The 3 Best Air Purifiers for Your Baby & Their Nursery in 2021

If you’re reading this you’re probably looking for an air purifier for your baby’s nursery. And if that’s the case then let me be the first to say…GOOD FOR YOU!

You know why?

During the first 3 months of a newborn’s life, they are at greater risk of illness due to their immune systems being severely underdeveloped.

That’s why it’s important to minimize your newborn’s contact with as many germs as possible. Don’t put them at risk of catching any viruses that their immune system wouldn’t be able to handle. An air purifier is one of the many ways that you can minimize this risk for your baby!

In this article, I’ll be telling you what features you should look for when shopping for an air purifier for your baby’s nursery. Along with my recommendations of the three best air purifiers for a baby, and what makes them so worth their ranking. Enjoy!

Quick Summary & Recommendation

If you don’t want to read this whole article, here’s a three-minute version instead!

There are a few things you should be looking for when searching for the best air purifier for a baby.

You should be on the lookout for an air purifier with a True HEPA filter, an activated carbon filter, and a washable pre-filter to better preserve your HEPA filter’s lifespan. (All 3 on this list have those.)

It’s a bonus if the air purifier comes with a UV-C light to kill off germs, bacteria, and any other harmful micro-organisms before they multiply and spread. (#2 & #3 have this.)

The most important part though is having an air purifier that is safe for your baby to be near. That’s why I’ve given the Vornadobaby Purio Air Purifier the #1 spot as the best air purifier for a baby room.

 

The features below really show the thoughtfulness in Vornadobaby’s design.

Designed With Your Baby in Mind

• Covered Cord Storage

  You’ll be able to stash the extra power cord length you don’t need into the air purifier. Vornadobaby allows you to store it inside of a concealed base on the bottom of the Purio so that your baby won’t ever be able to find it. No need to worry about your baby possibly hitting the electric cord and having something bad happen!

  

• Back-lit Control with Lock

  The Purio is controlled via the back-lit buttons on the machine. As we all know, in a baby’s mind they can’t help but see those shiny little buttons and not be able to press them! Vornadobaby saw this coming and included a lock feature so that your little one won’t be able to accidentally tamper with the settings while they mash away on the bright lights. 🙂

• Locking Filter Cover

  The Purio contains a lockable filter cover so that your baby won’t be able to somehow get near the filters inside this air purifier. Your baby getting into the filters would be much harder than the cord storage but just like you, Vornadobaby understands & doesn’t even want to take that risk! It blows me away just how many preventative measures Vornadobaby has taken with their Purio!

• No Sharp Edges

  It’s not too obvious but if you take a look at this machine you’ll notice that the Purio doesn’t have a single sharp edge on it! This was intentionally done so that your baby won’t be able to hurt themselves being around it. This is one of the biggest reasons I ranked Purio #1 for the best air purifier for your baby. Sure there may be air purifiers that can clean the air better, but none have the safety features the Purio has for your baby.

• “Sleepy Time” Mode

  When it’s time for your baby to lie down and sleep, the Purio will be there to help. Turning on “sleepy time” will make the Purio go into the lowest fan speed setting. Producing only a tiny white noise, not enough to disturb your baby whatsoever. The Purio will also create a very dim light to mimic a nightlight (pictured right). Creating a nice, relaxing environment for your baby to fall asleep in! The “sleepy time” mode is what really pushed the Purio into the #1 spot for me and made it the best air purifier for a baby’s nursery!

Of course, the features listed above are great for your baby (and your peace of mind as a parent).

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But what about the other thing?

You know…the thing the Purio is actually supposed to do.

OH RIGHT – Air purification! Yes, thank you for reminding me!

