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I might as well have this text message saved in my notes app, because I send it every summer. It’s a text to my mom that mentions the awful air quality index (AQI) number, followed by a reminder that it’s not a good idea to walk the dog or leave the windows open and that she needs to be running an air purifier inside 24/7.
When I grew up in Seattle, we didn't deal with dangerous air quality. But these days, Seattle has a wildfire smoke season when forest fires waft awful air into the city. We hit dangerous AQI numbers, people flock to the stores for air purifiers, and I text my mom a reminder that she really should not be walking the dog. She ignores me, but I have convinced her that she needs to run an air purifier inside 24/7.
I also make her use that same air purifier during holiday gatherings each December. Winter viruses just love to make an appearance, and one of the worst gifts to give family is the cold you picked up at the work party. She turns the air purifier on but complains that it blows cold air on guests at the dinner table. And she’s totally correct, but I’d rather put on a nice wool sweater than inhale someone’s sneeze.
When I noticed the Blueair ComfortPure 3-in-1 air purifier worked to clean air while also heating (or cooling), I was all ears. Could this save Christmas? I needed to test it out myself to see if it deserves a spot at this year’s holiday gathering.
How the Blueair ComfortPure 3-in-1 works
The majority of modern air purifiers serve a single function — suck air in and push it back out after filtering it, which gets rid of harmful elements. HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters have become the norm since they can capture over 99 percent of stuff we don’t want to be inhaling, like dust, pollen, wildfire smoke, pet dander, mold, and viruses.
The Blueair Comfort Pure 3-in-1 uses a replaceable HEPA filter in addition to a screen cover that you can wipe clean. The screen can be useful for catching larger particles like hair or dust mites, and it means there’s less to clog up the more important HEPA filter.
When you turn the Blueair ComfortPure on, you’re met with a basic LCD screen where you can select from cooling (fan), heat, or boosted purification. The control panel also lets you choose between four fan speeds, oscillation, display brightness, and an eco mode. Adding to the value, the Blueair ComfortPure comes with a remote control with basic buttons like power, mode, fan speed, and oscillation. I get super excited about air purifiers that come with a remote control, but this one left me wanting more. The remote is useful, yes, but it’s so sad compared to the impressive Blueair app that I never used the remote. But more on the app in a bit.
Does it actually heat?
What intrigued me most about the Blueair ComfortPure 3-in-1 was the heating function, but does it actually work? To test it out, I used it in my always-chilly daylight basement. Over the past few years, I’ve relied on my Vornado space heater with amazing results to heat the basement. I love that Vornado, so the Blueair had some serious competition, but I’m happy to report it did a great job.
Since basement air tends to get stale, I have a Shark NeverChange air purifier down there, which I was able to turn off thanks to the Blueair. The basement is short on free space, so using just the Blueair to heat and clean the air is a major plus for me since it removes the need for the Vornado space heater and the Shark air purifier. Holding up to its 3-in-1 name, the Blueair really was doing multiple jobs for me from one unit.
While testing, I also spent a week at a friend’s lakeside cabin. In April, temperatures in the North Cascades were low enough that I couldn’t feel my toes while hiking. Back inside the cabin, we turned the central heating off and relied only on the Blueair for warm relief from the outdoors. Of course, it wasn’t as powerful as the central heating, but its performance was impressive. We opted to leave the central heating off since the sound is a bit much in the small cabin.
Boiled down, the Blueair ComfortPure's heating ability more than earns it a spot next to the holiday dinner table, and I think my mom will be pleased.
A breeze of cool air, but not an air conditioner
Right off the bat, the Blueair ComfortPure’s ability to “cool” refers to its fan function. No, this compact unit is not an air conditioner, and reading reviews on Amazon, people seem shocked and disappointed by this. I’m not an HVAC professional, but I think assuming a two-foot-tall portable unit can purify, heat, and work as an air conditioner is asking a bit much.
Now that we’ve clarified that info, I love the Blueair’s fan function. Chilled and purified air coming from the long central vent feels like a dream come true come summer nights. At the highest fan speed, the Blueair can move some serious air, which means that hot and stuffy air is not going to stay put with the Blueair around.
