Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

IKEA’s new air purifier is a design masterpiece that won’t break the bank

IKEA

Air purifiers are great to have around the home, especially now that spring has arrived and brought with it a wave of evil pollen invaders ready to wage war on your sinuses. The problem with so many of them s that they’re either too large to comfortably fit into small apartments or their price is too high for your wallet.

Recommended Videos

Indoor air quality has a huge impact on your overall health, and poor air quality leads to more instances of asthma, as well as heart disease, cancer, and a number of other serious health conditions.

Today, IKEA launched the Förnuftig Air Purifier in the United States at the incredible price of just $55. The Förnuftig is powerful and uses a multistage filtration system that does a more thorough job.

The prefilter removes large particles from the air such as hair and dust, while a secondary filter removes particles (including pollen) as small as 2.5 microns in size. There is also a filter that removes gaseous pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde, as well as unpleasant odors from smoking and cooking.

Förnuftig Air Purifier
IKEA

The Förnuftig doesn’t use an app or smart controls; instead, it is controlled simply via a dial. It’s easy to use for even the most non-tech-savvy customers, which broadens the appeal of this air purifier.

In small spaces, air quality is even more important. If you live in a 200-square-foot apartment in Manhattan, you aren’t going to invest in a device that takes up a large amount of space — you don’t have it to spare. The Förnuftig meets that need. Designed with small spaces in mind, the Förnuftig is rated for 108 square feet and measures only 4 inches by 18 inches by 12 inches. That’s small enough to fit on a countertop.

Whether you’re looking for an air purifier for a small bedroom or you need one for an entire apartment, the Förnuftig is a great option when you don’t have the space or the spare change.

The Förnuftig can be purchased online through IKEA’s website or in-store at local IKEA retailers.

Patrick Hearn
Patrick Hearn writes about smart home technology like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, smart light bulbs, and more. If it's a…
Can you run an air purifier and essential oil diffuser at the same time?
URPOWER Essential Oil Diffuser.

At first glance, air purifiers and essential oil diffusers seem like they would be natural opponents. One is designed to take particles from the air in your home, and the other is designed to add (pleasant-smelling) particles instead. If you’re running them both in the same room, it’s understandable to wonder if they’re canceling each other out.

Fortunately, it’s easy to clear this confusion up. Let’s take a look at some FAQs about these two home air devices and what you should know about using them both at the same time.
What's the difference between an air purifier and an air diffuser?
An air purifier uses a filter or series of filters to remove unwanted particles from your home’s air. They are commonly used to get rid of airborne allergens, smoke, and dust, and they can also help remove bacteria and viruses from the air. The best air purifiers use true HEPA filters that can remove particles down to the size of 0.3 microns, and some newer models can remove particles as small as 0.1 microns.

Read more
How long do I run my air purifier?
The Coway Airmega purifier.

In previous guides, we’ve discussed how today’s smart air purifiers work and what specs to look at when getting the right size for your room or house -- like CADR, or Clean Air Delivery Rate. But air purifiers can only cycle through a room’s air when they are turned on … which leads us to another important question: Just how long should you run your air purifier? Can you run it for too long? Don’t worry, we have all the answers.
How long should I run my air purifier?
The air quality inside your home is always changing, and the impact of your air purifier will depend on its size -- especially whether you want to clear up a single room or the whole house. In general, you can run an air purifier for a few hours a day and expect it to give the air in its space a thorough cleaning. If you’re only looking at one smaller room, half an hour to an hour can have the same result. That schedule can give you all the benefits that an air purifier offers without requiring it to be on all the time -- but you’ll want to run it at least once a day for best effect.

Do air purifier settings make a difference when running it?
They do. Most air purifiers have several fan settings that affect how quickly they push air through, in exchange for using more power and making more noise. If you only have a few hours a day to clean the air in your home and would prefer not to leave the purifier on when you are away, turn it to its maximum setting and let it run. Just note that max settings on most air purifiers will be too loud to hold a meeting in the same room.
Is it safe to run an air purifier all the time?
Yes. Air purifiers are generally designed to be run all the time if you prefer to. You can put the purifier on its lowest setting to diminish noise and let it run throughout the day.

Read more
The new Wyze Air Purifier offers quiet, efficient filtration
The Wyze Air Purifier is quiet enough for use in any room.

Wyze has announced a new air purifier with three different filter options. You can choose which filter you want at purchase, but the other filters can be purchased at a later date and swapped out on the fly as needed.

The Wyze Air Purifier filter options include the Allergen (Standard) filter, the Formaldehyde (Premium) filter, and the Wildfire filter. It utilizes a true HEPA filter for 99.97% efficiency in eliminating harmful, airborne particles such as dander, pollen, and even smoke. The purifier has enough power to clean a 500-square-foot room up to three times an hour, and it's not too loud even on the highest setting. The sound ranges from 21 decibels in its sleep mode to 54 decibels on its highest level -- roughly the same volume as a refrigerator's hum.

Read more