Practical Mila: much smarter (and more expensive) than the ordinary air purifier

If you have allergies or just want to breathe the freshest air possible, an air purifier can be a smart purchase. Air purifiers are capable of removing fine particles such as dust, pollen, pet hair and smoke. They have also been proven to capture airborne pathogens, such as the virus that causes COVID-19 (at least according to this NASA study that claims that HEPA filters are efficient at capturing ultrafine particles). This is not to say that you shouldn’t wash your hands or wear a mask when you’re around strangers, but at least an air purifier can provide some peace of mind.

Smart air purifiers have virtually the same cleaning properties as normal air purifiers, except with some extra technology included. There is often an add-on application that allows you to control it remotely or notifies you when it is time to replace the filter. Some allow you to schedule cleaning cycles at certain times of the day, or simply provide more data on how clean or dirty the air is. Some are also compatible with smart assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant.

Smart purifiers have been on the market for a few years now – examples include the Levoit Smart WiFi air purifier, Coway Airmega 400, Winix AM90, Dyson Pure Cool air purifier and the TruSens Smart air purifier. Some of them are more expensive than their unintelligent counterparts – the original Molekule is priced at a whopping $ 800 – but not all are. Levoit and Winix, for example, sell each for less than $ 200. Until now, I was not convinced that smart air purifiers are much better than non-smart ones.

Mila, who debuted last year, may be different. It is not compatible with any smart assistant and is a little expensive, costing $ 360, but it also promises to be much more customizable than most air purifiers on the market. After a few weeks of testing it, I have to say that I am impressed with his ability, so much so that I am thinking of buying one for myself.

When purchasing the device, you can choose one of the seven pre-configured filters to use with it. The default is the Basic Respirator, which is designed for larger rooms, such as your main living room. Includes an H12 HEPA filter optimized for maximum particle filtration. Another filter is called the Big Sneeze, which has an H13 HEPA filter designed for allergens such as pollen and dust. However, neither has an activated carbon filter, so they will not remove so-called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like those found in odious gases.

If you want a carbon filter, consider the Newbie Dad, the Cuddler, the Home Destroyer, the Future Mom, or the Superreactor (yes, those are real names), each designed for specific concerns. The Overreactor, for example, features an updated H14 HEPA filter for filtration of ultrafine particles and a more robust carbon filter targeted to formaldehyde. The disadvantage of stronger filters like these is that they are less efficient at cleaning larger spaces and are therefore more suitable for smaller areas, such as bedrooms or studio apartments.

I tried Basic Breather and Critter Cuddler, which has an H13 HEPA filter optimized for animal hair; a carbon filter made for removing ammonia (which I definitely appreciate for reducing the stench of our litter box); and a washable sock designed to capture larger hair and particles. I like the Pet Cuddler based only on removing odors, but if it weren’t for our cat, I would probably continue with the Basic Respirator, as it worked well enough most of the time.

Setting up Mila is quite easy; all you have to do is plug it in and it will immediately go into calibration mode, where it automatically measures the size of the room and how dirty the air is. A display at the top of the Mila shows the indoor air quality index (AQI), as well as the external rating, which he selects from the Purple Air sensors in his vicinity. There are also physical touch controls, but it is much easier to use the companion app.

From there, you can choose to use Mila in manual or automatic mode; manual is where you set the target AQI and fan speed yourself, while automatic essentially passes control to Mila to adjust settings automatically based on your surroundings. Telling Mila which room you are using (for example, the living room, kitchen or bedroom), whether you are in an urban or suburban setting, the size of your home and whether it is a new or old construction gives Mila more information on how to adapt to your environment.

You can customize Mila even more. For example, you can activate the “Bubble Boy Mode”, which makes Mila go full steam, regardless of the noise level, to get rid of as many particles as possible. Then there is the “Cleaning service”, which does essentially the same thing, but only when there is no one in the room. The opposite of this is the “Silent mode”, which reduces the speed of the fan when it detects its presence.

There are also room-specific options, including sleep mode (lights off, reduced fan speeds and controlled fan fluctuations) and nightly bed-making service (automatically turns on one hour before bed to “deep clean” the room and reduce nighttime allergies). In addition, there is a white noise mode that adjusts the rhythm of oscillating fans to imitate soft sounds (chasing waterfalls, for example, is equivalent to 2.7 air changes per hour, while the meditative state is equivalent to 1.6 air changes per hour). As someone who sometimes turns on my fan just to use it as a white noise machine, I really love this mode.

Thanks to Mila’s various sensors, it also provides tons of information about the air in your home. It can track particles, humidity, temperature, VOCs, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. If it detects carbon monoxide in the air, it will beep to alert you. If the humidity is too high, it warns of possible mold growth. As someone who lives in a 104-year-old house near a country where a forest fire broke out, I admit that having all of these sensors is comforting.

Of course, Mila is also not perfect. Measuring 30 inches wide by 38.5 inches tall, it has a relatively large footprint, especially in a small room. Actually, it doesn’t look so bad in terms of design, but I wish there was a smaller version more suitable for a bedside table. In addition, in addition to the expensive machine, the filters themselves cost at least $ 59 each. Unfortunately, it appears that the filters are proprietary, so you’ll probably want to sign up for the subscription service that sends out a new one every six months.

Aside from these problems, Mila offers great value above and beyond a normal air purifier. Yes, it costs about $ 100 more than my current (and not very smart) Coway AP-1512HH Mighty (which I love by the way), but it also offers a lot more features. If all you want is a simple air purifier, Mila may be too much for you. But if you want one that is highly customizable, that offers a lot of data on air quality and can be updated over time, it is worth taking a look at Mila.