Until I write about my quest for good air in my Brooklyn apartment, I didn’t even know air quality monitors existed. Now I couldn’t live without them. Becoming aware of your indoor air quality index is entering a realm where the invisible becomes something you can never ignore.
We humans have evolved to respond to changes in temperature, precipitation, and wind. Exhausted air is quiet and often odorless, but long-term exposure to certain vapors, particles and high levels of CO2 can impact cognition and make us vulnerable to certain cancers, as well as heart and respiratory diseases. Reading the daily temperature and checking the weather forecast prepares us for what lies ahead, but checking your air quality could be the biggest step you take to improve your health.
These air quality monitors were tested in two locations: a Brooklyn apartment more than 130 years old with a gas stove in a building under construction, and a cabin in the woods of Maine that uses an electric stove. There were two cats, one dog and two people during the entire testing period. I had multiple air purifiers running at all times. Neither location had central air or HVAC with MERV filters, or exhaust fans on the stove that could exhaust fumes outside. In both places, it was cooking on the stove that produced the worst air. These monitors were used both on days when the outside air was excellent and on days when the air quality was in the moderate zone, above 50 at present. United States Air Quality Index.
For more ways to control your air quality, check out our guides to the best air purifiers and best robot vacuums.
Updated January 2025: We’ve added PurpleAir’s Zen Air, Govee’s Smart Air Quality Monitor, and Ikea Vindstyrka; specification tables added; and updated links and prices.
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