Simple 3 Stage Filtration

Not to worry! The Vornadobaby Purio is a top quality air purifier, with a three-stage filtration system guaranteed to leave your baby’s nursery room free of any harmful particles. The Purio’s three-stage filtration system consists of the following filters:

1. Washable Pre-Filter – This filter does the most work. It captures all the big particles that are found in almost all homes – things like dust, pet hair, and larger bacteria. The benefits of a pre-filter are two-fold. First, because it’s there doing most of the work filtering out the big stuff, it extends the lifespan of the HEPA filter. And secondly, because the pre-filter is washable you’ll be saving money on what would’ve been replacement filters!
2. Activated Carbon Filter – The activated carbon filter is a great additional filter to have on an air purifier because its job is to absorb and remove chemicals & odors found in the surrounding air that would normally go undetected.
3. True HEPA Filter – This is the most important filter when it comes to air purification. The inclusion of this filter is what usually makes or breaks a buyer’s decision and I’m glad to tell you that the Purio does have one! Although the pre-filter does the most work, the HEPA filter is what’s most important. A HEPA filter eliminates 99.97% of micro-organisms smaller than 0.3 microns in a room. This filter will get rid of the more potentially harmful airborne particles in your baby’s room that may slip through the cracks of the other filters listed. This filter really has the biggest impact on your baby’s health!

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Quick Air Purification at a Moment’s Notice

With these three filters, the Purio purifies the air in your baby’s room at an astounding rate of 6.3 times per hour! That’s an incredibly quick purification process and really ensures that your baby won’t even have the time to be affected by any possible airborne bacteria!

The air purification rate will stay the same regardless of whichever three-speed settings you choose. This air purifier also indicates when it’s in need of a filter change by gently pulsing a dim light. Vornadobaby wants you to keep your attention on your little one instead of their air purifier!

To top it all off, the Purio is backed by a 5-year worry-free warranty! Just a little extra great news for you and your baby.

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As you can tell, the Vornadobaby Purio is designed to give you peace of mind as a parent, while doing exactly what you need it to for your baby. It’s the perfect air purifier for a baby’s nursery and exactly why we gave it the #1 spot on this list of best air purifiers for a baby’s nursery.

 

The Purezone has the same 3 stage filtration system we saw in the Purio. This means it has the HEPA filter (An important feature to have). This air purifier also has a UV-C light that keeps your nursery’s air even cleaner! (You’ll read more about that coming up)

To help keep your focus on your baby and not the air purifier, the Purezone has a filter life indicator to let you know when it’s time to change out the HEPA & Activated Charcoal filter.

The Purezone comes equipped with a 2, 4, or 8-hour timer. Letting you leave the air purifier on for a set time, after which point it will auto shut-off. This is a nifty little feature for when it’s time to put your baby to bed.

You’ll be able to get the baby to sleep and can leave the air purifier on for say 2 or 4 hours until your baby’s gone into their deep sleep (fingers crossed!). With this feature, you can rest assured that even in their sleep, your baby will be breathing the safest and purest air!

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UV-C Light

As I had mentioned earlier, there’s one feature the Purezone air purifier has that the Purio doesn’t.

It’s an important one too.

What I’m talking about is the inclusion of a UV-C light. A UV-C light is a worthwhile feature for any air purifier to have. Even more so when we’re talking about an air purifier for a baby!

The reason this feature is so worth mentioning is that, as you’ve already read – a baby’s immune system is much weaker than normal due to it being underdeveloped early on in infancy.

So what’s it do then?

A UV-C light is responsible for destroying micro-organisms both in the air and on the ground. Things like germs, viruses, bacteria, and fungi. (Psst, if you’re dealing with fungi like mold and mildew, you should check out this post.)

The UV-C light helps to eliminate these micro-organisms around the air purifier, and because your baby’s nursery is usually fairly small it will be able to eliminate the micro-organisms in the entire nursery! Not only will it rid the nursery of these viruses but also proactively prevent them from forming.

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Quiet as a Whisper

The last feature I really appreciate with the Purezone (and I’m sure you and your baby will too) is how little noise it makes!

On its lowest setting, the Purezone only makes 30 dB of noise. This is the equivalent noise level of someone softly whispering to you. If you’re sometimes skeptical about whether an air purifier’s white noise affects your baby’s sleep, you won’t have to worry about the Purezone since it keeps all noise to a minimum!

The Purezone is a great second choice if you’re not sold on the Purio.

If you really appreciate the usefulness of the UV-C light then I’d strongly suggest you pick up the Purezone 3-in-1. You won’t find a better air purifier equipped with a UV-C light that’s still safe enough to be around your baby.

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And it’s an excellent air purifier if you’re shopping on a budget! The 5-year warranty will really give you peace of mind if anything were to go wrong with it! Let’s not forget Whisper-Quiet technology is a great feature to help your baby sleep uninterrupted through the night.

