Instant Air Purifier: Honest Review in 2023

Last updated on January 1st, 2023

The Instant company, known for their Instant Pot brand of multicookers in 2021 entered the market of air purifiers and have released 3 of them: AP100 for small rooms, AP200 for medium rooms and AP300 for large rooms.

In 2022 I decided to test them, so I’ve bought the Instant AP100 air purifier and the Instant AP300 air purifier. Here’s my reviews of both these air cleaners.

Specifications

	Instant Air Purifier for Small Room	Instant Air Purifier for Large Room
Image
Colors	Charcoal, Pearl
Model Number	AP100	AP300
Room Coverage	126 sq. ft.	388 sq. ft.
Filter Efficiency	99.97%
Filtration Technology	4-stage: 3-in-1 True HEPA H13, Activated carbon filter, coating and ionizer
Filter Life	6 months for True HEPA filter (check price)	6 months for True HEPA filter (check price)
CADR Ratings	Smoke 81, Pollen 98, Dust 85	Smoke 251, Pollen 289, Dust 259
Speed Settings	3 (Low, Medium, High) + Eco
Auto Mode
Sleep Mode
Sensors	Particle Sensor Light Sensor
Noise Level	52 dB	68 dB
Power	38 Watt	50 Watt
Weight	8 pounds	12 pounds
Dimensions (Height x Diameter)	8.62″ x 13.55″	10.63″ x 20.73″
AHAM-Verifide
Energy Star Certified
Warranty	1 year on unit
Price	Check on Amazon	Check on Amazon

My Instant Air Purifier Review

What’s in the Box

• Instant Air Purifier
• 3-in-1 air filter
• User Manual

I got my Instant air purifiers unassembled, but putting inside the air filter was very easy. I had to remove the base, unwrap the filter, put it inside and close the bottom panel. All steps are described in user manual, so it’s a no-brainer.

Review

So I’ve got 2 Instant air purifiers: one for me small bedroom (model AP100) and the other one for my living room (AP300). On a surface they look similar, but obviously the unit for smaller space is smaller in size and looks more “beefy” in diameter. The Instant AP300 is taller and looks more sleek.

The 360° air intake on both Instant air purifiers located at the bottom part of the units, making it great to pull in the dust and other small particles. Air exhaust located right at the top, surrounding the control panel.

Controls, Filter and Features

Now let’s take a look at controls present on Instant air purifier for large rooms:

1. Power on/off button.
2. When lit, unit is in Auto operation. Touching it will turn the mode off.
3. When lit, air purifier is in Eco mode that consumes 50% less energy. The Eco mode activates if the air purifier doesn’t sense air pollution in Auto mode. When activated, the unit re-checks air quality every 10 minutes.
4. This button allows to switch between light levels: 0, 20, 60, 100. I wish there would be more features like this on other air purifiers!
5. Fan speed button, allows to manually set speed: low, medium, high. Overrides Auto mode.
6. Fan speed indicator.
7. Filter replacement indicator and reset button. It blinks orange when the filter needs replacement.
8. Button to turn on/off the ionizer.
9. Switch to see either Air Quality rating or PM2.5 rating. The latter means particulate matter and stands for tiny particles 2.5 micron is size and smaller. Doesn’t present on small Instant air purifier.
10. Air Quality Indicator. Doesn’t present on small Instant air purifier.

As you can see, the cheaper Instant AP100 lacks only AQ indicator; instead, it has color rings that indicate air quality: White for Good, Yellow for Fair and Red for Poor. Every other function available with the AP300 available with the AP100 as well.

Both Instant air purifiers offer the same 4-stage air filtration system with 3-on-1 air filter and ionizer. The only difference between their filters is its size, as the bigger the filter is, the more airborne particles it can capture in one go and it requires less time to clean air in a room.

3-in-1 air filter includes true HEPA filter H13 that captures pollutants down to 0.3 micron at 99.97% efficiency. In addition to that, it has activated carbon filter. This filter has granular carbon inside it to absorb different odors present in a house. The third layer of air cleaning is antimicrobial filter. It mostly prevents bacteria growth inside the air purifiers and doesn’t take a part in air cleaning.

Instant air purifiers also employ Plasma Ion Technology which is an ionizer in a nutshell. It produces negative ions which attach themselves to particles, making them bigger and easier to capture.

What I seriously dislike about Instant air purifiers is lack of a pre-filter. A pre-filter usually takes part in trapping large particles and hair, not just increasing overall air quality but also preventing other filters (HEPA, Carbon) to wear out too quickly. Instant for some reason decided to design their air purifiers without this filter, but added antibacterial filter which is good, but I’d swap it with pre-filter.

Sound

As for the sound levels, Instant air purifiers aren’t leaders in this department. The small unit is quiet on low speed, but somewhat noisy at a high speed, despite it not being powerful.

The large Instant air purifier is even more noisy: it makes 33dB sound at speed 1, 44dB at speed 2 and 68dB at a speed three.

To tell you the truth, Instant air purifiers is definitely far away from being quiet, especially at a higher speed levels. But here’s a good news: in Night mode the air purifier runs only at a speed one which produces white noise, but this white noise isn’t disturbing. I’ve put the small unit in my small bedroom and it didn’t bother me at night at all.

