About Homeairhq

The Problem with "Clean Air" Marketing

I started Homeairhq after watching too many people get duped by sleek marketing while their lungs paid the price. During the 2018 wildfire season, I watched neighbors rush to buy trendy ionizing "air purifiers" that were essentially ozone generators—making their indoor air quality worse while they thought they were protecting their kids. In my clinic consultations, I met asthma patients using humidifiers that were breeding Legionella because no one told them distillation matters more than mist output. The breaking point was a mother who showed me a $400 unit she'd bought for her child's bedroom. It had no actual HEPA filter—just a mesh pre-filter and a UV light that did nothing for the particulate matter triggering her son's attacks.

That was it. I was done watching manufacturers exploit fear with pseudo-science and unregulated claims. I built Homeairhq to cut through the noise with actual data: independent lab results, verified CADR ratings, and filtration technology that works in real homes, not just perfect laboratory conditions. If you're tired of guessing whether you're actually breathing cleaner air or just running an expensive fan, you're in the right place.

About Dr. Kira Patel

I'm an environmental health researcher specializing in indoor air quality remediation. For over a decade, I've worked in certified laboratories testing filtration efficiency, consulted with pulmonary specialists on exposure reduction protocols, and published peer-reviewed research on particulate matter capture in residential HVAC systems. My doctorate focused specifically on the comparative effectiveness of True HEPA versus HEPA-type media in real-world dust loading conditions—not theoretical clean-room scenarios.

My expertise isn't confined to academic journals. I've spent hundreds of hours running particle counters in actual family homes during wildfire events, documenting which purifiers actually maintain 4+ ACH in open floor plans versus closed bedrooms. I've tested dehumidifiers in 150-year-old basements with 85% RH, watching for compressor shutoff failures and frost buildup that manufacturers never mention. I've consulted with families whose Multiple Chemical Sensitivity was triggered by off-gassing plastics in cheap essential oil diffusers. When I analyze a filter, I'm checking the pleat spacing, the gasket seal integrity, and whether the carbon layer is actually activated or just decorative charcoal dust.

I don't regurgitate press releases. I dismantle units to check for bypass air gaps. I verify whether that "whisper-quiet" 24 dB claim holds up when the unit's actually pulling 250 CFM. When I recommend something, it's because I've watched it reduce PM2.5 from wildfire smoke from 150 μg/m³ to under 12 in a 400 sq ft room—and I've rejected plenty of bestselling units that couldn't achieve half that performance.

What We Cover

This site is for people who need their air cleaned, not just their conscience eased. Here's what we actually test and explain:

Whether you're managing asthma triggers, recovering from mold remediation, protecting a newborn from wildfire smoke, or just tired of waking up congested, the reviews here are written for your actual living conditions.

How We Test & Review

Every product on this site undergoes minimum two-week real-world testing in actual homes—not pristine lab environments. I use calibrated particle counters to verify manufacturer CADR claims, measure noise levels with professional SPL meters at every fan speed, and assess filter construction quality under magnification. For humidifiers, I monitor RH consistency with data loggers; for HVAC filters, I check pressure drop across the media to see if your furnace will struggle.

I publish maintenance cost analyses over five years, because a $200 purifier that needs $180 annual filter replacements is a different math problem than the sticker price suggests. I specifically test for edge cases manufacturers ignore: how dehumidifiers perform at 60°F basement temperatures, whether purifier auto-modes actually respond to PM2.5 spikes, and if "washable" filters actually regain their MERV rating after cleaning.

Full transparency: Homeairhq participates in affiliate programs. However, affiliate relationships never influence scores or recommendations. I reject products regularly that would pay higher commissions but perform poorly—I've given failing grades to units that offered 8% commission while praising competitors offering 3%. We purchase most testing units at retail to avoid cherry-picked review samples, and we never accept free products contingent on positive coverage. If it doesn't clean your air effectively based on measurable data, I say so plainly regardless of the brand's marketing budget.

Get In Touch

Questions about which air purifier can actually handle your open-concept living room during pollen season? Want to collaborate on independent testing, or have a product you think can survive our validation process? I'm reachable directly at info@homeairhq.com. I read every email, though response times vary depending on whether I'm currently buried in filter efficiency reports.

Questions? Reach us at info@homeairhq.com