The Airthings Renew Is Less Obtrusive and Quieter Than Any Other Air Purifier I’ve Tested

Air purifiers should excel at two key things: improving the air quality in your home and fading completely into the background. Nothing is worse than wasting precious floor space on a large, bulky device that is distractingly loud when running. Based on these criteria, I don’t think I’ve ever tested a more complete air purifier than the Airthings Renew. With a clean, minimalist design and quiet, yet effective, operation, it’s an air purifier I’m happy to have in my home.

What makes the Airthings Renew unique in comparison to most of the other air purifiers I’ve tested out is its shape. The device has a boxy, rectangular shape similar to an old desktop computer, which means it can slide tight next to furniture, fit easily under a desk, or blend in seamlessly with the rest of your room decor. At the same time, the air purifier has a four-stage filter system that removes everything from large particles to odors and chemicals from the air.

The Purifier Is Compact and Easy to Hide

Despite not being the smallest air purifier by pure size, I actually feel like the Airthings Renew might be the easiest to store and hide away. Its rectangular shape is a lot easier to fit in tight places than the generally cylindrical air purifiers I’ve tested in the past. I was able to fit it easily under my desk without sacrificing any real legroom.

At the same time, the air purifier has a sort of modern look to it, and the dark gray color helps it basically blend into any living room. Even when I set it next to my trash can or by my white couch, it never looked out of place nor did it draw unwanted attention.

Even sitting in the middle of my living room, it didn’t look out of place. While it’s probably not how I’d keep it long term, I didn’t mind just plopping it up next to a wall and letting it sit by itself.

Its Quiet Mode Is Almost Silent

Quiet operation from an air purifier is always important, but that’s especially true in small spaces, like an apartment, where the ceilings are lower and every noise is amplified. Like our most portable pick, the Coway Airthings 100, the Airthings Renew can operate virtually silently. In fact, on Quiet mode, the air purifier runs at a noise level of just 23 decibels, only three more than the Coway, which is a much smaller model.

When using it in my bedroom, the sound was barely perceptible, even when no music was on and I was reading quietly. In fact, it was quiet enough to run while I fell asleep.

The Four-Stage Filter Is Great for Cooking

One of the best parts about the Airthings Renew is its four-stage filter. The two pre-filters stop large particles like hair, dust, and pollen while the HEPA filter removes all finer particles down to 0.3 microns in size. This is followed by an activated charcoal filter which captures gases, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and smells.

This makes it particularly valuable for when I’m cooking. In my apartment, the kitchen vent is not nearly powerful enough to prevent my living room from flooding with smoke, especially when cooking something greasy like bacon.

With the Airthings Renew set to Boost mode, I’m able to weather the storm and prevent my smoke detector from going off multiple times throughout the cooking process. Using the Airthings app, I’m able to monitor the air quality index (AQI) in real time and make manual adjustments to the power (or simply let the Auto mode take over).

At the same time, the charcoal filter is great for getting my cooking smells out of the apartment in a fraction of the time. No more lingering bacon smells for hours on end.

Final Thoughts

As far as air purifiers go, simplicity reigns supreme. If it works well, offers a few basic features, and blends into my room, I’m happy.

The Airthings Renew does the basics better than nearly any air purifier I’ve tested. It fits seamlessly in my living room, it operates quietly in my bedroom, and its filters and fans work powerfully in the kitchen.

While it isn’t quite large enough to handle big living rooms or spaces with tall ceilings and open layouts, it should be perfect for most enclosed spaces. If you don’t want to think twice about where to place your air purifier or worry about it distracting you, the Airthings Renew is an excellent option.

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