Best Air Purifiers for Wildfire Smoke

These models can help clear harmful particulates. Plus, other steps you can take to improve indoor air quality.

A brush fire in Laguna Niguel, California, on May 11, 2022.

By Tanya A. Christian

As of July 8, 2022, wildfires have already burned 4,685,808 acres across the country, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. That’s more than two and half times the acreage burned through that date in 2021. Those raging wildfires create hazardous air-quality conditions across the U.S.

Smoke from a wildfire can cause your eyes to burn and your nose to run. (See our tips to protect yourself from smoke, below.) And the microscopic particles in smoke can get deep into your lungs and cause bronchitis, asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes, and other problems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency.

These fine particles have even been linked to premature deaths among people with heart and lung disease. Children who breathe in wildfire smoke can experience chest pain and tightness, wheezing, coughing, dizziness, and trouble breathing.

If you live in an area prone to wildfires, general guidance suggests to avoid outdoor activity and keep windows in your home closed. But new research from the University of California, Berkley, has found that some of the most dangerous particulate matter produced by wildfire smoke can penetrate closed doors and windows, leading to unhealthy indoor air quality. It’s important to keep your indoor air as free of smoke particles as possible, and an air purifier can help. Our tests of air purifiers with HEPA filters show they can help get rid of these harmful particulates; the aforementioned 2021 study suggests that they can actually cut the level of these irritants by half.

Choosing an Air Purifier for Wildfire Smoke

Not all air purifiers do a good job removing smoke particulates. The most effective against smoke have a HEPA filter, which uses a fan to force air through a fine mesh to trap particles.

The best air purifiers fitted with HEPA filters can reduce particle concentrations by as much as 85 percent, according to the EPA. If you want to get rid of the smell of smoke in addition to particles, you’ll want an air purifier that also has a large carbon filter to absorb odors.

HEPA air purifiers can range from $50 to more than $1,000. Our experts advise against buying one that’s marketed for rooms smaller than 150 square feet. These models tend to perform poorly in our tests, plus you’ll always get better results with a unit that’s rated well for a larger space than you have. Purifiers for rooms larger than 350 square feet are much better at removing smoke. Most of CR’s recommended air purifiers fall into that category.

“If you look at any of the top-rated air purifiers tested in our labs, they’re physically big because of the big HEPA filter inside of them,” says John Galeotafiore, associate director of product testing at Consumer Reports. “That’s the one thing they all have in common.”

How Consumer Reports Tests Air Purifiers

To evaluate how well these machines trap small particulates from smoke, we inject cigarette smoke particles into a sealed room and use a particle counter to measure the number and size of particles, as small as 0.1 micron, in the room as an air purifier works. Because air purifiers typically have a number of speed settings, we test for smoke removal at the highest speed and a lower speed. (Some models that perform well at high speeds don’t do as well at low speeds.)

We also measure noise levels at every speed a machine has because you’ll need to run it 24 hours a day for it to be effective. We also calculate annual operating costs, which include filter replacements and energy use.

For more information on air purifiers, check out CR’s air purifier buying guide. Read on for ratings and reviews of five air purifiers from our tests that work well at reducing wildfire particulates. But note that because of high demand, we’ve seen these models go in and out of stock in recent weeks.

Below, we have more tips for how to keep your home’s interior smoke-free, whether or not you’re running an air purifier.

Best Air Purifiers for Wildfire Smoke

These five air purifiers (listed in alphabetical order) top our ratings chart and pass our tests for particle reduction with flying colors at both high and low fan speeds.

Alen BreatheSmart 75i Pure

CR’s take: The Alen BreatheSmart 75i Pure earns an Excellent rating for removing dust, smoke, and pollen at its highest and lowest speeds, and it does so rather quietly, scoring Good in our noise test at both speeds. That means it can clean the air in a room quickly, but you can still carry on a conversation while it works. It has a filter indicator, which lets you know when it’s time to change its HEPA filter. Plus, this model has an auto setting that monitors the air quality in the room and adjusts the fan speed accordingly. During wildfire events, we recommend leaving the air purifier on at all times. It will cost about $140 per year for electricity and filter replacements.

