About Clean Air Guides
Independent, research-based guides to cleaner, healthier indoor air.
Clean Air Guides started in 2018 with a simple frustration: buying an air purifier meant wading through spec sheets that didn’t match, “HEPA-type” filters that weren’t HEPA, and room sizes that seemed to be made up. We wanted one place that explains what actually matters and points to products that back their claims with independent data.
Today the site covers three things:
- Air purifiers: buying guides by need (pets, mold, smoke, VOCs, odors, basements, bathrooms, baby rooms, salons and whole-house systems), plus maintenance and safety.
- Humidifiers: the ideal indoor humidity, choosing a humidifier for a large room, which water to use, cleaning, and fixes when something goes wrong.
- Indoor air quality: practical guides on dust, filters, ventilation and the difference between devices that are easily confused.
How we choose what to recommend
We are a small editorial team and we don’t run a testing lab. Our recommendations are research-based: we compare each product’s published specifications with independent sources such as the AHAM Verifide directory (for CADR ratings), the California Air Resources Board list of certified air cleaners (for ozone), ENERGY STAR (for power use), manufacturers’ manuals and the guidance of the US Environmental Protection Agency. We say so plainly when a number can’t be verified.
Read the full process on our How we research page.
Free tools
We also build calculators for the questions people ask before buying: the air purifier size calculator finds the CADR a room needs, the electricity cost calculator shows what running a purifier costs, and the dew point calculator tells you when humidity will fog your windows.
How the site is funded
Some links on Clean Air Guides go to Amazon. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. No brand pays to be included, and commissions never decide what we recommend. Details are in our affiliate disclosure.
Get in touch
Spotted an outdated spec or a better product? Contact us or write to [email protected].