5 things I always consider before buying an air purifier – after testing many

I don’t mind the hum of an air purifier by my bed — it serves as a source of white noise to lull me to sleep with clean, fresh air. But I don’t always want to hear the fan when I’m working and need to focus while my dog is in the office, triggering my allergies, so I know I need a quiet one in that room.

There are a lot of whisper-quiet air purifiers on the market, ranging from 24 to 30 decibels. For reference, the hum of a refrigerator is around 40 dB, and a vacuum cleaner ranges from about 60 to 70 dB.

Also: Don’t ignore this troubling metric that your smart air purifier tracks – here’s why

The noise level is typically listed on the air purifier’s specifications chart, so look at it if you’re sensitive to noise or looking for a quiet device.