About 10 years ago, I purchased an air purifier to clean the air in my apartment. I was a smoker and just wanted to filter the smoke out of my house. Fast forward to today and I still have the same air purifier in my current house. To my surprise, it actually still works great after being on for 8 hours a day, every day for over 10 years.
Since then, air purifiers have come a long way. Even though my current air purifier still works, it doesn't even come close to how well the Medify MA-40 Air Purifier works. This is one of the leading air purifiers on the market. In the tests you're about to see, it cleaned the air of all smoke, dust, toxins, and mold in under an hour or less. I was blown away by how well the air purifier worked and how easy it was to use. Anyone who is in the market for an air purifier should seriously consider the Medify air purifier as one of their top choices.
Table of Contents
- What’s in the Box?
- How Does It Look/Feel/Sit?
- How Easy is it to Set Up?
- Test #1: General Air Clean
- Test #2: Purifying Cooking Smoke
- Test #3: Night-Time
- Test #4: Noise Levels
- How Simple is it to Operate?
- How Easy is it to Move Around?
- How Easy to Clean and Change Filters?
- Why No Air Quality Sensor?
- What is the Ionizer Function?
- What does the Child Lock Function do?
- How Would I Improve the Medify MA-40?
- What’s the Warranty?
- Verdict
- How does it Compare?
What’s in the Box?
The air purifier came well packaged in its box and was supported by thick styrofoam inserts. These helped to protect the air purifier if something were to happen to the package during the shipping process. Other than the actual air purifier, the only thing in the box was a user manual.
The user manual described how to use the air purifier and went over the setup, safety precautions, maintenance, and cleaning techniques of the air purifier.
How Does It Look/Feel/Sit?
The air purifier looks really great and pretty unconventional when compared to other models available on the market. The outer shell is a sleek and glossy white plastic with small holes on the front that force the clean and filtered air into the room. The back of the machine is also white but has horizontal slots all the way down the panel that suck in the air to be filtered.
The top of the air purifier has a reflective black panel that contains the controls to the air purifier. All the controls are digital and only require the gentle touch of your finger to operate the machine. The unit is really not all that big either will not take up too much space in a room. It is only 22 inches in height and 10 inches in depth and width. The total weight of the machine is also only 15 pounds and is equipped with a handle on the back panel which makes it very easy to move from room to room.
How Easy is it to Set Up?
The air purifier was very easy to set up. The instructions in the user manual were very clear and concise. Even if there were no instructions included, it was not very hard to figure out how to get the air purifier ready.
Once the air purifier was out of the box, all you needed to do was remove the back panel and take out the filter. The filter is wrapped in a protective plastic cover which needs to be removed then placed back into the air purifier. Place the back panel on the air purifier and place it on a dry and flat surface of the room. Plug the machine in and you can begin to use the digital control panel to turn it on and set the speed of the airflow.
Test #1: General Air Clean
For the first general air quality test, I wanted to use a room that had poor air quality. To test the baseline quality of the air, I used a handheld Air Quality Monitor.
This accurate air quality tester can check for six different types of pollutants in the air, which are referred to as HCHO, TVOC, CO2, CO, PM2.5, and PM10. These are translated as colorless and irritating gases, indoor organic gases, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, fine air particles or dust, and inhalable matter smaller than 10 microns. Really, anything harmful to you and your family, such as pet dander, smoke, fog, dust, gases, and fumes, is going to fall under one of these categories.
The room I decided to go with was my wife's craft room. She loves to crochet and has a room that is just filled with yarn, glue, fabric, and other craft materials. The room has little to no ventilation and a very weak air conditioning vent. The overall size of the room is fairly small as a home office at 10 feet by 13 feet for a total of 130 square feet. All of the yarn also creates an abundance of dust and fine particles in the air as well as whatever else she is using in the room to create something.
The air quality monitor will give you readings of each pollutant as well as an overall air quality rating of excellent, mild pollution, moderate pollution or severe pollution. When I tested the air quality of the room, the overall rating was moderate pollution with high levels of HCHO, TVOC, and CO2. The other pollutants were good to mild. I set the air purifier in the middle of the room and set it at the highest speed for 1 hour.
The air purifier has a timer that can be set to 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, or 8 hours. Once the timer goes off, the machine automatically shuts off. Once the 1-hour timer went off, I decided to check the air quality again with the monitor.
