Best Air Purifier For Cat Allergies

Best Air Purifier For Cat Allergies

It’s possible to develop allergies if triggered by repeated exposure to an allergen. Unfortunately, this is what happened to me with my cats.

For years that I had Nala & Charlie, I had absolutely no allergies to cats. I would bury my face in my cats’ furry belly and we would give each other kisses, typically my cats rubbing their nose on mine.

But starting about 2 years ago, I couldn’t go a day without taking allergy meds. Otherwise, I would sneeze uncontrollably and my nose would be so runny that I just wanted to cut it off from frustration. My body physically felt so weak as I submitted to the endless sneezes.

Obviously, giving my cats up for adoption was not even an option for me. They’re my family. So, I had to look into other ways to cat-proof my home to be as allergen-free as possible.

I avoided my nose and mouth coming into contact with the cats. So, no rubbing my face on their soft fur and no kisses. =(

That helped a lot, which proved to me that I had to prevent the dander from going up my nostrils. One solution for that was an air purifier.

Best Air Purifier for Cat Allergies

I read review after review, I researched what made an air purifier good. I learned what HEPA filter meant. I added an air purifier to my shopping cart, then couldn’t pull the trigger, so I slept on it.

I went back the next day and read some more reviews. That confused me more and I replaced the air purifier in my cart with another.

I went through this process for a few weeks until I was certain I was choosing the best air purifier for what I needed – to remove cat dander for someone with cat allergies. And I’m glad I did, because I can’t be happier with the one I picked. 

I definitely recommend the GermGuardian AC4825 available on Amazon.com. I chose this for numerous reasons.

  • It claimed to suck in particles as small as 0.3 microns in size, which includes dander, dust, and mold spores.
  • It had a true HEPA filter of 99.97% (which I explain below)
  • It had 4 stars with over 8,000 customer reviews and many bad reviews were about defective, malfunctioning ones they got as opposed to the quality
  • It was on the affordable side – not a mega expensive one but also not super cheap that makes you wonder if it might break within a month
  • It’s relatively light at 7 pounds compared to 20 pounds for the more expensive ones
  • UV light function that kills airborne bacteria, viruses, germs and mold spores
  • Slender and not bulky so I can easily move it around from room to room
best air purifier for cat allergies

GermGuardian AC4825. It does a fantastic job for the price.

One night when my histamine was acting up, I couldn’t stop sneezing for hours. I couldn’t sleep, it was past midnight and I had taken allergy meds already but it wasn’t working. So, out of desperation, I turned on the air filter at max power, closed my room, and after 30 minutes, my sneezing stopped and my eyes weren’t itchy anymore.

I’ve now had it for 2 years and knock on wood, it’s still going strong.

Best Air Purifier for Cat Litter Smell

The great thing about having an air purifier is that you can also use it to remove the poo and pee ammonia smell coming from the litter box.

This has helped a great deal in the summer when it’s hot and muggy and the air particles hang out in the same place. The air purifier helps to circulate the air in that area and sucks up the odor from the litter box.

What to Look for When Choosing an Air Purifier

It’s overwhelming to have to read through hundreds of products to find the best one for your needs, especially nowadays where anyone can outsource manufacturing overseas. So, you have to be diligent about knowing what to look for when you’re choosing an air purifier.

Is it air flow?

Is more expensive better?

I did the research to understand what made an air purifier high quality and what I should be looking for when buying an air purifier for cat allergies:

  • “TRUE” HEPA FILTER – HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air. Filters meeting the HEPA standards remove 99.97% of particles that are 0.3 microns in size. Pet dander is about 2-3 microns in size, so a True HEPA filter would absorb these. Comparatively, mold spores are around 7-15 microns in size. So if the air purifier is a True HEPA filter, meaning it is certified by HEPA, then pet dander, mold spores, dust, would all technically be absorbed by the air purifier.
  • Clean air delivery rate (CADR) – CADR is a standard developed and recognized by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM). The higher the number, the more air it filters. AHAM recommends using the ⅔ rule when choosing an air filter than has a certain CADR. The CADR should be equal to or greater than ⅔ of the size of the room in sqft. For example, CADR of 80 means than the size of room that the air purifier can handle is around 100sqft.

Now, based on the 2 technical quality traits above of air purifiers, the next factors in choosing an air purifier are:

  • Price
  • Size of the room you want to use it for

The GermGuardian checks all the boxes above. In addition, another advantage is that whereas some air purifiers recommend replacing the filter once every 6 months, I found that I could replace the filter in my air purifier every year, saving me a few bucks!