Photo: Sarah Kobos

The Worst Air Purifier We’ve Ever Tested

Published October 7, 2019

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It’s wildfire season on the West Coast, and even smaller fires can render the air thick with traveling smoke that seeps through the clapboard exterior of my bungalow. This is the time of year when I think about finding the right air purifier. In this year’s tests, we’ve reaffirmed that the Coway AP-1512HH Mighty is the best for most people, thanks to its good performance and economical running costs.

We also finally tested the Molekule air purifier, which everyone gets social media ads for, and we found in our tests that it “turned in the worst performance on particulates of any purifier, of any size, of any price, that we have tested in the seven years that we have been producing this guide.” We found that on its auto setting, which is its medium setting, the Molekule reduced 0.3-micron particulates by (in the best case) only 26.4 percent over the course of half an hour. Compare that with the 87.6 percent reduction the Coway Mighty achieved on its medium setting.

Check out our results, and let us know what your experience with the Molekule has been.

Here’s the latest on new, upcoming, and updated guides:

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