Can You Place an Air Purifier Anywhere in the Room?

I was excited the first time I got my air purifier.

I clearly remember the second it arrived, I took it out of the box, placed it in the corner of my room, and turned it on. I gave it around an hour or so to start working.

I expected the air purifier to take care of my allergies as I bought it during allergy season when I was sneezing uncontrollably at home.

To my disbelief, it wasn’t really doing much, so I gave it a few days, and still, despite the air purifier staying on 24/7, not much had changed regarding my allergies.

At first, I thought I had bought the wrong air purifier for the job.

This was a letdown since I did a lot of research before choosing my air purifier, and it would suck if all that research and money spent were for nothing.

So, I went to a friend of mine to ask for help, and the second she walked into my home, she noticed that I had placed my air purifier in the corner of the room.

I didn’t know it at the time, but my friend let me know that the air purifier’s placement was the real problem and not the air purifier itself.

Turns out you have to place your air purifier in the right spot if you want it to work properly.

So, to prevent you from making the same mistake as me, in this article, I’ll go over the question of whether or not you can place your air purifier anywhere in the room.

After that, I’ll guide you through finding the best spot for your air purifier.

Can I Place My Air Purifier Anywhere in the Room?

You might think an air purifier will work regardless of where you put it.

However, this is far from the case.

If you don’t place the air purifier in the right spot, it won’t be able to purify the air in your home as effectively as you’d expect it to, which is why my allergies stayed the same despite having a brand new air purifier for my small room.

Why is this the case?

To figure that out, we need to dive into how air purifiers work in the first place.

Simply put, air purifiers consist of a fan and a filtration system.

To purify the air, the fan sucks in the unpurified air from your room and pushes it through the filtration system.

While all the solid particles that were previously in the air remain trapped in the filtration system, the clean air exists the air purifier through the exit vent.

So, if the air purifier doesn’t have good airflow due to its placement, it won’t be able to suck in that much air.

So, most particles will circulate around the room without ever reaching the air purifier.

This is why my air purifier wasn’t working that well.

Since I placed it on the floor in the corner of the room, there was barely any airflow.

Granted, the air purifier was capturing some particles, but when I placed it in the right spot, there was an immense difference.

I couldn’t imagine how much of a change putting the air purifier in the right spot was, but I was glad to learn about that before returning my air purifier for no reason.

So, if it’s your first time using an air purifier, make sure to pay close attention to the placement of the air purifier, as it can make all the difference.

Keep reading to help you find the perfect placement for your unit.

A Guide to Finding the Perfect Placement for Your Air Purifier

It’s easy to say that you must place your air purifier in the right spot.

However, finding the right spot for your air purifier is a completely different story.

On top of that, the right spot for your air purifier largely depends on your needs, the design of your home, and the type of air purifier you have.

But don’t worry; while it might seem complicated, it isn’t that hard when broken down.

The thing you need to remember when setting up an air purifier is that you need to put it in a place with good airflow.

If you have that as your launching point, it will be much easier for you to figure out the exact spot to place the air purifier.

And to make it easier for you to set up your air purifier for the first time, here are some other things to consider when determining where to place the air purifier:

Place It Near the Source of the Pollutants

One of the ways you can ensure that your air purifier will work properly is by placing it near the source of the pollutants you want to avoid breathing in.

If you place it near the source of the pollutants, then it will have a much easier time catching and filtering out all the harmful particles in the air before they reach your lungs.

Why does this happen?

Let’s say you got the best air purifier for seasonal allergies.

The main cause of the allergies is dust and pollen, which are common pollutants that float around the air in your room, especially during allergy season.

So, if you place the air purifier near a window (where a lot of the pollutants come from), it can capture the particles before they even have a chance to enter the room.

This can make a huge difference for people with allergies, regardless of the types of pollutants you plan on eliminating.

So, when you set up your air purifier for the first time, always ask yourself where the pollutants may be coming from.

And once you determine that, it will be much easier to figure out the exact spot in the room to place the air purifier.

Keep It Elevated

One of my biggest mistakes (though not the biggest one) when setting up my air purifier was placing it on the floor.

Now, I have a pretty small apartment, so I didn’t need a large air purifier. However, I quickly found out that since I had a small air purifier, putting it on the floor made it harder for the air purifier to capture particles and pollutants from the air.

Why is this, you may ask?

While some particles float near the floor, most are higher up, which would make them out of reach for the air purifier.

And even if the air purifier has a strong fan, it can be hard to suck in the particles floating higher up in the air. This is why placing the air purifier on the floor can keep it from performing as well as it should.

So, if you have a small air purifier, and even if you have one of the larger models, I recommend keeping it elevated. Ideally, the air purifier should be at least 3 feet above the ground to have the best chances of catching as many particles as possible.

Avoid Corners

Okay, so let’s go to my biggest mistake with my air purifier: placing it in the corner.

As mentioned earlier, airflow is crucial for optimal performance when setting up an air purifier.

And I didn’t know this at the time, but the place in the room with the worst airflow is usually the corner.

When I placed my air purifier in the corner of the room, I limited the device quite significantly.

And while it was still working as intended, it couldn’t process anywhere near enough air had I placed it in a better spot.

So, aside from elevating my air purifier, I removed it from the corner.

I placed it in the middle of the room to see if it made a difference, and it did.

In an hour, my sinuses weren’t as congested, which clearly showed that the air purifier was starting to work.

This is why I recommend choosing an air purifier that matches the interior design of your room.

That way, you won’t be inclined to place it in the corner where most people won’t see it.

Find Places With the Best Airflow

So, if you aren’t going to place the air purifier in the corner, where should it go?

Well, that’s pretty easy.

The best place to put an air purifier is where it can get great airflow.

This is probably the most important aspect when deciding where to place your air purifier. Granted, it can be hard to figure out which part of your room has the best airflow.

In my opinion, one of the best places to put your air purifier is in the middle of the room.

Yes, I realize it’s very inconvenient, but plenty of air purifiers out there can easily match the style of your room and make it fit in perfectly.

If the middle of your room doesn’t work, a great alternative would be near the walls, doorways, or windows.

These are places where air flow is pretty high, which rings true for most rooms. So, don’t be afraid to try out different spots until you find one with the best airflow to make it easier for the air purifier to improve the air quality of your indoor space.

Don’t Obstruct the Airflow

Since airflow is very important, make sure you aren’t blocking the air purifier.

For example, even if you place the air purifier in the spot with the best airflow possible, it won’t mean anything if something obstructs the airflow.

For example, a chair, table, or shelf behind the air purifier will obstruct the airflow and affect the air purifier’s overall performance and efficiency.

Don’t Place It in Humid Areas

You may not know it, but every home has quite a few relatively humid areas.

Generally, the kitchen and bathroom will have more humidity than other areas of the house. And while it might seem like a good idea to place your air purifier in these areas, I highly advise against it.

This is because humid air is typically a lot heavier.

The downside to this is that the air purifier has to work much harder to purify the humid air.

On top of that, humid air increases the chances of the HEPA filter and the activated carbon filter getting moldy, which can reduce their lifespan quite a lot.

Move The Air Purifier Around

With all the advice from above, you might be left pretty confused as to what the best option for you might be.

And thankfully, one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to air purifiers, so make sure to test your unit out by changing its location every now and then.

Eventually, you’ll start to notice where the air purifier is working to its best, which is exactly where you should keep it moving forward.

Conclusion

If you’re setting up your air purifier for the first time, you can’t just place it anywhere in the room.

Air purifiers require ample space to pull in and purify as much air as possible. Otherwise, you’ll be doing it an injustice, and it won’t do its job properly.