The change in the air quality was drastic. The HCHO pollutant was reduced dramatically to literally almost nothing. The TVOC had also been reduced to an excellent state and the CO2 had been cut by more than half. The other pollutant readings did go down a little bit but were never really all that high, to begin with. It is very safe to say that the Medify MA-40 air purifier had crushed this test and really needed a more difficult challenge to test its limits.
Test #2: Purifying Cooking Smoke
For this next test, I wanted to make it difficult for the air purifier to really test the machine and how well it would be able to do its job. For the past 25 years, I have been a professional chef so it is pretty difficult for me to burn something or create smoke while I am cooking simply because I know what I am doing. However, that doesn't mean that I am not able to purposefully burn something, which is exactly what I did.
To create a large amount of smoke I turned my glass stove top on high and placed a few flour tortillas on the burners. I also turned off the smoke detectors before doing so otherwise, that would have been another headache to deal with. I allowed the tortillas to turn black until the entire room was filled with thick white smoke. This only took a few minutes to do and would have taken half of the day with the windows and all the doors open in my house just to get all the smoke outside. Even after the smoke had retreated, the air quality of the entire house would be terrible without an air purifier.
My kitchen is fairly large and is also closed off by doors if we wanted. There is stairwell access to the basement which is not closed off so that is the only place for the smoke to escape. However, smoke will rise to the ceiling before filling the lower half of the room so I didn't need to worry about that. The room is quite large at 18 feet by 14 feet for a total of 252 square feet.
When I tested the air quality of the smoke-filled room, all of the pollutant levels were off the charts.
Carbon dioxide was the only pollutant that was low but that was because the carbon monoxide colorless gas levels were through the roof. I immediately placed the air purifier in the middle of the kitchen and turned it on. Once again I set the timer for one hour and set it at the highest speed.
When I heard the timer go off, I came back into the kitchen and the smoke was all completely gone. I checked the quality of the air with the monitor and all of the levels have drastically dropped down to a neutral level. It took much less than the 1 hour timer to clear the entire 250sq ft kitchen of smoke and clear the air of all the extremely high levels of pollutants.
I thought that was just simply amazing how well it was able to clean the air and get rid of the smoke.
Test #3: Night-Time
When we sleep at night we usually have a fan running in between our room and the kids' room to create a white noise effect. This helps all of us sleep through the night a bit better. When it came to using the air purifier at night, the sound was not going to be a problem because the machine is already fairly quiet. At the lowest speed, you really can't even hear the fan running.
I placed the air purifier in our kids' room and ran it overnight. The air purifier has a sleep mode function that will allow the machine to run for the full 8-hour timer at the lowest speed. The sleep mode function also turns off all the lights on the control panel so there is nothing lit up or shining in the room.
The machine ran all night and there were no problems. I also have to admit that the kids slept a bit longer than usual before getting up out of their own beds and climbing into ours. So it seems that the air purifier did a great job running through the night without making any noise or illuminating the entire room.
Test #4: Noise Levels
The Medify air purifier is really not all that loud while it is running. If anything it makes about as much noise as a fan if not less. Even though it does not make much noise, I still wanted to test the noise level of the machine using a decibel meter application on my tablet.
When the air purifier is set at the lowest speed its noise level is comparable to a small bathroom fan. I place the tablet about three feet in front of the machine while it was running and gained a very low reading of 57 decibels which is pretty quiet, to say the least.
Next, I set the air purifier to the highest speed. It is a bit louder when it is turned on high but it still really only sounds like a normal box fan is running. This time the reading was 69 decibels which still is not that loud in the first place. I don't think you will need to worry about the air purifier making much noise. If you are ok with running a fan in your living room, then you should be fine with running this air purifier all the time at high speed.
How Simple is it to Operate?
The controls are very easy to use and there are not a whole lot of options to choose from in the first place. The digital interface uses a touchscreen panel to select the speeds and other functions of the air purifier. With the simple touch of your finger, you can change speeds, change the timer, turn on the child lock function, activate the ionizer, and toggle the power on or off. Other than that, there are no other controls or monitors on the air purifier.
How Easy is it to Move Around?
The Medify air purifier is pretty easy to move from one room to another and they have created the machine just for that. There is a small inverted handle on the back panel at the top which enables you to grasp the machine and it only weighs 15 pounds. It really is easy to move around because of how lightweight it is.
However, I did find that since the outer body of the air purifier is sleek and glossy, I did tend to lose my grip when using the handle at the top. When I moved it from room to room I found myself just grabbing the machine from the midsection and carrying it. This still was not a problem because it is not terribly large and awkward and pretty light.
How Easy to Clean and Change Filters?
