In partnership with Molekule. Editor’s Note: We only select and work with partners that meet our quality standards, so you can rest assured we only endorse products we believe in.
If you've ever seen the Julianne Moore film Safe, about a woman who suddenly feels plagued by the air around her, you’ve basically witnessed me around allergy season. My seasonal allergies are as bad as it gets: sneezing bouts, nonstop nose blowing, fire-engine red corneas. And though I've figured out (through painful trial and error) the meds that can combat these attacks, lately I've been feeling like it's time to nip them in the bud.
Because as little control as we have over the pollutants, allergens, and viral particles we breathe outside, we've come a long way in controlling what enters our home. Air purifiers have become a hot-ticket item during the pandemic, as they’re a widely available but remarkably effective tool for helping remove contagious particles. I realized just how invaluable one would be in my home, where we're contending not just with allergies and COVID exposure, but fire-season air quality and dog dandruff for days.
And in the white-hot market of air purifiers, one name stands above the rest as the best in class: Molekule.
ON THE CUTTING EDGE
As gorgeous as Molekule's air purifiers are, far more than aesthetics sets them apart. Co-founder Dilip Goswami's childhood full of asthma attacks and debilitating allergies left his father, Dr. Yogi Goswami, dissatisfied with traditional solutions. Convinced that the problem was dirty indoor air, Dr. Goswami spearheaded 25 years of groundbreaking scientific research and emerged with PECO (Photo Electrochemical Oxidation), a technology that destroys impure particles rather than just collecting them.ﾠ
This revolutionary PECO technology, born from a scientist's desire to help his son, now powers every single Molekule air purifier. After launching the company in 2014 with his sister Jaya Rao, Dilip oversaw the expansion of both its product line – from small-room solutions like the Mini to industrial products like the Pro – and marketplace, as the company expanded into India, Japan, Korea and beyond.
Yet the brand’s biggest discovery came in 2021, when Molekule was able to verify that its products inactivate both H1N1 flu and coronavirus strains. While an air purifier alone can’t prevent someone from getting sick, every layer of protection against a virus helps. It became clear: this was not some elegantly designed tower fan, this was an FDA-cleared medical device that just happens to look at home in your living room.
PUTTING IT TO THE TEST
When it came time to get my very own Molekule, I had just one simple choice to make: Pro or Mini. While the Air Pro ($999.99) was designed to protect up to 1000 square feet of high-traffic spaces, making it ideal for professional environments, the Air Mini+ ($499.99) made more sense for my humble abode. Unboxing it was gorgeously easy, as the box was lightweight, the purifier was cinched up in a chic little travel bag, and setup-wise all I had to do was take the plastic off of the internal air filter.
I was immediately struck by how pleasantly minimalist the Mini+ is, with its clean white curves that complement any decor. I gave it a home right at my bedside, which was an obvious choice considering how much time I spend breathing in allergy triggers while I sleep (in other words, my puppy sheds on my pillow). Once I plugged it in, the blinking white WiFi connectivity light prompted me to sync the device with the Molekule app, and after just a few seconds of pairing I was able to track the air quality of my bedroom right from my phone.
Not just that, I was able to toggle between Molekule Mini+'s five fan speeds (from a silent whir to more powerful intake) or engage its Auto Protect mode, where the device sets its own speed depending on how much particulate matter is in the room. No matter which speed you set, Molekule Pro or Mini+ will always let you know just how clean your environment is, displaying a green light when your air is a-okay and darker shades when there's some debris to be dealt with.
Deeply impressed with these bells and whistles, but even more by how intuitive and hassle-free they were, all that was left for me to do was to let Molekule do its thing. I left the device running nonstop, having read up on just how little energy it uses.
NO LOOKING BACK
Given that this technology can remove a virus as powerful as SARs- COV-2 from the air, it probably comes as no surprise that it stood up to some pollen. The air in my bedroom feels noticeably cleaner. While it hadn't felt like I was breathing in dirty air before per se, the cleanliness I felt in my newly purified space was unbelievable.
I'd gotten used to living with a low-grade congestion even when the flowers weren't in bloom, thanks to accumulated dust and my lovable 2-year old puppy. Knowing that my Molekule Mini+ is removing those allergy triggers, has made me not just a satisfied customer but a bona fide evangelist.
