Air purifiers are, in general, not always the most aesthetically-pleasing home appliances—but the Smartmi P1 Air Purifier is here to change that. This air purifier is chic, effective, and great at making small spaces smell fresh and clean. It has a powerful fan, a HEPA filter, and a whisper-quiet sleep setting that’s perfect for light sleepers.
What’s in the box of the Smartmi P1 Air Purifier?
The Smartmi P1 Air Purifier comes with a manual, a pre-installed pollen-focused HEPA filter, a power adapter, and a charging cable. The product itself ships assembled and is black with a built-in brown real leather strap.
The features of the Smartmi P1
Smartmi’s P1 is a sleek, modern-looking air purifier. It’s designed to quickly and efficiently clean the air in a small room.
The P1 features True HEPA air filtration. It promises to remove 99.98% of particles 80 nanometres or larger from the air, plus 99.99% of smoke from the air within one hour. It can clean the air of a 320 square foot room within 20 minutes and is designed to work in 180 to 320 square foot rooms. In smaller rooms, the P1 completes its cycle even faster: Smartmi estimates just 6.5 minutes for the P1 Air Purifier to clean the air of a 100 square foot bedroom.
What makes the Smartmi P1 different from most air purifiers is its smart home integration. You don’t need an app to use this product—in fact, it works great without one. Without the app, you can look to the P1’s digital screen for your air quality information and use the touchscreen buttons to control its timer and fan speed. But if you do hook your P1 up to your smart home or smartphone, you can get real-time feedback of your air quality level and particulate concentration, plus a historical graph of past air quality. Air quality monitors can get pricey on their own, so having one included in this air purifier is a really nice touch!
This device is smart home enabled and works with voice commands through Hey Google, Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and the Smartmi Link app. There is no microphone on this device.
What is HEPA filtration?
There are many different types of filters that an air purifier can use. The type, cost, and construction of these filters will vary. Air filters aren’t standardized, so they’re not interchangeable: Some products will have filters available in different filtration grades; most will not. (Make sure that you’re buying the right replacement filters for your products!)
HEPA filters are a “High Efficiency Particulate Absorbing” filter. The term refers to an efficiency standard, not a brand or shape. If a filter is HEPA-rated, that means two things. First, the filter will remove at least 99.97% of airborne particles larger than 0.3 microns from the air as it passes through your air purifier. That particle size means that a HEPA filter, unlike some others, will catch particles like pollen, viruses, bacteria, pet allergens, and mould in addition to just dust. Second, a HEPA filter will be made from pleated glass, carbon, and/or plastic fibres rather than pressed paper, cotton, or polyester. These fine layers of meshed glass and carbon are more effective at catching particles than a standard filter, which is why HEPA air filtration is often recommended for allergy-sufferers.
“True” HEPA filters, like the one used in the Smartmi P1, meet the standards set by the US Department of Energy for HEPA air filtration. So, you know you’re getting the real thing and you can expect a measurable decrease in air particles like dust and pollen post-filtration.
Enhanced filtration with the P1
Smartmi designed two cylindrical air filters that fit the P1. They’re both H13 True HEPA filters, but there’s a small difference between the two. The P1 can be used with a black pollen filter, optimized for catching larger, more plentiful atmospheric particles that come from pollution and plants. Or, it can be used with a grey pet filter, which integrates an inner carbon filter layer to adsorb pet smells and smoke.
The Smartmi P1 ships with the pollen filter, but either can be used when it’s time to replace your filter. Twist from the base to release, clean, or swap your filters.
Maintaining and cleaning your air purifier
Air purifiers like the Smartmi P1 are a great way to make your home feel (and smell) comfortable. While air purifiers on the whole are a low-maintenance device, they do need a bit of care to keep working well. You’ll need to clean and replace your filters on a regular basis.
This is easy: Just vacuum the surface of your air purifier weekly (especially in homes with pets) to remove large bits of debris blocking the filter. Then, keep an eye on the life of your filter so you know when to swap it out. For a deeper clean, the filter is built solidly and is easy to remove; you can vacuum it on its own, too. Filters won’t be able to keep trapping the same amount of particulates once they’re “full,” which is why it’s important to replace them on-schedule for optimal performance. If you’re just using your air purifier to eliminate smells, I find you can stretch your filters for longer, but for allergen elimination, staying on schedule really does help.