Another stunning highlight of the Blueair ComfortPure is the 350-degree oscillation. That’s right — this thing comes so close to doing a full 360 rotation. Imagine that oscillation functionality on a hot summer's night. The fan will reach both sides of the bed and even push cold air toward the dog’s sleeping area.
The Blueair app is so good
I already mentioned that the Blueair comes with a remote control, and ordinarily, I’d be jazzed, but the Blueair app is so spectacular that the remote seems incredibly lame. You genuinely have complete control of the purifier within the app, which means you never have to get out of bed to adjust settings or miss a single moment of your show. And if we’re being honest, it’s a lot more likely you’ll lose a remote control while your phone is always nearby.
The Blueair app gives you a real-time reading of your indoor air quality, the outdoor air quality, your indoor temperature, and humidity. You can also view a lovely chart that gives you an overview of what your indoor air quality has looked like over the last few days, weeks, or even months. You can change the air purifier’s mode from cool to boosted perfection, and you can also adjust the oscillation. And, set schedules in the app or check on the status of your HEPA filter’s lifespan.
None of these functions are hidden or confusing to use, and that’s a major plus for my recommendation. Even non-tech-savvy people would be comfortable with this app.
The app’s single limitation and a creepy but cool function
Noticeably, there’s one function you cannot activate from the app, and that’s heating. That’s inconvenient because while hanging out on the couch, I got chilly and wanted some extra heat, but I had to get up. But this is a safety feature Blueair incorporated, and I respect, understand, and am ultimately thankful for this. It would be far too dangerous to accidentally turn the heat on while I was off on vacation and away from home for a week. And so, you’ll need to turn the heat on from the unit itself or the remote control.
Lastly, the app has a feature called “Welcome Home.” In this menu, you tell the app where the air purifier lives (your home address) and how you usually get home (drive, bike, walk, public transportation). The Blueair app then turns the purifier on to clean the air when you’re 15 minutes away from home. That’s both really cool and also a bit creepy. If the air purifier could speak to say “welcome home” when we walk in the front door, we could have the opening scene of a sci-fi thriller movie. But regardless of the creep, it’s a unique feature that shows Blueair is really trying to make the air purifier as useful as possible, and that’s commendable. If you’d rather your air purifier not know where you are, you can simply never activate the Welcome Home function.
It’s best for small spaces
The T10i model of the Blueair ComfortPure 3-in-1 that I tested is best for smaller spaces like a bedroom, an office, or a basement. Blueair recommends this model for rooms of about 175 square feet, and it’ll refresh the air in 12.5 minutes in a room of that size. Of course, you can use it in larger rooms, but it’ll be slightly less efficient and take longer to get those air changes, but it’s still useful. In 30 minutes, it can clean a 420-square-foot space, and in one hour, an 840-square-foot area.
If you’re aiming to use the Blueair ComfortPure in a larger space, the T20i model can refresh the air in a 352-square-foot room in 12.5 minutes, about twice as efficient as the smaller T10i.
A moment of admiration for the design
We have to talk about the design details of the Blueair ComfortPure because this feels like a luxe appliance. For starters, the entire thing looks sleek and expensive. Maybe it’s the neutral color palette instead of a stark white or the matte appearance of the plastic, but this does not feel or look like a cheap air purifier.
To gain access to the guts of the unit to insert or change the filter, you use fabric pull tabs. The back panel attaches to the purifier itself via two magnets which means there’s no snapping together of cheap plastic pieces here. Instead, you get a smooth and super satisfying magnetic system that’s wow-worthy.
Another tiny detail that has left me elated is the fabric carrying handle that’s attached at the back. I tested this air purifier in many rooms of my home, and I even brought it along for a weekend getaway. The carrying handle Blueair incorporated here is awesome, and I never once had to awkwardly hug the purifier to move it around.
Is the Blueair ComfortPure 3-in-1 air purifier worth the money?
If you’re looking for a space-saving air purifier that can also serve as a fan or a heater, the Blueair ComfortPure 3-in-1 is a great choice. It performs exactly the way you’d hope, and the design details make it feel and look high-end. The incredible oscillation range is also noteworthy, and the app is truly wonderful.
If you only need an air purifier, the Blueair ComfortPure 3-in-1 is probably not necessary, and you can snag a model that only cleans the air for much less money. That being said, if you use an air purifier, a space heater in the winter, and a fan come summertime, the Blueair is likely well worth the price.