With the growing variety of impurities in our air, ranging all the way from the life-threatening to the merely inconvenient, the benefits of investing in a purifier cannot be overstated. And like I said before, if you're looking in that space, there's just no reason not to go with the top dog, the Cadillac of air purifiers.
And that, undoubtedly, is Molekule.
FIVE MORE REASONS TO PURIFY WITH MOLEKULE
1. With a six-month life on each PECO filter, Molekule makes things easy by offering automatic filter replacements with free shipping included.
2. The purifiers use free radicals – the same radicals used to destroy cancer cells – to break down other pollutants at a molecular level, including mold, ozone and harmful chemicals.
3. The brand’s devices are also Apple HomeKit-enabled, so you can control them using the Home app on your iPad or iPhone.
4. The Mini+ is light enough to carry from room to room, especially with its built-in carry handle, allowing you to tackle every square foot of your home.
5. Molekule is committing to investing in its social impact, giving away $1.5M+ in products to help small businesses reopen with cleaner air.
Tips For Using a Molekule Air Purifier
To ensure you’re using your Molekule purifier to the best of its ability, there are a few elements to keep in mind prior to purchase and setup to verify that this air purifier is worth it for you. Although generic PECO filters can be purchased on Amazon, the brand recommends using official Molekule filters only within their products to maximize their effectiveness in trapping and destroying airborne pollutants. However, to make your life easier Molekule offers “subscribe & save” auto-delivery options ranging in price from $79.99 to $139.99 depending on the model you own. New filters will conveniently appear at your every six months and include free shipping when delivered within the continental US.
Once your Molekule is set up and ready to get to work, it’s time to get granular on which setting is right for your home. To save energy, it’s recommended to use the slowest setting that you feel is effective for your space, which has a noise level that’s comparable to a whisper. Should you raise the fan speed setting even higher, the Molekule’s noise level rises to one similar to the sound of a normal conversation. Although you can never expect the air purifier to be completely silent, the brand has developed “sleep” and “quiet” modes that operate at lower noise levels to avoid being too distracting during times when a more mellow environment is desired.
- Make sure to only use Molekule filters with Molekule units.
- To save energy, use the slowest setting that you feel is effective for your home.
- Don't expect the air purifier to be completely silent. All air purifiers do make some noise. The faster the setting, the more noise they make.
Molekule Air Purifier FAQs
If you’re investing in an air purifier that will set you back a few hundred dollars, it’s normal to have questions along the lines of “Is this really worth it?” We’re here to help you determine that Molekule’s purifiers and unique filters have the chops when it comes to clean air via the brand’s most frequently asked questions below.
What does FDA-cleared mean?
- In 2021, Molekule's Air Mini+, and Air Pro were FDA-cleared as class II medical devices. But what does this actually mean?
- It means the FDA tested these devices to see if their PECO technology actually destroys viruses and bacteria as the company claims. They found that these devices work as advertised.
- Products that are classified as FDA-cleared medical devices are also required to report to the FDA any adverse medical events that happen as a result of using their product.
How do Molekule air purifiers compare with other brands?
- Molekule is unique in that it offers PECO technology to destroy pathogens in the air. It's also sleeker and more visually appealing than a lot of its competitors.
- The two technologies are different in that PECO destroys particles using UV light while HEPA filtration traps these particles within the filter.
- Molekule air purifiers aren't the most expensive in the air purifier space. They cost somewhere between Blueair products, which are slightly cheaper, and Dyson, which cost about the same or a bit more, depending on the model you choose.
Is Molekule worth it?
- So, is the Molekule Air Mini+ worth it? In a word, yes. If you've got the funds to pay for a relatively pricey air purifier, the Molekule is an excellent buy. It's backed by top-notch technology that's FDA-cleared to destroy viruses and bacteria. It's small and stylish. And, it's easy to use.
- In the age of pandemics, wildfires, and more, a PECO filter provides nice peace of mind, particularly for parents who are worried about kids growing up with air quality unequivocally worse than what we grew up with.
What's the difference between the Air Mini and the Air Mini+?
- The Molekule Air Mini does not have an air quality sensor built into it like the Air Mini+ does. Therefore it cannot sense air quality and doesn't have an auto-protect mode like the Air Mini+.
- The actual filter is the same between the two units, so you aren't sacrificing on quality of the actual system, but you can't rely on auto-protect to do the work of toggling up and down the fan based on air quality for you.
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