Most of the high-end air purifiers have several different filters. Each filter is in place to clean a different pollutant in the air. When you go to change the filter, most likely you will need to change several filters at the same time. The Medify MA-40 is able to clean the air of many different pollutants but does not have a bunch of separate filters.
The filter for the air purifier is an easy-to-replace all-in-one air filter. The air filter is in one solid piece which is made up of several air filters placed together. When you need to change the filter, just remove the back cover and pull the filter out with ease. then place the new filter in the back slot and close up the back cover panel. It is literally that easy.
Why No Air Quality Sensor?
Some air purifiers have built-in sensors for the quality of the air, but the Medify MA-40 does not. Apparently, in the past, Medify machines were fitted with air quality sensors to test the "PM2.5" in the air, which is basically testing for dust particles. This is the kind of sensor that other brands have too. Interestingly, Medify found the PM2.5 detectors to be ineffective (or at least not sufficiently accurate) so the company decided to remove the function from the air purifier.
I consider this to be a high-integrity move by Medify. Obviously, these air quality sensors have marketing value and that's why so many brands use them. They seem like another piece of technology that should justify the machine costing more. But it looks like someone at Medify decided that even a an increase in sales wouldn't be worth it, for the risk of reporting incorrectly on the quality of air.
What is the Ionizer Function?
The air purifier also has an ionizer function which is pretty standard in most models. When the ionizer is activated it produces negative ions to neutralize positively charged particles. These particles may be dust, bacteria, mold spores, pollen, animal dander, and other types of airborne positive particles.
What does the Child Lock Function do?
The child lock function is perfect for any family with small children. If you do not want your child messing with the air purifier or changing any of the controls while it is operating then you need to use this function. None of the controls can be used or changed when this mode is turned on except for the child lock function.
To turn the child lock function on, you just need to press and hold the button for 5 seconds until it activates. If you want to turn the child lock function off, then you need to press and hold the button for 45 seconds until the mode is turned off.
How Would I Improve the Medify MA-40?
As far as air purifiers go, this one really did a great job and exceeded all of my expectations. It did an even better job than I thought it would have with the smoke test and it really does look great in my living room. If I did have to pick something to change, it would have to be the handle on the back of the unit.
As I mentioned before, the machine is only 15 pounds so it is pretty easy to move around. There is a handle located at the top of the unit on the back panel that can be used for handling the machine and moving it around. I did lose my grip on the machine when I carried it by this handle though. It would be great if they placed some kind of gripping material like rubber on the underside of the handle or made it grooved to fit your hand. This would create a non-slip grip which could be beneficial.
What’s the Warranty?
The Medify MA-40 air purifier comes with a lifetime warranty to protect the unit. The warranty covers all the parts and any services rendered to fix the unit. The warranty is only accepted if the machine has had the filters changed every 2500 hours or every 3 or 4 months with genuine Medify air filters.
To redeem the warranty, the original purchaser must have the receipt for the product and must contact the support team for Medify which can be found here https://medifyair.com/pages/warranty. You must also register your air purifier on the Medify website to qualify your unit for a lifetime warranty. You can also find other information about the Medify MA-40 air purifier warranty at https://medifyair.com/collections/all/products/medify-ma-25-air-purifier.
Verdict
After reviewing the Medify MA-40 air purifier I was more than satisfied with the results it produced. I will plan on using this machine every day in all the rooms of my house regularly to keep the quality of my air in excellent shape.
If you are in the market for an air purifier, I highly recommend this model. Not only does this machine work like a champ but it looks great in any room of the house. The machine is generally quiet and is able to reduce the amount of light it puts off while in use to become relatively unnoticeable. whether you have a large home or a small apartment, the Medify MA-40 air purifier will be a great addition to your home.
How does it Compare?
In this section, we will go over some of the other products that are available for purchase at a similar price to the Medify MA-40 air purifier. The comparison charts will give you an idea of where each product excels over the other and which may be the best fit for you and your home air quality needs.
