Depending on the size of the air purifier you have and the size of your room will affect how long you should run your air purifier.
You should run your air purifier for 12 to 24 hours per day for the best results. It’s safe to leave your air purifier on while you sleep.
The only downside is that you’ll have to replace the filter more often and pay for the added electricity bills.
Below you’ll find how long it takes for air purifiers to work, how long it takes to clean a room, and more.
Let’s get started.
How Long Should You Run An Air Purifier?
You can run your air purifier for 12 to 24 hours per day depending on the air quality in your home.
If you’re dealing with a lot of airborne particles, run your air purifier all day long to ensure the best air quality.
Air purifiers work by pulling in dirty air and passing it through an internal HEPA filter.
The unwanted particles then get trapped inside the filter and the purified air is then circulated back into the environment.
While air purifiers can be a great way to get fresh air inside of your home, they aren’t foolproof devices.
If you have polluted air constantly making its way into your home through an open window or poor insulation, no air purifier is going to be able to get rid of the particulates fully.
Is It Safe to Run an Air Purifier All Day?
It is safe to run an air purifier all day.
What might happen from constant use is that your HEPA filter needs to be replaced more often.
To keep your indoor air clean, you’ll want to change your filter to the lower end of what’s recommended for most air purifiers.
For example, if your manufacturer recommends changing the filter every 6-12 months, then you should replace it every 6 months if it’s working all day.
The only drawback of running your air purifier is the added noise and utility bills that you may incur.
If you have a new residential air purifier, it should have an air quality indicator.
If you find that the air quality has been returned to ideal levels, then you can turn your air purifier off to save on money.
How Long Does it Take an Air Purifier to Work?
Let’s take for example this LEVOIT Air Purifier, it uses a true HEPA filter and can eliminate 99.97% of dust particles, smoke, mold, and pollen in the air.
It can provide fresh air in around 12 minutes and is capable of refreshing a 220-square feet room 5x per hour.
The smaller the air purifier, the longer it will take to purify your room.
For the best results and clean air, ensure that your air purifier is rated for the size of the room you’re going to put it in.
If you put a tiny air purifier in a large running, even if your air purifier is running 24/7, it won’t be as effective as a larger unit.
How Long Does it Take an Air Purifier to Clear a Room?
An air purifier can clean air in a small room in around 30 minutes.
For bigger rooms, it can take anywhere from 2 to 3 hours. Depending on the indoor air quality and size of your room and air purifier will all determine how long you need to leave your air purifier running.
To clean a room’s air faster, you can set modern air purifiers to a high-performance model that will clean a room’s air faster if you’re low on time.
Should I Sleep With an Air Purifier On?
To maintain clean air in your bedroom, sleeping with an air purifier is fine.
You may have to deal with white noise coming from your air purifier if it’s running at its highest speed.
Otherwise, there is no harm in sleeping with your air purifier all night.
How to Reduce Air Purifier Costs?
If you leave your air purifier on all day, it can become quite pricy at the end of the month.
What you may be able to do is call your electricity company and inquire into off-peak hours discounts.
If during the night your electricity costs are lower, consider running your air purifier then and shutting it off during the daytime when electricity costs are higher.
Should you close windows with an air purifier?
You should close windows with an air purifier.
If you leave the window, the polluted air will circulate throughout your room nullifying any benefits you’d get from air purifiers.
If you find it uncomfortable in your room, consider a box fan or an air conditioner to help aid in comfort levels.
Should Air Purifier be on the Floor?
You should elevate your air purifier at least 3 to 5 feet off the ground.
This way, you give your air purifier a chance to capture all of the indoor air movement and not just the air that’s on the floor.
It also reduces any hazards of it being knocked over by children.
Just make sure to conceal the cord to prevent it from being knocked over by any kids or pets that may walk by.
Final Thoughts
One issue with running an air purifier all day long is the electricity costs.
The best way to reduce your utility bill is by monitoring the air quality of your room.
If you find that it’s reached your ideal level of cleanliness, then there is no reason for your air purifier to continue to run.
Leaving your air purifier on for 12-24 hours is ideal but you will need to change the filter out more often the longer you run it.
You can also sleep next to your air purifier without any worry.
For those that require air purifiers and a dehumidifier, you can check out this air purifier/dehumidifier combo buyer’s guide.
Be mindful though that combo solutions are only good for smaller-sized rooms.
If you require a larger room to be dehumidified, we also have dehumidifier buying guides for apartments.