 

#3 – GermGuardian AC4825

Coverage: 167 sq ft.

Dimensions: 5.5 x 9 x 21.5 in.

Weight: 7 lbs.

Power consumption: N/A

Warranty: 3 years.

Last on this list of best air purifiers for babies, we have the GermGuardian AC4825.

The GermGuardian AC4825 carries the same 3 stage filtration system that both the Purio and the Purezone have. Like the Purezone, the GermGuardian also has a UV-C light. So all in all this air purifier comes with the following:

• Washable Pre-Filter
• HEPA Filter
• Activated Carbon Filter
• UV-C light

This is exactly what we’re looking for when it comes to keeping our baby’s sleeping area sanitary and the air inside it clean! Not to mention this machine will fully purify your baby’s nursery approximately 4 times every hour.

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Overall Rating: 3.9/5

Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
- HEPA filter for high quality air purification - UV-C light destroys and actively prevents germs, mold, and virus growth - Energy Star certified - Simple to use	- Doesn't give air quality readings - Circuit board may overheat (See Problem #2)

Energy Efficient

If you’re looking for an air purifier that has a good upfront price and won’t ruin your wallet in the long run, the GermGuardian AC4825 is your answer. The AC4825 is Energy Star certified meaning it’s designed to use electricity optimally. This means more money you get to save on your power bill!

Plain & Simple

If you’re new to owning an air purifier or have never owned one before it can definitely be overwhelming! I’m sure reading about them must be confusing not knowing what all these features do (I hope I’ve explained them as best as I can for you!). And then when you finally buy an air purifier, there’s so many buttons and switches you have no idea what to press if anything!

The GermGuardian has got you covered.

As you can see from the picture on the left, this air purifier has almost nothing you’ll have to worry about fiddling with. A plain and simple air purifier that will do its job. There are only two things you have to interact with:

1. A rotating dial that lets you choose between 3 fan speed settings, and turn it off.
2. An On/Off button for the UV-C light. (Labeled UV)

Oh almost forgot to mention! If you hold the UV light button for 5 seconds, it will reset the filter life indicator light. The power light doubles down as the filter life indicator.

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When your HEPA and/or Activated Carbon filter needs replacing, the power light will begin to blink red. You can expect these two filters to last you around 6-9 months depending on usage.

So Why Isn’t This Ranked Second?

If you’ve been reading about the GermGuardian and think it’s just as excellent as it sounds, that’s because it is. BUT, there are two things that worry me about this air purifier, one is in the design and another is some bad news I’ve heard about it. Let’s look at the design first.

Problem #1

While this air purifier does the exact same things the Purezone does, (and at a lower price) it does it in a much taller machine. Since this is an article meant for the best air purifiers in a nursery, the height of this machine worries me a little.

Standing at 22 inches tall, if your baby were to ever bump into this air purifier while crawling (knock on wood), it could tumble down and that worries me enough to note it and let you know too.

The Purezone is a much more compact and lighter air purifier. If you don’t think you’ll be having your baby crawl around the nursery room where this might happen, by all means, go ahead and get the GermGuardian. It’s an excellent pickup and you won’t be disappointed!

Problem #2

The second problem is much more severe and may discourage you more than the first issue. There have been multiple reviews of the GermGuardian AC4825 that report issues with what seems to be the internal circuit board of the machine. It seems the circuit board internally heats up to the point where it will burn itself just short of completely blowing the fuse. What results is the distinct odor of something burning.

Although this doesn’t happen to every unit or even 30% of units, it’s been mentioned frequently enough for me to want to warn you, especially because in your case, this air purifier is meant to be used in your baby’s room! Not only will the smell upset the baby, but the possibility of inhaling dangerous chemicals from the burning plastic is definitely something to avoid. If you experience this problem they’ll gladly refund you for the full amount so not to worry about your money going up in flames (literally).

I truly don’t want to discourage you from buying the GermGuardian AC4825 when I mentioned those two problems (one is based on my personal worry). It’s only a small percentage of units that have problem #2 so it’s not like this is a common problem. It’s an excellent air purifier at a great price and won’t cost you tons in the long run. It does everything you’ll need in an air purifier for a baby’s nursery and that’s why it’s made the list at #3.

If you’ve made it this far – thank you for reading this list on the best air purifier for a baby! Have a great day! 🙂