbit Air MinusA2 air purifier
RabbitAir MinusA2 Ultra Quiet HEPA Air Purifier - Stylish, Efficient and Energy Star (SPA-780A, Black, Odor Remover)
Free shipping
Features
- Advanced HEPA filtration with six stages of purification and deodorization
- 5 Year Warranty
- Odor Remover customized filter: Traps and reduces odors from pets, cigarettes and cigars, cooking and mildew.
- The MinusA2 is designed to either stand alone or to be mounted on the wall.
- Room coverage up to 815 sq. ft.
Rabbit Air MinusA2 is an air purifier with some great features. It can deliver on both value and performance. It’s designed to either stand alone or be mounted on a wall. This purifier uses a unique 6-stage filtration system that ensures you’re well protected from any allergies and asthma. The pre-filter and medium filter do a double pre-filtration, trapping all large and medium particles like pet dander, dust, pet hair, mold, dust mites, and large pollen. Then the advanced BioGS HEPA filter takes care of all allergens, virus and fungi particles, bacteria, and all other tiny particles, which helps to prolong the life and efficiency of the HEPA filter.
The customized filter doubles the protection for specific needs like odor removal, germ defense, or toxin absorption. This filter makes it unique in that you can choose the customized filter depending on contaminants you want to remove. The activated carbon filter absorbs and eliminates all cooking and household odors, tobacco smoke, fumes, and VOCs. Lastly, the ion generator helps to trap the tiniest particles back to the filters, but you can turn it on and off. This air purifier operates quietly with an advanced fan whose noise level is lower than a whisper so you will not notice any sound from the device even at night.
It has smart features that help to solve your asthma problem, like the smart sensor which detects any changes in the quality of your indoor air and automatically adjusts the fan speed to remove the contaminants in the air. It also has a WiFi smart app that helps you remotely control all functions from your phone.
Pros
- Very well built, both inside and out
- It takes care of all the smells and odors in the house
- Has an advanced filtration system for very clean and fresh air
- Performance is excellent
- It operates quietly
Cons
- Takes time to know how to use the smart features
Verdict
A smart air purifier that you can mount on the wall to save on space. It has a unique 6-stage filtration system that is very efficient in making sure the air you’re breathing is free of any large or small pollutants that could trigger your asthma. Also, the smart features and WiFi control contribute to its efficiency.
View price on Amazon
Honeywell True HEPA Allergen Remover, 465 sq. Ft, HPA300, Extra-Large Room, Black
$219.99 in stock
4 used from $ 202.39
Free shipping
Features
- EXTRA LARGE ROOM AIR PURIFIER: Recommended for extra large rooms (465 square feet) this True HEPA Allergen Remover Air Purifier helps capture up to 99.97 percent of airborne particles as small as 0.3 microns
- TURBO CLEAN: With 3 air cleaning levels plus a Turbo Clean setting, this air purifier helps remove particles like pet dander, pollen, dust, mold & smoke; It also helps capture certain germs & reduce odors
- HONEYWELL AIR PURIFIERS: Our air purifiers help remove allergens, dust & odors; If you have allergies, pets or stale indoor air, air purifiers help remove airborne particles & help improve air quality
- FILTER & CIRCULATE: Honeywell Air Purifiers filter & circulate air in the stated room size up to 5 times an hour; Breathe easy knowing the air in your home is fresher & cleaner with fewer allergens
- HONEYWELL QUALITY: Improve your air quality & neutralize odors for a clean & healthy breathing experience year round with Honeywell replacement filters for air cleaners & purifiers
Honeywell HPA300 is an excellent allergen remover with a good performance level and significant fan power. This air purifier is excellent for extra-large rooms with a true HEPA filter that will capture all the large and tiny particles in the air that may trigger your allergies and asthma. It will help remove allergens, dust, odors, and all airborne particles that will improve the indoor air quality in your home. It uses a powerful HEPA filter and carbon filter to help clean the air of dust, odors, fumes, and other pollutants which improves your air quality for a clean and fresh breathing experience.
