{"id":802,"date":"2024-04-08T16:47:48","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T08:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/cn\/?p=802"},"modified":"2026-02-12T18:34:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T10:34:07","slug":"how-to-make-diy-air-purifier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/blog\/how-to-make-diy-air-purifier\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make a DIY Air Purifier for Your Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>How can we make an affordable, homemade DIY air purifier? Air purifiers can be extremely expensive, but they don&#8217;t need to be. After researching <a href=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/blog\/filter-types\/\">how different air filters work<\/a>, I concluded that a HEPA filter is all that&#8217;s needed to make an effective air purifier that can capture viruses, wildfire smoke, dust, pollen, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given that most air purifiers sell for thousands of dollars, I thought I\u2019d try making my own cheap, homemade DIY air purifier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">WATCH: How to Make Your Own Homemade Air Purifier<\/h3>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper\" title=\"3 Steps to Build Your Own Air Purifier\" style=\"width:640px;max-width:100%;margin:5px auto;\"><div class=\"lyMe hidef\" id=\"WYL_YNFIBfV1_UQ\" itemprop=\"video\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\"><div><meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FYNFIBfV1_UQ%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"embedURL\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YNFIBfV1_UQ\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT8M28S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2020-10-19T05:38:07Z\" \/><\/div><div id=\"lyte_YNFIBfV1_UQ\" data-src=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FYNFIBfV1_UQ%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\" itemprop=\"name\">3 Steps to Build Your Own Air Purifier<\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/YNFIBfV1_UQ\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FYNFIBfV1_UQ%2F0.jpg\" alt=\"3 Steps to Build Your Own Air Purifier\" width=\"640\" height=\"340\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"A fan and HEPA filter is all you need to really start breathing clean air. Find out how you can make your own air purifier in just 6 steps. Featured Article: \ud83d\udc49 https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/blog\/how-to-make-diy-air-purifier\/ Learn more about air quality monitors as mentioned in the video: \ud83d\udc49 https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/blog\/are-cheap-particle-counters-accurate\/ Timestamp: 1. Intro (00:00) 2. Choosing your fan (00:10) 3. Selecting your filters and straps (02:20) 4. Modifying your fan (03:30) 5. Building your air purifier (05:16) 5. Testing effectiveness of your air purifier (06:21) 6. Outro (07:50) Smart Air is a social enterprise dedicated to helping people protect themselves from the harms of air pollution through education and low-cost purifiers. \u2022 Subscribe: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/SmartAirFilters \u2022 LinkedIn: https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/smart-air-filters\/ \u2022 Facebook: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/smartairfilters \u2022 Twitter: https:\/\/twitter.com\/SmartAirFilters \u2022 Instagram: https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/smartairfilters\/ \u2022 Volunteer: https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/volunteer-at-smart-air\/ \u2022 Shop: https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/shop\/ For business enquiries, email us directly at info@smartairfilters.com.\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:640px;margin:5px auto;\"><br\/><span class=\"lyte_disclaimer\">Subscribe to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/smartairfilters?sub_confirmation=1\">Smart Air on YouTube<\/a> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/images\/smartair_youtube.ico\" alt=\"Smart Air Youtube\"\/><\/span><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Hold Up: Do DIY Air Purifiers Actually Work?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ve tested this DIY air purifier for over 1000 hours! <a href=\"http:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/blog\/china-english-the-really-small-stuff\/\">The data<\/a> shows they work! They are effective for the dangerous <a href=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/blog\/the-really-small-stuff\/\">tiny PM2.5 particles<\/a>, including what you find in wildfire smoke, and even tiny viruses! What&#8217;s more, they even <a href=\"http:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/blog\/new-test-can-a-450-rmb-diy-remove-as-much-particulate-as-iq-air\/\">outperform many of the big brands<\/a>. With that out of the way, in this post, I\u2019ll explain exactly how to make your own homemade DIY air purifier.