 Medify MA-40 $249.99 |  Blueair Blue Pure 211 $319.99 |  Coway Mighty $229.99 |  Winix AM90 $209.99 |
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| Dust CADR | 186.0 cfm | 350 cfm | 248 cfm | 240 cfm |
| Smoke CADR | 206.0 cfm | 350 cfm | 234 cfm | 233 cfm |
| Annual Energy Use (kWh/year): | 345 | 353 | 462 | 353 |
| Speeds | low, medium, fast, sleep | 1 speed | low, medium, high | low, medium, high, turbo |
| Child Lock | Yes | No | No | No |
| Timer | 1,2,4,8 hours | None | 1 hour, 4 hours, 8 hours | None |
| Wifi Enabled | No | No | No | Yes |
| Weight | 15 pounds | 22.4 pounds | 12 pounds | 17 pounds |
| Height | 26 inches | 20 inches | 18 inches | 24 inches |
| Warranty | Lifetime warranty | 1-year limited warranty | 3-year limited warranty | 2-year limited warranty |
| Check Price on Amazon | Check Price on Amazon | Check Price on Amazon | Check Price on Amazon |
Vs Blueair Blue Pure 211
This air purifier is vastly different from most of the other machines available on the market today. It has been constructed to be the easiest air purifier to use by literally anyone. There are no controls, no knobs, no settings, no timers, or different varied speeds available. There are also no ionizers, no child lock functions, and no sleep modes. All you need to do is press the only button on the machine and it will handle the rest for you.
Once you press the large single button on the front panel, the air purifier goes to work. It can clean a large 540 square foot room up to 5 times over which is once every twelve minutes. This means the machine will clean the air of all pollutants very quickly and will automatically shut off once it thinks the air quality is sufficient.
The air purifier can remove any airborne pollutants such as viruses, bacteria, mold, pet dander, and dust. It can also remove any gases and odors caused by smoking, pets and children, cooking, and wildfires. All of the filters that come with the machine can be hand washed clean and reused at any time.
The unit comes in several different colors to choose from in a mesh fabric that covers the outer cover and can be removed at any time. This air purifier would be great for anyone who doesn't want to get too involved with the controls of the machine. If you just want to place it in the room, press a button and forget about it, then this is the perfect machine for you.
Vs Coway Mighty
This air purifier is a bit smaller than the other models and is meant to be used for smaller-sized rooms. That doesn't mean that it will not do as good of a job though, in fact, it may do a better job at times. The Coway Mighty is running dirty air through a 4 stage filtration system which will clean your air in no time at all and when the job is done it will automatically shut off to save power.
The first filtration stage is meant to catch all the large particles like hair and dust. The second stage will deodorize the air of any food smells, cigarette fumes, pet odor, and harmful gas. The next stage will clean the air of pollutants such as fine dust, smoke, bacteria, and mold. The last stage is the ionizer which sends out negatively charged ions to diffuse any positively charged dust particles.
It also has an air quality indicator mode which will tell you the quality of your air. Like we saw with the Medify MA-40 these indicators might not be perfectly accurate, but they can still be helpful. One particular instance is where your air quality has decreased, but in a way that is not obvious just by your own examination. I've often turned on air purifiers and been surprised by the low rating on the indicator. These indicators can be inaccurate but it's less likely for them to be completely wrong (unless they're broken).
This air purifier would be great for anyone with a smaller room they need to clean or a small apartment. The air purifier will clean smaller rooms but does have the capacity to clean larger rooms as well just will need to be moved around the room and will take much longer than usual.
Vs Winix AM90
This air purifier is really cool because of how you are able to control the quality of your air. The main selling point of this machine is that it can be controlled using an app on your smartphone. The app will enable you to control all of the settings, speeds and will even order you new filters on Amazon automatically when the machine decides it needs a new filter! You can also pair the machine with your Alexa device for voice control.
The air purifier has a 4 stage purification system. The first stage will filter out large airborne particles while the second stage will remove unwanted odors such as food smells, gases, cigarette fumes, pet odor, and VOC's. The third stage will eliminate 99.97% of airborne allergens including pet dander, pollen, dust, smoke, microbes, and mold spores. The last stage can create hydroxyls which will neutralize bacteria and viruses.
The air purifier is equipped with a sensor that detects the quality of the air and determines whether it is excellent, fair, or poor. When the machine detects poor air quality it will automatically adjust the fan speed and settings to rid the room of any air allergens or pollutants floating around. When the room becomes dark or the lights are turned off, the machine automatically goes into sleep mode and dims all the LED lights on the machine as to not disturb anyone that may be sleeping.
This air purifier is a really great machine that can really do everything for you with little to no effort. With the app on your smartphone, you are able to check the quality of your air at any time and if there happens to be poor air quality, the machine will detect it and automatically turn on to remove the problem at hand without you having to do anything. This air purifier would be perfect for anyone who is not home a lot or does not have the time to monitor the quality of the air in their home but still likes to keep the air up to standard. This machine is like having a maid at home to do the work for you and send all the information back to you on your phone in the meantime.
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