This product also has 4 cleaning levels: germ, general clean, allergen, and turbo. It filters and purifies the air in room 5 time in an hour so that you can breathe easy knowing that the air in your home is clean and fresh with fewer allergens floating around. The CADR rating of dust, smoke, and pollen is amazing and its fan power will clean your room in just a few minutes, which makes it effective in cleaning large rooms.
Pros
- Purifies the air in the room very fast
- The 4 levels of filtration ensure your room is free of any allergens
- Improves the quality of your indoor air
- Has a powerful fan
Cons
- It’s a bit noisy
- Doesn’t have smart features
Verdict
A huge air purifier with a powerful fan that will ensure the quality of the air you breathe is cleaner and fresher, with fewer allergens that can trigger your asthma. It double filtration process with the help of the true HEPA filter and carbon filter will trap and absorb the dust, odors, smoke, pollen, pet dander, and other pollutants in the air.
View price on Amazon
IQAir healthpro plus air purifier
IQAir [HealthPro Plus Air Purifier] Medical-Grade Air [HyperHEPA Filter] - Allergies, Pets, Asthma, Odors, Smoke, Pollen, Dust; Swiss Made
Features
- #1 Rated Room Air Purifier for Allergies & Asthma
- Proven Medical-Grade Air Filtration: 100x more effective than HEPA air purifiers
- Only IQAir's exclusive HyperHEPA filters stop ultrafine particles (down to 0.003 microns)
- Stops the smallest particles that exist: 10x smaller than a virus
- Powerful filtration: covers a room size up to 1,125 sq ft (104.5 sq m)
IQAir is an excellent air purifier for allergens and asthma. It has a 3-stage air filtration process that takes care of large particles like pollen, mold spores, hair, and pet dander, smaller particles that include household dust, bacteria, viruses, and even ultra-fine particles like soot, tobacco smoke, and VOCs. The V5 cell gas and odor filter, exclusively for IQAir purifiers, uses an activated carbon filter for absorption and a chemical absorption to destroy harmful chemicals and VOCs in the air. This has a lifespan of 2 years, which reduces the frequency and cost of a filter replacement.
It also uses a HyperHEPA filter that captures even the smallest particles that exist in the air and ensures they don’t recirculate back into the air. By using this powerful HypeHEPA filter, this air purifier provides you with perfect fresh air purification, unmatched by other air purifiers. It has an average filter life of about 4 years so you won’t have to keep replacing it. It also has smart control features that include color-coded lights that indicate when the filters need to be replaced, operating options that help you program different setting depending on your preference, and the filter life monitor.
Pros
- The filter lasts a long time
- It operates quietly
- It helps relieve your allergy symptoms
- Removes odors, chemicals, and smells in the air
- Made with high-quality materials
Cons
- It’s a huge unit
- The replacement filters are expensive
- The unit is expensive
Verdict
A huge air purifier made with high-quality materials that are durable and effective in keeping the quality of air clean and fresh using a great filtration process. A true HEPA filter air purifier with a powerful, quiet fan that will remove all allergens and pollutants in a few minutes.
View price on Amazon
BlueAir Classic 405 air purifier
Blueair Classic 405 Air Purifier, True HEPA Performance by HEPASilent Filtration for Allergen, Dust, Mold Reduction, Asthma and COPD Relief, Medium Room, Smart Home ALEXA compatible - Quiet Operation
Features
- Battle allergies, asthma and hay fever with HEPAsilent technology which leverages electrostatic charge and mechanical filtration to deliver true HEPA performance capturing 99.97% of air airborne pollutants including dust, mold, pet dander, pollen. SmokeStop filters, sold seperately, provide an extra level of carbon filtration to remove odors and smoke cause by wildfires.
- 374
- Certified clean air delivery rate (CADR) of 180 cubic feet per minute with a superior, 5 air changes per hour
- 3 fan speeds including whisper quiet operation allow you to breathe and sleep easier without disruption
- Wifi enabled for control through your Blueair friend app and Amazon Alexa compatible
BlueAir Classic 405 is an allergy and asthma-friendly air purifier that uses HEPASilent technology to get rid of 99.9% of all the allergens, dust, bacteria, and viruses in the air. This technology uses an electrostatic barrier that attracts pollutants and particles to the filter. It uses a particle filter to capture all the pollutants that include dust, pet dander, bacteria, pollen, viruses, and even the smallest particles.
