Where to Place Air Purifier - Perfect Location to Maximize Effectivity

Josh Miller

Josh is a contributing writer to the site and former HVAC specialist.

Last Updated on January 25, 2022

Purchasing an air purifier helps ensure your body receives higher quality indoor air. With these systems extracting pollutants, allergies, irritants, and general harmful particles, they work to provide you with clean and fresh air that is beneficial to your overall health.

Many people worldwide choose to invest in air purifiers for their plethora of benefits. However, purchasing an air purifier isn’t as simple as receiving it and putting it in any old spot. If you want to ensure you reap the full benefits, do a bit of research before deciding on the best position for this unit. Learn where to put an air purifier and why positioning matters.

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Table of Contents

Golden Rules on Where to Place Air Purifiers

Place it Near Air Pollutants

One practical location to place your air purifier is near a heavy concentration of pollutants, for example, close to a mold source, smoke, or moist odors. You can find out where these areas are in your home by using an air quality monitor—these systems measure where the pollutants are the most concentrated. You may need to contact an air quality specialist to conduct an accurate inspection.

To identify these locations on your own without the use of a fancy appliance, there are other ways you can tell if parts of your home air supply contain pollutants:

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  • Use your eyes

Mold and smoke pollutants are extremely visible, so they are easy to identify. If part of your home is susceptible to dampness, place your purifier close to any moldy areas for better air quality results. If your home has a smoking area, place your purifier near this location.

  • Use your nose

Foul odors and stale-smelling air are tell-tale signs of a high concentration of harmful air pollutants. These toxins usually come in the form of cigarette smoke.

  • Do you suffer from allergies?

If you’re experiencing allergic reactions when you enter certain rooms, it could mean there are high allergen concentration levels in that area. If you suffer from reactions in your bedroom, for example, not only will your purifier freshen the air, but it will also improve your sleep quality.

Place a Purifier in Locations With the Most Airflow

Placing your air purifier in locations with the most airflow, such as near windows, doors, and walls, allows the system to work effectively. Since purifiers filter air quickly, the more air that flows into the system, the faster the air you breathe becomes clean.

Areas of high airflow also have the capacity to spread contaminated air throughout the whole house, which is why targeting these locations with air purifiers is critical. Catching pollutants by these outdoor entry points prevent the outdoor contaminants from even entering the home in the first place.

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Maximize the Efficiency of Your Air Purifier

By taking into account these placement locations and spots to avoid, you can be sure that your air purifier will work effectively. However, if you want to maximize the efficiency of an air purifier, be sure to take advantage of its portability.

While an air purifier provides crisp, fresh air to the room that it’s in, it’s no secret that many people want to maximize the indoor air quality throughout the entire home. By moving the purifying system to different rooms periodically, you are filtering more of your indoor air.

By moving the purifier into different rooms regularly, you increase the system’s effectiveness within the home compared to leaving it permanently in one room.

Avoid High Humidity Locations

High humidity means the air is much heavier. Air purifiers struggle to work as effectively in these locations for two reasons:

  • An air purifying system needs more energy to produce airflow with heavier air.
  • Humid air reduces the functionality of the filters.

When it comes to avoiding these locations, it’s a good idea to know which rooms in the house are usually susceptible to the highest levels of humidity.

The bathroom is notably humid in most homes, especially when showering. The condensation from hot water makes the bathroom a poor choice for placing an air purifier. These humidity levels can strain the system’s inner workings, leading to a compromised or less efficient purifier.

The kitchen is another room that can have varying humidity levels. For example, the steam from the kettle can moisten the air, and opening a hot oven can engulf the room in high humidity levels. This rise in moist air and humidity will make it harder for the air purifier to work correctly.

Don’t Obstruct the Air Purifier

When deciding where to put an air purifier, it’s imperative that you keep it away from any obstructions. This is because the purifier needs to have complete access to the air, with obstructions having the potential to cause complications, such as picking up harmful and potentially allergenic particles from nearby objects. Obstructions can also restrict the amount of air the purifier intakes, resulting in less air being treated and cleaned.

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General places to avoid placing your air purifier include:

  • Behind the television

Even though this could be a tempting spot to hide the purifier from sight, it might compromise the system’s function. This is because these locations are usually compact and surrounded by wires and other electronic components. For your air purifier to work best, there should be a 3’ radius of clearance space around the whole system.

  • On a bookshelf

Lots of books sandwiched together can create significant obstructions for air purifiers. The thickness of the pages and covers can provide potential blockages and affect the efficiency of the inner mechanisms. They can also contain pollutants (especially old books) that purifiers pick up and spread into the air.

Essentially, the more space you give an air purifier, the quicker it can generate and disperse clean, healthy air.

You’re Ready for an Air Purifier

Place your air purifier near entry points in your home or next to known pollutants sources like moldy, damp areas. Be sure to avoid placing a purifier in the bathroom or kitchen.

Take advantage of your unit’s portability and switch up its location to maximize the effect it has on your home’s air quality. You’ll notice a dramatic improvement quickly, allowing you to enjoy clean, breathable air.

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