Even if you don’t suffer from allergies or breathing troubles, you might have concerns about the air quality in your home. For peace of mind (and maybe even better sleep), many parents opt to use an air purifier, especially in the nursery. We put a number of air purifiers to the test in our lab and with some parent testers, and the AeraMax DX5 Air Purifier came out as a solid contender. It has features that our parents really appreciated, including quick set-up and the optional auto mode that means the unit automatically adjusts its fan speed (and rate of purification) based on the level of pollutants detected in the room. Testers all noticed a range of benefits when using the air purifier, from less visible dust and fresher-smelling air to better sleep for themselves and their babes.

With both a carbon filter and a True HEPA filter with AeraSafe Antimicrobial Treatment, the AeraMax DX5 Air Purifier—which is certified asthma and allergy friendly by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America—can capture up to 99.99 percent of airborne particles as small as 0.3 microns, including allergens, germs, viruses, smoke and dust, and it can even help reduce odours. It’s recommended that the HEPA filter be replaced once a year and the carbon filter every three months, but an indicator light on the front panel will alert you when it’s time, so there’s no guesswork.

One thing both our lab and our parents appreciated was how easy and intuitive it is to set up the AeraMax DX5 Air Purifier. The instructions are super clear and include a handy diagram showing all of the parts and functions of the unit. In a matter of a couple of minutes, we were able to read the instructions, remove the plastic wrapping from the filters, install them, turn on the unit, adjust the settings and that was it, we were done. While the majority of our parent testers liked the display panel on the front of the AeraMax DX5 Air Purifier, which includes control buttons as well as large symbols showing the fan speed and colour-coded air quality indicator (blue, amber and red), one parent noted that the display lights are quite bright and can’t be dimmed or turned off. Her solution was to tape a piece of black construction paper over the panel at night so it wouldn’t disturb her child. There are three fan speeds to choose from: low, medium and high. These can be selected manually on the unit’s touch-screen display, or you can use the auto-mode setting, which adjusts the fan speed as needed to achieve optimal air quality based on readings by the AeraSmart sensor.

Many air purifiers are tested for their Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) to measure their effectiveness at removing three pollutants from the air: tobacco smoke, pollen and dust. Though the AeraMax DX5 has lower CADR scores than some other air purifiers, in our lab tests, we found it effective at removing particles from the air, reducing the number of detectable particles from 50,000 to fewer than 100 in about 20 minutes. Parents who tried out this model at home were surprised by how much “cleaner” the air in the room felt and smelled.

At just 27.25 inches high by 7.25 inches wide and 8.5 inches deep, the slim tower design of the AeraMax DX5 Air Purifier means that it fits easily into small rooms, which is a good thing, because the unit is most effective in rooms measuring 100-200 square feet. The majority of our parent testers liked the size and appearance of the AeraMax DX5 and found it easy to move around. Portability is something to consider if you’re planning to shift the air purifier between rooms, or want the option of angling the fan away from sleepy babes, as the air blows out of the front rather than the top. A fairly common consideration, however, was the noise of the unit. The low and medium settings are pretty quiet, but high is quite loud—not uncommon among air purifiers, but something to think about if you want to place it in a bedroom on auto mode.

FINAL WORD 

Overall, both our editors and our parent testers felt that the AeraMax DX5 Air Purifier did a good job removing pollutants from the air, with all parents saying they would recommend it to others, and the majority saying they would buy the unit for themselves. When you consider it’s effectiveness, ease of use and space-saving design, it’s a good option at a budget-friendly price.