Most air purifiers—even the fancy schmanzy NuCare OxyPure—are festooned with buttons and settings that give you control over air speed and running time. The new Mila purifier has virtually none of that, and it doesn’t just aim to take the burden of management off of the user, it does so in style. The start and end time can be set in advance in line with the business hours for efficient planning. Our VOC tests are done over 60 minute intervals in a 1,059-cubic-feet (30 m 3) test chamber (using the GBT 18883-2002 standard). The “TVOC Removal Rate” (Total VOC Removal Rate) includes all 9 chemicals in the test chamber at the same time but we have tested each individually. Our CADR tests are done in 20 minute intervals to determine the particulate volume each filter can effectively process in a standard 1,008-cubic-foot (28.5 m 3) test chamber.

Mila Air Purifier: Critter Cuddler Mila Air Purifier: Critter Cuddler

For all the data nerds out there, the Mila app is a treasure trove. This is where you’ll be able to see what the purifier is up to, how many nasties are floating around in the air inside your room of choice, and how the air quality index (AQI) in your room compares to that outside (it gets this from Purple Air sensors in your neighborhood). Housekeeping service - opt in for this and Mila can deep clean the room it’s in when no one is around. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are compounds that easily become vapors or gasses. They are released from burning fossil fuels as well as outgassing from consumer products, plastics, paints, furnitures, carpets, etc. However, studies have shown that up to 60% of indoor VOCs are emitted by humans (from your breath, sweat and personal care products). A simple rule is if you can smell it ... it’s a VOC :). HEPA filters are designed to filter ultra-fine particulates - not gasses. The best media for filtering VOCs and odors, or “gas-phase filtration”, has consistently proven to be granular activated carbon. It “absorbs” the VOCs onto the surface of the media. Consumer-grade VOC sensors are unfortunately still not precise enough to detect what the exact VOC chemical is, they only can detect “something” is there. H12 HEPA filter optimized for maximum particle filtration (pollution, dust, smoke) to keep lungs clear.Sensors: Particulate (PM1, PM2.5, PM10), VOC, Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Humidity, Temperature, Room Presence This one is smart, manages all the air cleaning chores automatically (if you let it), and knows when to keep the noise down. But that isn’t to say it’s perfect, because it isn’t - we’ll get to that shortly in our hands-on Mila Air Purifier review. The Mila air purifier has an all-in-one filter, but the company sells a range of filters designed for specific use cases.

Mila air purifier review: Breathe better, and make a fashion statement Mila air purifier review: Breathe better, and make a fashion

Mila includes a single filtration unit that can handle up to 1,000 square feet of space, but it offers a whopping seven different filter types that you can match to how you use it. They all include a HEPA filter and all but two include a carbon filter, the only difference being the HEPA class rating and the type and amount of carbon included. For example, the Critter Cuddler filter offers an H13 HEPA filter and includes 0.84 pounds of modified granular carbon, while the Mama-to-Be filter has an H14 HEPA filter and 0.70 pounds of pure granular carbon. Christopher Null / IDG Before we look at the app, though, let’s consider the hardware. It’s definitely the best-looking air purifier we’ve tested, reasonably compact and featuring a polka-dot pattern that wouldn’t look out of place at a MoMA exhibit. The unit pulls air in through the bottom of the unit, passes it through the filter, and exhausts clean air up top. It boasts a Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) of 245 to 447 (m 3/H), a measurement in cubic feet per minute of the amount of air that can be cleared of particulate matter, although the manufacturer doesn’t specify which particulates that range of numbers apply to or which filters were used to achieve it. If that sounds too pricey already and you have a much smaller budget, read our Honeywell HPA300 Air Purifier review for a cheaper unit. However, keep firmly in mind that the Honeywell isn't anywhere as powerful or as feature-rich as the Mila. Filters are one of the most important components of any air purifier design, and one we’ve spent a considerable amount of time optimizing for. Our approach at Mila is to give you the right performance for your needs. When choosing a filter, it’s important to consider the size of the space, the filter’s overall efficiency, and ultimately, the goals you hope to achieve. During the eight weeks we’ve had the Mila for review, there have been a couple of app and firmware updates that make using it far easier in a range of scenarios. Aside from the Manual and Auto Modes, there are a number of Automagic Settings that you can play around with:

When we first activated our Mila and put it into Auto Mode, our AQI reading was incredibly high (that’s bad) and it took a lot of fire power for the purifier to bring it down to a healthier number. You can also fine-tune settings to ensure Mila stays quiet, have it emit white noise to help with sleeping, or (my favorite) activate its “turndown service” to perform a deep clean before you go to sleep. Naturally, you can also activate manual operation as needed.

Miele AirControl

As mentioned a few times already, the Mila is very stylish. We can imagine James Dyson looking at it enviably, and wondering why his engineers didn’t think to festoon all of Dyson’s purifiers with a snazzy polka dot design. (It isn’t an actual polka dot print, by the way, just tiny holes punched into the unit’s outer casing).Of course, ‘design’ also means what type of purifier this is, and the Mila is one that serves up 45 ft2 of certified HEPA, which the team describes as “the gold standard in ultrafine particle filtration.” As a filtration system, certified HEPA removes 99.97% of airborne particles measuring 0.3 micrometers in diameter. What could those be? This lot: Bubble Boy Mode - if you can handle the noise, this is the mode where the Mila will really stretch its legs and do whatever it takes to make your room as particle-free as possible. The Mila also has a patent-pending Dual-Flow filter, thanks to which it can “hold 1lb of granular active carbon in a three-inch bed” for enhanced household odor and VOC filtration. Scientists claim they’ve uncovered the TRUE ‘origin story’ behind how the Great Sphinx was built 4,500 years ago in Egypt An elevated CO2 count is often also associated with an increased aerosol load. To reduce the potential aerosol load, Miele AirControl continuously increases the output as the CO2 content increases – fully automatically.