Blueair Blue Pure 211+

CR’s take: The Blueair Blue Pure 211+, another top-rated air purifier, earns an Excellent rating for clearing out smoke particles at all of its three speeds. Plus, activated carbon pellets incorporated into the pleated filter can help with smoke odors. It loses points for being noisy on its high speed but is average for noise at the lowest speed. This sleek model has an indicator that lets you know when it’s time to change the filter. It also has a washable prefilter that captures larger particles to prolong the life of the main filter. The annual cost for filter replacements and energy use is $199 for this model.

Blueair Classic 605

CR’s take: The Blueair Classic 605 is one of only three models that rate Excellent for removing dust, smoke, and pollen at both high speed and low speed. While it earns a Poor score for noise at its highest speed, it earns a Very Good rating for noise at low speed. No other air purifier we test does an exceptional job cleaning while keeping noise to a minimum at low speed. It weighs a whopping 35 pounds but has wheels for easy maneuvering. An indicator tells you when it’s time to change the filter, typically about every six months. By our calculations, you’ll pay $261 per year for replacement filters and for running it 24/7.

Carrier RMAP-ST

CR’s take: The Carrier RMAP-ST air purifier isn’t at the very top of our ratings, but it’s still a pretty solid pick. Like the top-ranking Alen and Blueair Classic 605, it’s designed for large rooms and does a great job at cleaning the air—but it’s also more affordable overall. It receives an Excellent score for dust, pollen, and smoke removal on its higher settings and a Very Good score for particle removal on its lower settings. Annual operating costs for the Carrier are roughly $121, the least expensive in our roundup. And the indicator light will help you stay on top of filter changes. The drawback for this model is its noise. If you plan to put this in an office, or even a bedroom, the operating sound could be problematic. It earns middling marks at best in our noise tests.

Honeywell InSight HPA5300B

CR’s take: This slim HEPA air purifier can be placed on the floor or a tabletop. It earns an Excellent rating for removing smoke at high speeds and a Very Good score at low speeds. While the Honeywell Insight HPA5300B isn’t whisper-quiet—few air purifiers are—it’s among the quietest we’ve tested when it’s on the high-speed setting. It has an indicator light that lets you know when it’s time to change the filters, about once a year for the HEPA filter. There’s also a prefilter that needs to be replaced about every three months. Its annual cost for filter replacements and energy use is $200.

More Tips to Protect Yourself From Smoke

Smoke can travel hundreds of miles from the source, so even if you live far away from a fire and are in no immediate danger, you could still have harmful smoke coming into your house. Using an air purifier helps, but there’s more you can do to keep your home as smoke-free as possible.

• Close all your windows and doors and seal any air leaks (including the mail slot, if you have one) with weather stripping if available. Even masking tape is better than nothing.

• If it’s too hot to go without using a window air conditioner, close the outdoor air damper if you can and tightly seal any gaps between the unit and the window.

• If you need to leave your house, wear goggles and a face mask approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health that’s designed to block particles from entering your mouth and nose. If you don’t have an air purifier and the smoke is very bad, consider wearing this protective gear indoors when you can as well. While cloth face coverings and surgical masks provide protection from exposure to COVID-19, they will not protect you from smoke inhalation.

• Try to spend the bulk of your time in a room with the fewest windows and no fireplace or ventilation ducts that connect to the outside. If you have a fireplace, shut the chimney flue.

• If you have an air purifier, use it in this room and keep it running 24/7.

• Change the filter as soon as the indicator light comes on or according to the time frame specified in the manual. If you can’t change it right away, continue to use the air purifier until you can make the switch. A dirty filter is still better than not using the air purifier at all.

• If you have central heating, ventilating, and air conditioning, you can install a high-efficiency filter (MERV 13 or higher) in the system. Run the system’s fan as often as possible to get the most out of the filter. If your system has a fresh air option, turn it off or close the intake.

• Shut doors to the laundry room and bathrooms because those rooms often have ventilation ducts that lead to the outside.

• Vacuum cleaners with HEPA filters can help remove and trap smoke particles that have settled on carpet and furniture. But don’t use a vacuum that doesn’t have a HEPA filter; it’ll just kick up more particles into the air. For the same reason, clean hard surfaces with a damp cloth or mop.

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