By combining the HEPA filter with electrostatic filtration, it ensures that all pollutants and particles trapped in the filter don’t escape while still maintaining good airflow in the room. It also helps to prevent clogging and recirculating the particles back in the air even when the filter is heavily loaded. If you want to neutralize odors and smoke, you can use a smokestop filter that has an additional layer of activated carbon. It’s WiFi-enabled and you can control it using the Alexa app. You can change the fan speed, turn it on and off, or even schedule the timer and night mode settings.
Pros
- Can be remotely controlled using an app on your phone
- It’s very quiet on low settings
- Helps to reduce the dust, odors, and allergens in the air
Cons
- The unit is big and heavy
- The WiFi app malfunctions
Verdict
An air purifier you can control with a WiFi app (when it works), making your work easier. It’s a great machine that uses high-quality technology that ensures the allergens and particles in the air are trapped in the filter and don’t re-enter the air. This helps relieve your allergens and asthma symptoms.
View price on Amazon
Germ Guardian AC4300B air purifier
Germ Guardian True HEPA Filter Air Purifier for Home, Pets, Office, Bedrooms, Filters Allergies, Pollen, Smoke, Dust, Dander, UV-C Sanitizer Eliminates Germs, Mold, Odors, Quiet 22 inch 3-in-1 AC4300B
$114.26 in stock
Free shipping
Features
- 3 IN 1 AIR PURIFIER FOR HOME : True HEPA air filter reduces up to 99.97 percent of harmful germs, dust, pollen, pet dander, mold spores, and other allergens as small as .3 microns from the air
- PET PURE FILTER : An antimicrobial agent is added to the filter to inhibit the growth of mold, mildew and odor causing bacteria on the filter's surface
- KILLS GERMS : UV C light helps kill airborne viruses such as influenza, staph, rhinovirus, and works with Titanium Dioxide to reduce volatile organic compounds
- TRAPS ALLERGENS : Pre filter traps dust, pet hair, and other large particles while extending the life of the HEPA filter
- REDUCES ODORS : Activated charcoal filter helps to reduce unwanted odors from pets, smoke, cooking fumes, and more
Germ Guardian AC4300B is an air purifier that gets rid of bacteria and viruses for healthy, clean air. It’s a great air purifier for people with allergies and asthma. The a 3-stage cleaning process includes a true HEPA filter. This filter removes 99.9% of all large particles and microscopic allergens like pollen, mold spores, and dust. The carbon filter deals with reducing smells, household and pet odors, and VOCs.
Lastly, the UVC light filter destroys all the airborne bacteria, germs, and viruses that are harmful to your health. The UVC light filter makes this air purifier better than most. The light is harmless to humans, but destroys the DNA of germs, bacteria, and viruses. You can choose between three speed settings depending on the quality of air in the room.
Pros
- It has a bigger base for better stability
- Has a stylish and modern design
- Effective at keeping your air fresh and free of contaminants
Cons
- The fan produces a crackling sound when running
Verdict
A modern-looking air purifier with a fantastic air filtration system. It uses a UVC light filter to destroy all airborne contaminants for cleaner, fresher air.
View price on Amazon
Final Thoughts
When buying the best air purifier for asthma, make sure that you take into consideration room size. You don’t want a unit that doesn’t properly filter all the air in the room. The Rabbit Air MinusA2 air purifier is an excellent air purifier that will remove all allergens and pollutants that may trigger your asthma with high-quality filters.
It can also be helpful to close your windows when it’s high pollen season. Clean damp areas in your bathroom, kitchen, and around your home to prevent the growth of mold. Also, clean your curtains and blinds to reduce dust, and regularly bathe and groom your pet to reduce pet dander. These are just some natural remedies to relieve your asthma symptoms.