If you’re being all out for super-quiet air purifiers, take a look at Rabbit Air cleaners. These machines are ultra-quiet, probably the quietest on the market today.

Price

When it comes to price, Instant air purifiers are somewhere in between the cheapest air cleaners and those that make you spend hundreds of dollars on a unit itself not counting the maintenance.

The small Instant air purifier priced above $100. It doesn’t have app support when even cheaper Levoit air purifiers have it (Core 200S, Mini). It’s certified CADR rating is also quite low. On the other hand, it went through independent tests, so you can be sure it does what the manufacturer advertises.

The large Instant air purifier is a different kind. The price for it $100 higher, but in return it offers air cleaning for large rooms, has customizable Air Quality indicator and three time more powerful when compared to the cheaper model at a 80% higher cost. I’d say the price is justified for this air cleaning unit.

Suitable Room Size for Instant Air Purifiers

Both Instant air purifiers are independently tested by AHAM and their advertised space coverage of 126 sq. ft. and 388 sq. ft. is legit which is something nice to have in 2023. That means they can clean up air in such spaces every 12 minutes which is a requirement for an air purifier to be suitable for people who have breathing conditions such as asthma, allergies and so on.

Now let’s take a look how Instant air purifiers perform in different sized rooms.

Room Size for Small Instant Air Purifier

Room size	How long it takes to clean room	ACH
102 sq. ft.	10 minutes	6
126 sq. ft.	12 minutes	4.8
200 sq. ft.	20 minutes	3
300 sq. ft.	30 minutes	2

The Instant AP100 is a small air purifier, so nothing surprising here. Works great for small rooms ~100 square feet like bedrooms and bathrooms. Useless for spaces over 200 sq. ft.

Room Size for Large Instant Air Purifier

Room size	How long it takes to clean room	ACH
253 sq. ft.	8 minutes	8
315 sq. ft.	10 minutes	6
388 sq. ft.	12 minutes	4.8
620 sq. ft.	30 minutes	3
920 sq. ft.	30 minutes	2

As you can see from the table above, the number of air changes per hour drops significantly after 600 square feet. And spaces over 900 sq. ft. won’t be properly ventilated at all (required minimum for living room is 2 ACPH, see recommendations). But as for the advertised space of ~ 400 sq. ft., Instant air purifier AP300 definitely works. In rooms smaller than 400 sq. ft. this air purifier will definitely remove any allergy symptoms (especially if you consider pollen as a source of it).

Maintenance Costs

Small Instant Air Purifier AP100

Replacement Filters: ~$30 for 3-in-1 air filter every 6 months. Check price & availability

Electricity Costs: ~$1,85 per month running 12 hours per day on Maximum speed. Use our Energy Consumption Calculator to estimate electricity usage and costs of the Instant air purifier AP100 based on your local electricity rates.

Total Yearly Costs for Small Instant Air Purifier: $80.

Large Instant Air Purifier AP300

Replacement Filters: ~$60 for one piece of 3-in-1 true HEPA, Carbon and Antimicrobial filter every 6 months. Check price & availability

Electricity Costs: ~$2,5 per month running 12 hours per day on Maximum speed. Use our Energy Consumption Calculator to estimate electricity usage and costs of the Instant air purifier AP300 based on your local electricity rates.

Total Yearly Costs for Large Instant Air Purifier: $150.

Pros & Cons

Buy Small Instant Air Purifier at Amazon

Buy Large Instant Air Purifier at Amazon

FAQs

Does Instant air purifier emit ozone?

Yes, but it’s less than 0.050 parts per million per day which is considered safe number. In addition, in Night mode the ionizer is turned off automatically.

How often do I have to replace the air filter?

Personally, I don’t think the filter will last longer than 6 months. Even Instant points out that their calculation on filter life is based on running the air purifier in eco-mode for 24 hours per day. So if you’re going to run it at a medium speed 24/7 the air filter might wear out faster, after 3 or 4 months of usage.

How to reset the filter light on an Instant air purifier?

Hold the button for three seconds. That will remove blinking light.

Will it work for Covid-10?

True HEPA H13 filter reduces pollutants in air, but it cannot guarantee that particles that spread the virus get caught.

Wrapping Up

I can say that my experience with Instant air purifiers were positive. The only real disadvantage I see now is the lack of a pre-filter. For those of you who prefer to control your air purifiers with an app these air cleaners aren’t a good pick too. But personally I never judge an air purifier whether it has an app support or no, as often these apps are buggy and require access to galleries, contacts and other stuff on my phone which is totally useless for air cleaning.

In a regard to air cleaning, Instant air purifier AP300 for large rooms is definitely a good pick for 400 sq. ft. rooms as it is evident from this review. It also may clean air in 500 – 600 sq. ft. spaces, but if your room is over 900 sq. ft. you better be taking a look at other air purifiers like Tracs or Blueair.

As for the Instant AP100 air purifier, it is small and can be used for a small bedroom or bathroom, but it doesn’t have enough power to clean air in any room larger than 200 square feet.

2023 UPDATE: still running!