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2302\" height=\"1618\" src=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sample-DIY-1.1-Test-with-AQI-EN.png\" alt=\"DIY Purifier Test AQI PM2.5\" class=\"wp-image-8224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sample-DIY-1.1-Test-with-AQI-EN.png 2302w, https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sample-DIY-1.1-Test-with-AQI-EN-300x211.png 300w, https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sample-DIY-1.1-Test-with-AQI-EN-768x540.png 768w, https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Sample-DIY-1.1-Test-with-AQI-EN-1024x720.png 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2302px) 100vw, 2302px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">How to Make an Affordable DIY Purifier for Home?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">#1 Buy a fan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s important to buy a fan with a flat front or back so that the HEPA filter you buy fits flush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fans with flat fronts usually have a recessed motor unit, so look for that. Here\u2019s the one I bought below. Box fans also work great.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/06\/1-41-300x220.png\" alt=\"diy air purifier fan\" class=\"wp-image-803\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">#2 Buy a HEPA filter<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>For my very first homemade air filter, I first bought this one for ~US$16:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/06\/2-35-300x224.png\" alt=\"HEPA filter for homemade DIY air purifier\" class=\"wp-image-796\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Since then, I tested HEPAs from all the manufacturers I could find to see if I could make an even more effective DIY air filter and found one that captures more particles and has better airflow. Because I buy it in bulk and ship it through <a href=\"\/en\/shop\/\">the shop for my social enterprise<\/a>, it costs less than the first HEPA I bought. I\u2019ve tested this HEPA filter with <a href=\"http:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/blog\/dylos-dc1100-pro-air-quality-monitor-particle-counter\/\">my particle counter,<\/a> so I know it works (watch the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=fRYYrHSxTGo\">live DIY filter test here<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">#3 Prepare your fan for the HEPA filter<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If your fan isn&#8217;t 100% flat &#8211; this is where the DIY filter fun starts! The fan I used wasn&#8217;t entirely flat, but by removing the front grill using a set of pliers, I was able to create a flat surface.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/06\/3-34-300x224.png\" alt=\"Step 3 in making a DIY air purifier\" class=\"wp-image-805\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">#4 Strap on the HEPA filter<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Use a strap to fix the HEPA filter onto the front of the fan,\u00a0and you\u2019re done!\u00a0Your very own DIY homemade air purifier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have a metal bar in the middle sticking through the filter, don&#8217;t worry! You could saw the metal bar off, but my tests show it doesn\u2019t seem to make a difference. Or better yet, make yourself a fancier DIY air purifier by finding a fan without a metal bar in the front.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/06\/4-25-300x224.png\" alt=\"Rear view of DIY fan air purifier\" class=\"wp-image-806\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/cn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/06\/5-19-300x224.png\" alt=\"front view of HEPA attached to make DIY air purifier\" class=\"wp-image-807\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>To really improve your homemade fan&#8217;s performance, you could try taping your HEPA filter to the fan to avoid any leaks around the edges. Here&#8217;s a <a href=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/blog\/corsi-rosenthal-box-diy-air-purifier\/\">Corsi-Rosenthal Box Fan<\/a> where the fan is taped to the filters (multiple ones!) using masking tape.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"986\" src=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/corsi-rosenthal-homemade-diy-fan-purifier.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27052\" style=\"width:auto;height:500px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/corsi-rosenthal-homemade-diy-fan-purifier.png 1024w, https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/corsi-rosenthal-homemade-diy-fan-purifier-600x578.png 600w, https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/corsi-rosenthal-homemade-diy-fan-purifier-300x289.png 300w, https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/corsi-rosenthal-homemade-diy-fan-purifier-768x740.