Where Should You Position An Air Purifier? 12 Top Tips

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Where should you position an air purifier?

After buying one, knowing where to place air purifier for maximum air purification effect is the next key thing.

According to the American Lung Association 2021 report, more than 135 million Americans inhale air that has particle pollution and high levels of ozone.

If you are one of the 135 million residents, you need to do something about it, or the contaminants in the air will do something about your health!

While you may not be able to do much to control what air you breathe outdoors, indoors, you can use an air purifier to take out the contaminants.

To get the best effect, which is clean air, you need to know the best air purifier placement.

So, where should air purifiers be placed? The distance of purifier from your bed or that of your baby should be between 6 and 10 feet. In that range, the air purifier is going to access all the pollutant particles floating in the air. Place the air purifier in an open space where it can access most of the air in the room. Make sure it has a radius of 2 to 3 feet of free space all around.

If you live in a place such as Los Angeles that has the most polluted air in the nation, you will definitely need an air purifier to purify your indoor air. If you live in a place that has dust, smoke, odor and other air pollutants, you need to invest in an air purifier.

If you run an ultrasonic humidifier at home, you might have experienced some sort of white dust on your furniture. It comes from the humidifier. Therefore, you need to run an air purifier to clean the air of the white dust particles.

Where to place air purifier

Many things determine the air purifier placement. But first, consider the design of the purifier a bit.

It has its air intake in the front, so if you put it behind furniture or other appliances, it will not access the air properly.

Therefore, it will not serve its intended purpose. You can have your unit running all the time and still not purify the air in your house.

So really, where should you position an air purifier? Here are important tips about air purifier placement:

1. Air Purifier Bedroom Placement – 6 to 10 Feet only

First, place the air purifier in the 6 to 10 foot range from the bed. If you place the appliance any further than 10 feet, you will still inhale contaminated air. If you place it any closer to your bed than 6 feet, it could make you sick.

There are negative effects of air purifiers. One of them is causing dry throat, asthmatic attacks, coughing, breathing difficulties, headaches and sleeping problems. Therefore, you should be careful about air purifier bedroom placement.

The same conditions that contaminated air might cause, a wrongly placed air purifier can still cause them.

The same placement applies to where to place air purifier in bedroom for your baby or kids. Young children’s airways are more delicate than yours. So, ensure you maintain this advice for air purifier placement.

Read: Humidifier sickness symptoms to watch out for

An uncluttered corner can also be the best location for an air purifier in bedroom. However, just make sure that the corner is not more than 10 feet from the bed.

2. Best place to put air purifier for best effect

If you have been asking where should I place my air purifier for the best effect, well, try in an open space in the room.

Actually, experts say that you should not place an air purifier any closer than 2 feet to the closest item. So you cannot push it under a chair, a desk, a table or too close to the wall.

Of utmost importance though, make sure that the front of the air purifier where the air intake is located faces an open space. That way, it will be able to pull air laden with particles from a distance away.

3. Where to place air purifier for odor

One of the best things about using an air purifier is that it can filter out odors from your indoor air. However, knowing where you should position an air purifier so that it can arrest the odor at the source.

Place the air purifier at the source of the odor. Ignore the rest of the house first. Once it captures the odor at the source, it will not spread to the other rooms. You will also not need to take the purifier to every room.

4. Where to place an air purifier when you have mold

Mold spores are some of the most serious indoor contaminants in homes. If there is too much humidity, mold and mildew can develop easily in hidden spaces.

Find out the source of the mold and place your air purifier there. That way, it is going to arrest the spores before they can float to other rooms.

Also, make sure to leave some space between the moldy spot and other air purifier. Keep a space of at least 2 feet from the mold source.

5. Place the air purifier in high air movement areas

Keeping the air purifier close to the window or doorway is wiser because there is a lot of air movement. In any case, most of the air moving from one room to another flows through the doorways.

If most of the air coming into the room is entering through the window, that is the best place for you to place the purifier.

If you intend to use a portable air purifier in different rooms, try placing it in the doorways connecting the rooms.

6. Place the air purifier in the room with the most contaminated air

Different rooms may have different levels of air contamination. Therefore, find out the room that has the most contamination and place the air purifier there.

In any case, if one room has the source of the contamination, it will spread throughout the entire house. If you arrest it at the source, you will stop the spread of the same.

7. Where to place air purifier in the kitchen

Perhaps another thing that we ought to mention here is finding a nice position in the kitchen. Smoke, mold and burned food odors are some of the air contaminants that you want to eliminate from the air in the kitchen.

8. Where to install the air purifier vertically

If you get a wall air purifier, you want to install it at the most optimum place in your room. Usually, manufacturers advise that you should place an air purifier at the range of 3 to 5 feet vertically.

