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When I originally started looking for an air purifier a couple years back, I sought out a sleek machine that could help curb all the pollen that incessantly drifts through my windows every spring. Living on a tree-lined street is great, but dealing with all the green spores (and stuffy nose)? Definitely a bummer. After bringing Molekule’s Air Mini+ purifier home, I quickly realized the compact machine did much more than filter out those pesky flecks and dust. (More on that later.) The only caveat? It’s pricey. The smaller version is usually $360, and upgrading to the larger Pro (it can filter spaces as large as 1,000 square feet versus 250 square feet) will cost you $600 more and then some.
Air Mini+, Molekule
Air Pro, Molekule
Personally, I’ve found the price tag to be worth it. Case in point: My bedroom shares a wall with my neighbor’s kitchen and, like clockwork, I’m greeted every morning by the sound of them opening up their microwave door and pressing a few buttons to start it up. Shortly after, I can smell their breakfast. But just a few days after setting up the Mini+, that unwelcome aroma all but disappeared. And I didn’t do much beyond the initial setup. Unboxing was a breeze; I just had to remove the little guy from its cloth bag and plug it in. I placed it right on my nightstand and still had enough room for my table lamp and coaster for my nightly glass of water.
Through the app, I selected the Auto-Protect mode, although there are five different fan settings to choose from. While it initially powered up to scrub the air the first day, its loud whirring lulled to a soft hum (just 39 decibels) that’s quieter than a sound machine. That is, until I’m dowsing my hair with product to either style or blow-dry it. In those moments, the fan increases to the highest speed in order to quickly rid the air of all the micro pollutants I personally added. Now it’s not only the one room in my apartment that needs less routine cleaning, it smells fresher, too. Stale, musty scents are rare there, even after a long trip away.
While I love the Mini+ for my less-than-200-square-foot bedroom, there are a couple of perks to going with the Pro, too. Not long ago, Molekule launched new-and-improved sensor technology and reports; before, you could only check what your air purifier was filtering out on a day-to-day basis, but now the brand will provide you with weekly trend forecasts over a four-week period, revealing when quality dipped and pointing out the main culprit behind it—be that VOCs, CO2, relative humidity, or other pollutants (like the current particulate matter from wildfire smoke). Other reasons, if you aren’t quite sold, include a 30-day, risk-free trial and free shipping. So you may never have to guess what exactly it is you’re breathing in again.