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">#5 Admire your new DIY air purifier<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The total cost for this DIY air filter is 166 RMB (US$27). Compare that to 8,000 RMB ($1,300) for the fancy purifiers here in Beijing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/product\/diy-1-1-air-purifier\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1220\" height=\"842\" src=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/DIY-1.1-1-Year-Kit.jpg\" alt=\"DIY 1.1 Air Purifier Filter HEPA\" class=\"wp-image-7332\" style=\"width:auto;height:500px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/DIY-1.1-1-Year-Kit.jpg 1220w, https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/DIY-1.1-1-Year-Kit-300x207.jpg 300w, https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/DIY-1.1-1-Year-Kit-768x530.jpg 768w, https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/DIY-1.1-1-Year-Kit-1024x707.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1220px) 100vw, 1220px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Want to Make a Cheap but Strong DIY Air Purifier?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Since we shared this cost-effective DIY air purifier with the world, the <a href=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/blog\/corsi-rosenthal-box-diy-air-purifier\/\">Corsi-Rosenthal DIY air purifier<\/a> has also appeared. This DIY air purifier uses multiple furnace filters (MERV 13 and above) with a large box fan. This type of design has a more powerful CADR, can be assembled in just 15 minutes, and costs around 100 USD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/blog\/corsi-rosenthal-box-diy-air-purifier\/\">Learn more: 4 things to know about the Corsi-Rosenthal (CR-Box) Fan \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<div class='bottom-line'><div class='bottom-line-top'>Bottom Line<\/div><div class='bottom-line-title'>Bottom Line: How to Make a DIY Air Purifier<\/div><div class='bottom-line-content'><\/p>\n<p>#1 Buy a fan<\/p>\n<p>#2 Buy a HEPA filter<\/p>\n<p>#3 Pull the grate the front of the fan<\/p>\n<p>#4 Strap on the HEPA<\/p>\n<p>#5 Admire your new DIY air purifier <\/div><div class='bottom-line-last'>Smart Air<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Your next question is probably, does this DIY air filter work? See a&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/blog\/diy-air-outlet-tests\/\">live test here.<\/a>&nbsp;Here are a few other important questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Filters:<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/blog\/what-combination-of-air-filters-do-i-need-to-protect-against-everything\/\">What combination of filters do I need to protect against everything?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stronger fan:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/blog\/cannon\/\">Tests with the DIY Cannon<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>How can I test it:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/blog\/how-accurate-are-common-particle-counters-comparison-test\/\">Comparison tests of common air quality monitors<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">P.S. Should the filter go on the back??<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You might be wondering, &#8220;Shouldn&#8217;t the HEPA go on the back of the fan?&#8221; I always thought the answer&nbsp;would be &#8220;it works just as well both ways.&#8221; But I put it to the test, and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.quora.com\/Where-should-an-air-filter-be-placed-relative-to-the-fan-for-best-efficiency\/answer\/Thomas-Talhelm\">the results surprised me.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">A Simpler Way to Breathe Clean Air&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Smart Air&#8217;s founder and University of Chicago professor, Thomas Talhelm, built Smart Air&#8217;s first DIY air purifier 10 years ago that helped shake up the industry. Thomas then created Smart Air, a<a href=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/about\/b-corp\/\">\u00a0certified B Corp<\/a>\u00a0committed to combating the myths big companies use to artificially inflate the price of clean air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We at Smart Air not only educate but also design and manufacture<a href=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/data\">\u00a0empirically backed<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/shop\">\u00a0no-nonsense purifiers for homes and businesses<\/a> that use the same HEPA filters for a fraction of the cost of big companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/shop\">Shop Smart Air\u2019s Lineup of Cost-effective, Data-backed Air Purifiers<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Array<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1035,"featured_media":40477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"11976,13492,20657,22029,6631,12577","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[190],"tags":[256,322,319,74,544],"class_list":["post-802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air-purifiers","tag-diy","tag-diy-filter","tag-diy-purifier","tag-pm2-5","tag-tests","resize-featured-image"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1035"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=802"}],"version-history":[{"count":64,"href":"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38144,"href":"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802\/revisions\/38144"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartairfilters.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}