The 4 Best Air Purifiers For Dust - Fall 2024

The Honeywell HPA300 is the best air purifier for dust we've tested. However, it's worth mentioning that this is a pretty basic machine with no built-in air quality sensors and no Wi-Fi connectivity, so you can't control it while you're away from home. It's also a little on the loud side at higher fan speeds. That said, this unit provides great overall performance. Its two-stage filtration system includes a carbon pre-filter sheet and a trio of separate HEPA filters, which results in excellent particle filtration performance. However, it's worth noting that the carbon sheet is too small to impact VOC (volatile organic compound) levels within your home. In any case, the Honeywell won't have any trouble dealing with all sorts of airborne particulates. You'll need to swap out the carbon filter every three months, and the HEPA filters every year, which is fairly standard for household air purifiers.

If you're willing to spend more on a unit for a broader array of convenience features, including an app that allows for remote control, you can also consider the Levoit Core 600S. Just note that it's marginally less efficient in very large spaces.

Alternatively, if you're looking for an air purifier to deal with dust and don't mind working with your hands, you could also build your own Corsi-Rosenthal Box. We built our own by following this guide, which uses a set of 3M Filtrete MERV 13 air filters built around a Lasko 20-inch box fan. In many ways, it takes everything good and bad about the Honeywell HPA300 and takes them further: it's even bigger and louder than the already cumbersome Honeywell, but it also offers outstanding particle filtration performance and a sky-high clean air delivery rate. These things make it a good option for big areas where noise and aesthetics are of minimal concern, like a workshop or an unfinished basement. Unfortunately, operating costs for a Corsi-Rosenthal box can be a little high, as you'll need to swap out all four filters once they've hit the end of their useful lifespan.

It's worth noting that some users have iterated on this basic design by swapping out the large single-box fan for multiple PC cooling fans, which will result in quieter operation and lower power consumption. We haven't built a Corsi-Rosenthal Box using this design yet.

Check out the Winix 5500-2 if you're dealing with a lot of dust at home and want a budget-friendly solution. This air purifier has a slightly lower clean air delivery rate than the Honeywell HPA300, making it a little less efficient in larger rooms. However, it's also cheaper and much quieter, so it won't be as disruptive in a living room or bedroom. Besides, its actual performance is very good, and it's just as capable as more expensive alternatives when locking in fine allergens. Its multi-stage filtration system includes a washable pre-filter, so you can clear it of any larger dust particles that get stuck on it.

It's worth noting that the Winix also has a particle ionizer; these systems impart a negative charge to airborne particles so that they clump together and fall out of the air, where you can then clean them up later. While this sounds helpful on paper, ionizers produce ozone, a respiratory irritant, as an operating byproduct. Since we didn't find this system to have much impact on overall unit performance, we recommend that you leave it off.

If you want a compact air purifier for dealing with dust, the Levoit Core 200S is a great choice. While it can't compete with a full-size unit like the Winix 5500-2 in terms of clean air delivery rate and lacks a HEPA-certified main filter, it still delivers impressive overall particle filtration performance, especially for such a small unit. Besides, it's also fairly feature-rich, with integrated Wi-Fi connectivity that allows you to run the device while you're away from home, set operating schedules, and set up reminders to replace its filters, which you'll need to do every six to eight months.

Unfortunately, unlike the Winix, it lacks a built-in particle sensor that would allow it to automatically adjust its fan speed depending on real-time air quality.