Some brands will tell you how many months one filter should last; others will keep a running usage total in the product’s app. This one has a label on the bottom where you can write in the installation date of each new filter, which is handy for keeping track of your replacement schedule.
My experience with the Smartmi P1 Air Purifier
Air purifiers can be really hard to select. They’re a finicky appliance, and honestly… they aren’t all cute. I find that that’s changing really quickly, but still, if you want a dark air purifier it’s often hard to find one. (The same thing applies to humidifiers: they’re getting more stylish over time, but are often available only in white!)
Smartmi has users covered on both design and features. Not only does the P1 offer effective (and powerful) air filtration, but it also looks really, really sleek. This is an air purifier that I’d be excited to add to a room. It looks and feels expensive, with product design and aesthetics at its forefront. Plus, the P1 gives you real-time feedback on air quality and pollen levels. The device’s air quality readings are accurate, too—I can easily correlate spikes in fine particle concentration to when I’ve opened my windows or started cooking.
Overall, I’m very happy with the Smartmi P1 Air Purifier. I think it works well, looks cute, and offers good value for your money. It performs well both with and without app integration, but I do think you get more out of it with the app. With the app, you can link the P1 to your smartphone and smart home setup, easily switching from auto, sleep, medium, and custom fan modes. You can take a peek at your home’s air quality graph whenever you want to check in on your home’s airborne particulate level. Plus, using a smart home setup, you can turn the Smartmi on and off based on a schedule, activate voice control through a home accessory, and change your fan level.
In conclusion
As I write this, it’s wildfire season in Alberta. It’s really hard on rural communities and we struggle with our air quality even in the cities. At the height of wildfire season, our skies are yellowed over and it can be hard to breathe. I always jokingly say that “the air is spicy,” but jokes aside, it can be tough to deal with. After a day or two, there’s just so much stuff in the air that I start feeling lethargic during the day—an effect that applies twofold (if not more) to kids, people with asthma, and older populations.
Having a powerful air purifier turned on all the time has helped a lot. The P1 has kept my indoor air quality at a very comfortable level, and even though a little smoke sneaks in every now and again through a door or window, it’s cleaned out of the air quickly. My one recommendation for this product is to pay attention to your room size when purchasing. This is a small, compact air purifier, and as such it’s best suited for small to medium rooms—think a home office or a bedroom, not an open floor plan kitchen-living room. If you’re looking to combat smoke, pollen, dander, or food smells in a larger home, you may want to buy multiple air purifiers or opt for a larger model.
Shop the Smartmi P1 Air Purifier online at Best Buy today.
My favourite feature is the Smartmi’s ability to clean a 320 square foot room in 20 minutes.
Would be ideal for a bedroom or den.
heppa filter & the ease with cleaning
True Hepa filters and enhanced filtration with the P1 are so important. My grandson & I both have allergies & this is an important factor.
My favourite feature is the heppa filter & the ease in which you clean it by vacuuming the outside of the Smartmi Air Purifier.
My favorite feature is the fact that it can clean the air of a 320 square foot room within 20 minutes. that is impressive.
I love the ability to control this from my smart home devices, the ability of controlling devices remotely is so important to me.
I love that the HEPA filtration removes at least 99.97% of airborne particles larger than 0.3 microns from the air.
the Smartmi P1 air purifier ability to absorb smoke and more smells is important to us and our favourite feature
My favourite feature is the HEPA filtration because it will remove at least 99.97% of airborne particles larger than 0.3 microns from the air.
The HEPA filters are the best.
The True HEPA air filtration feature is my favourite because you can never get enough clean air.
The HEPA filtration system and most especially since its’ kind has been approved by the US EPA.
Probably the grey filter to adsorb smoke and more smells. Have COPD and smoke is very triggering.
Just 6.5 minutes for the P1 Air Purifier to clean the air of a 100 square foot bedroom is my kind of speed
smart home integration
My favourite feature is its smart home integration which is important to get real-time feedback of your air quality level and particulate concentration,
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