Every setup on one page

Researched from the AHAM AC-1 test method, EPA and CARB guidance, and published manufacturer specifications

Quick answer

The three setups on this site come to under $150, under $600, under $1,500 to buy, and under $250, under $600, under $2,000 once five years of replacement filters are counted. The gap between those two numbers is the part most buying guides leave out.

The machine most of these setups are built around

MOOKA Air Purifier for Home Bedroom Large Room 2200 Ft2, HEPA Filter, Grey

A large room purifier that publishes enough of its own specification to be checked against the room it is going into.

Under $100Check priceBudget range; Amazon shows today's price

Totals are budget bands rounded up from the current listings each time the site is published. Amazon shows today's price for each item.

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One page with every item in this setup and its budget range, plus the five year filter cost, so you can total the whole thing before buying any of it. After that, a few short emails, then a couple a month at most. Unsubscribe anytime.

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The starter air quality setup

Doing one room properly beats doing four rooms badly. A bedroom purifier sized to the room, its replacement filter, a better furnace filter and a hygrometer is the whole starter setup, and the hygrometer is in it because humidity decides whether the room has a mould problem or a dust problem.

Starter setup, with a budget band for every item
ItemProductBudget
Bedroom purifier GermGuardian HEPA Air Purifier - Large Room Air Purifier for Bedroom, Under $100
Its replacement filter GermGuardian, Filter B HEPA Pure Genuine Air Purifier Filter, Removes Under $50
Furnace filter Filtrete 16x25x1 Air Filter, MERV 11, MPR 1000, Allergens & Pet Dander Under $50
Hygrometer Antonki 2 Pack Room Thermometer Indoor Hygrometer Under $50
Total to buyEverything aboveUnder $150
Five year totalWith under $100 of replacement filtersUnder $250

The reasoning behind the starter setup

The whole home air quality setup

Whole home means one machine per occupied room, not one large machine in the hallway: air does not travel between rooms fast enough for a single unit to serve a house. This setup covers a bedroom and a living space, adds a dehumidifier so a damp room stops growing what the filters are catching, and adds a particle monitor so the result is measured rather than assumed.

Whole home setup, with a budget band for every item
ItemProductBudget
Living space purifier MOOKA Air Purifier for Home Bedroom Large Room 2200 Ft2, HEPA Filter, Under $100
Its replacement filter Borgodf B-D02L/M05 Replacement Filter for MOOKA B-D02L & M05 Air Purif Under $50
Bedroom purifier Momcozy Air Purifier for Bedroom with Dimmable Night Light for Small R Under $100
Dehumidifier Yaufey 150 Pint Dehumidifier with Pump for Basement 8500 Sq. Ft. Under $250
Furnace filter Amazon Basics 20x20x1 Air Filter 6-Pack, MERV 11 AC Furnace Filters, D Under $50
Particle monitor Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor, Detects temperature, humidity, carbo Under $50
Hygrometer Antonki 2 Pack Room Thermometer Indoor Hygrometer Under $50
Total to buyEverything aboveUnder $600
Five year totalWith under $100 of replacement filtersUnder $600

The reasoning behind the whole home setup

The expert air quality setup

The expert setup is not a bigger purifier, it is a wider net. Filtration handles particles, humidity control handles what grows, and carbon dioxide and radon are measured because no filter of any kind removes either. Most households do not need this, and saying so is the point of listing it separately.

Expert setup, with a budget band for every item
ItemProductBudget
Extra large room purifier Medify MA-40 Air Purifier with HEPA Filter | 1,793 ft2 Coverage in 1hr Under $500
Its replacement filter FFAC MA-40 Replacement Filter Compatible with MA-40 Air Purifiers Under $50
Second room purifier MOOKA Air Purifier for Home Bedroom Large Room 2200 Ft2, HEPA Filter, Under $100
Its replacement filter Borgodf B-D02L/M05 Replacement Filter for MOOKA B-D02L & M05 Air Purif Under $50
High capacity dehumidifier DuraComfort 50 Pint Dehumidifier for Basement, Large Room and Home, wi Under $250
Console humidifier DREO 6L Humidifiers for Bedroom, 60H Runtime, 28 dB Quiet, HM524 Under $50
Carbon dioxide monitor 16 in 1 Air Quality Monitor Indoor High-Precision CO2 Monitor & HD Scr Under $250
Radon monitor Ecosense Continuous Home Radon Detector, OLED Display, Bluetooth, RD20 Under $250
Particle monitor Sainlogic Air Quality Monitor Indoor, 16 in 1 VOC Meter, CO2, HCHO, TV Under $250
Denser furnace filter Filter King 20x25x1 Air Filter MERV 13, AC Furnace Filters (6-Pack) Under $100
Total to buyEverything aboveUnder $1,500
Five year totalWith under $250 of replacement filtersUnder $2,000

The reasoning behind the expert setup

Everything on this page

Common questions

Which setup should I start with?

The starter setup, at under $150, unless you already know you have a damp space or a smoke season. One room done at four and a half air changes an hour is worth more than three rooms at a rate that does not clear anything, and the hygrometer in it will tell you whether the next purchase should be a dehumidifier rather than another purifier.

Why is the five year total so much higher?

Replacement filters. A machine bought once carries a filter bought repeatedly, and over five years those filters frequently cost more than the machine did. Counting them from the start is what stops the cheapest machine on the shelf turning out to be the most expensive one in the house.

Can I mix items between the setups?

Yes, and the sensible mix is usually the larger purifier from the tier above with everything else from the tier you are in. A machine one class larger than the room needs reaches the same airflow at a lower fan speed, which is quieter, and quiet is what decides whether it actually runs.

Why budget bands instead of prices?

Prices on Amazon move daily. Each item shows a budget band and the totals are rounded up to a band, rebuilt from the listings every time the site is published. Check each item's current price on Amazon before buying and treat these as a budget rather than a quote.

What is deliberately not on this list?

Ozone generators, and anything sold primarily on an ionizing or plasma mode. Ozone is harmful in occupied rooms and California's CARB regulates its emission from indoor air cleaning devices. Nothing on this site routes a click at a machine whose main mechanism is producing it.

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