Therefore, placing it on a desk or a table can work. At the same time, you can also install it as high as 5 feet. The reason for this is that hot or warm air rises.

It will rise with pollutant particles. In that case, a purifying unit that is located above will be in the best position to capture the pollutants.

9. Can you put an air purifier on the carpet?

Yes, indeed you can place your air purifier on the carpet. It really does not matter whether you place it on a hard or carpeted floor because it is going to be just as effective.

This might even help because carpets produce some floating particles that might end up in the air. It might help to have a purifier in a carpeted room.

Remember one thing though … keep the purifier off the ground. The lowest elevation for this appliance should be 3 feet.

10. Should the air purifier be on the floor? Keep it off the ground

This is not a good idea. It is recommended that you place an air purifier at an elevated position, at least 3 feet from the ground. If you can be able to place it at 5 feet above the ground, that would be perfect.

The idea is to place the air purifier in the place where it will have access to a lot of air. Can I put my air purifier on a table? If you have been asking this, the answer is a resounding yes. In fact, it is recommended.

On the table, the purifier will pump out clean air all around you. However, do not place it too close to you.

11. Place the unit at or near the source of the pollution

Let’s assume that you have indoor mold, which is a very serious indoor allergen at home and you want to control the spread of mold spores.

Once you locate the area where the mold is starting or has developed, place the air purifier unit right there, very close to the source.

It will capture mold spores as soon as they are released into the air and prevent them from spreading to the rest of the rooms.

The same applies to odor. Place the unit close the source of odor so that it can capture it before it spreads.

Your unit can also help to remove musty smell caused by the mold infestation inside your home.

12. Is the air purifier the right size? Mind the ACH!

An air purifier works by pulling in the air. Also called air changes per hour (ACH), it means how many times your unit will change the air over.

With every air change, the unit captures some of the contaminants using the HEPA filter or activated charcoal for odors. It then releases the air back into the room with less contaminants.

The unit will keep doing this until all the contaminants are removed from the air and even then, it will not stop unless you switch it off.

As you can probably guess, if you use a very small air-purifying unit for a large room, the effect will not be as pleasing.

It is paramount that you use a unit for the recommended space size and at the same time, keep the windows and doors locked to keep polluted air from coming in.

Without boring you with numbers, it is estimated that in a space that is 800 square feet or smaller, one air purifier is enough.

If it is bigger than that, you will need two or more units, or one big unit rated for a bigger space.

You also have to pay attention to the ACH, and the recommended rate is 4 air changes per hour. Once again, if you get a unit that has 2 ACH, you might have to get two to achieve the recommended ACH.

Check all of these things (ACH, recommended space, type of filter, contaminants targeted) before buying a unit.

Can I use my air purifier with other devices?

In addition to knowing where you should position an air purifier, you also need to know when to run it in relation to a dehumidifier or humidifier.

Of course, a modern American home has at least three devices depending on the location. These include air conditioner, humidifier, dehumidifier and in many cases, an air purifier.

An ultrasonic humidifier produces white dust, which an air purifier can remove. However, we recommend that you do not turn both of them on at the same time.

Because air purifiers work on the same airwaves as many other home devices and appliances, it is best if you do not run all of your devices at the same time.

Where to Place Air Purifier FAQ

The effectiveness of your air purifier depends on the placement. Here are the most frequently asked questions about the best place to put your unit:

What is the best place to put an air purifier?

If you can, keep the area around your unit as clear as possible. That way, it will have access to all the air without obstructions. Also, place it close or at the source of the pollution. You might also want to close the windows and doors.

Does it matter where you place an air purifier?

It matters a lot. The front part through which the appliance takes in air requires a lot of room. Clear the space around the unit as much as possible so that it can draw in a lot of air with each air change.

Can you put air purifier anywhere in room?

You cannot place an air purifier very close to the wall or near a corner. You cannot also place it under furniture because that will hamper air movement. Clear the area around the unit and place it close to the source of the pollution.

Do air purifiers reduce dust?

It is not going to remove dust immediately, but it is going to remove it in small amounts. Mostly though, an air purifier is made to remove other pollutants such as viruses, mold spores, fur, pollen and dust mites. It can also remove the formaldehyde smell from your indoor air.

Should an air purifier run all the time?

Unless an air purifier generates ozone, there is no problem running it all the time. However, it is an electrical appliance so overheating is possible. Even if you live in a very polluted neighborhood, switch it off from time to time.

Conclusion

Where should you position an air purifier for maximum benefit? You have seen the most likely places here.

The most important thing is to never place the air purifier on the floor. Place it on the table or on the wall if possible. That is where it will have maximum airflow and it will work so effectively.