“Want to come over and see my new air purifier?” I texted my friend. He immediately told me the Atem X, IQAir’s latest consumer air purifier, with its large, minimalist, circular shape, had high-end Bang & Olufsen speaker energy.
IQAir has been in the air game for over 50 years. One researcher told me they are the Rolls-Royce of air purifiers. They even come with papers, like a purebred dog. Each one leaves the factory in Germany with a certificate of proof of passing the test for ultrafine particle removal and decibel check while running at low, medium, and high. It also includes a signature and an embossed stamp that lets me know that the air purifier works.
My tester, which is the hyperHEPA version with high-efficiency particulate air filters, passed with flying colors and outperformed its advertised cleaning abilities. It even has a 10-year warranty. Unfortunately, all this comes with a $1,399 price tag. The Atem X is definitely a long-term investment.
If Looks Could Kill
The Atem X has futuristic looks that would fit right into Stanley Kubrick’s classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s a white circle that stands upright, with a diameter of 25 inches. It snaps into its custom-fit dolly that disappears in its design. Its black faux leather strap on the back makes an easy handle to roll the Atem X from room to room. The power cord slips into a circular hidden groove in the back.
Imagine the Atem X as a large white tire from a flying car. The air circulates through the 10-inch wide grille, where the treads would be. This feature enables the purifier to sit flush against a wall or sofa. Unlike so many air cleaners, you don’t have to strategically position it in the center of a room.
It has a proprietary app that shows the air quality index average for the United States, along with the very important particulate matter (PM) reading. Particulate matter is not the dust you see suspended in a sunbeam. These particles have a diameter of 2.5 micrometers and are usually invisible to the naked eye. This is the measurement I watch.
These particles pass into the deepest parts of our lungs and seep into our bloodstream and can cause a host of health problems, including heart attacks. It’s an oft-cited statistic that the average American spends an estimated 90 percent of their life indoors. Everything from bad outdoor air, cooking with a gas stove, and construction can affect it.
Like every consumer air monitor I’ve worked with, there is also a carbon dioxide reading, even though most air purifiers, including the Atem X, are unable to remove it. Carbon dioxide is what humans breathe out. While at very high levels it replaces oxygen and can be deadly, it’s not to be confused with the more lethal carbon monoxide. Like most New York City dwellings, mine has an alarm for that one. The CO2 reading is informational, like the app’s readings for temperature and humidity.