IQAir HealthPro air purifier

The IQAir HealthPro air purifier is expensive, but it's the best option for people with severe allergies. This brand was chosen by the Hong Kong Hospital Authority as the only room air cleaner powerful enough to be used during the SARS outbreak.

The IQAir HealthPro can clean up to a 1,000 square foot room and uses a HyperHEPA filter. The IQAir also has a filter change alert and a long five-year warranty These criteria might be more important if all home air cleaners worked equally to clear the air of allergens like pet dander, dust and smoke.

However, according to the only two organizations that test air purifiers thoroughly, performance varies greatly, so test results are especially important when it comes to identifying the best air purifiers.

Be aware that while air purifier manufacturers often tout testing data in their advertising, the vast majority of these studies are sponsored and paid for by the manufacturer. Consumer Reports magazine, and a retailer,

Air-Purifiers-America.com, are the only two review publications that test how well air purifiers remove airborne allergens. Unfortunately, these sources test air cleaners in different ways and they don't always test the same models.

Consumer Reports does the most controlled testing of home air cleaners, using a sealed test room with carefully measured particles of dust and smoke injected into the chamber.

Air purifiers are evaluated on how well they remove dust and smoke from the air at set time intervals running at both high and low speeds.

The noise level of each air cleaner is also measured.