Whether your student is on campus or telecommuting from home, there are countless “to-dos” before diving into the college experience. Unfortunately, creating a healthy space with safe air quality isn’t always top of mind.
Dorm rooms are breeding grounds for dust, dirt and other unsanitary conditions. That's why we created this list full of affordable products to keep students healthy in any living situation. And if your children are telecommuting, a few additions to their at-home work space will keep them focused and feeling good. Review our most important dorm room and apartment air quality products below.
Dorm Room Air Quality Must-Haves
Polluted dorm air can cause health issues, make allergies flare up and has been linked to losing focus. Having a clean dorm room may be out of your control, but adding a dorm room air purifier will help.
Looking for an affordable air purifier option? A few affordable but effective options come to mind. Browse a few of the best college air purifiers in 2022:
- Envion Four Seasons: This 4-in-1 product serves as an air purifier with HEPA filtration to remove dust, allergens, and other airborne particles. Even better: It also offers heater, fan, and humidifier functions. It’s the perfect addition to any college bedroom.
- Winix PlasmaWave Portable Air Purifier: Weighing less than 7 pounds and standing at just 9.5 in (W) x 9.5 in (D) x 14.6 in (H), this is the perfect air cleaner for college dorms. This HEPA air purifier displays real-time updates, so you know it’s working. Plus, its PlasmaWave technology breaks down particles, bacteria, and viruses at the molecular level.
- Blueair Blue Pure 411+: Need upgraded filtration? This is the one for you. Combining HEPASilent filtration with a 3-part pre-filter equipped with activated carbon, it's able to remove odors, VOCs, dust, pet dander, and other airborne irritants
Adding one of these dorm air purifiers will ensure fresh air in dorm rooms or home offices alike.
Dorm Room Ventilation and Fans
Ventilation in student dorms can be less than desirable. Air can feel stagnant, especially when school first starts in August. Avoid a hot dorm with an air circulator. It’s pretty easy to find the best fan for dorm rooms, it just depends on what you’re looking for:
The Vornado 184 Tower Air Circulator easily sits in the corner of dorm rooms and is packed with upgrades. It's designed for whole-room ventilation, offers quiet operation and has multiple speeds and programmable options.
For something a little more portable, consider the Bionaire Mini Tower Fan. This compact fan is perfect for use at a desk for long study sessions or paper writing.
Shop the Best Fans for Dorm Rooms
Dorm Room Vacuums
Students eat, sleep, and study in their dorm rooms. So a single-room vacuum cleaner is a helpful addition. Crumbs and dirt build up fast. If you’re looking for the best vacuum for dorm rooms, you should start with stick vacuums.
Stick vacs are the ideal addition for dorm room cleaning because they are cordless, super lightweight, great for tight spaces, and can be taken apart for easy storage. Most stick vacuums for dorms also transform into handheld vacs for vacuuming mattresses and other items.
One of the most popular stick vacuums for dorms is the LG CordZero A9 Cordless Stick Vacuum. If you’re looking for a handheld vacuum for quick clean-ups, consider the Simplicity Flash Handheld Vacuum. This dorm vac makes quick work of tight spaces behind beds, around mini-fridges, and more.
Additional Dorm Room Must-Haves
Healthy air, clean floors, and cool fresh air...your student’s dorm room is better off than most. But if you’re looking for other must-haves for college dorms, consider these customer-favorite products:
Dorm Room Humidifiers
As fall leads to winter, the dorm room air will likely be dry and uncomfortable. Flu and other illnesses could be right around the corner (another reason to add an air purifier!).
But adding a small humidifier to your student’s college dorm will keep them more comfortable and healthier. The Winix 2 Gallon Humidifier with one-touch control and directional mist control is a great option. One of the sleekest and most compact humidifier options is the Objecto W4 Hybrid Humidifier. Providing up to 20 hours of continuous cool mist humidification, it's perfect for bedrooms and other living spaces up to 450 square feet.
Shop All Dorm Room Humidifiers.
Space Heaters
Having a dorm room that stays warm in the winter was hard to find when I was in school. Adding a space heater, like a whole-room heater from Vornado, was a great solution for me. Simply add one to your room for extra heat at night or while you study.
Staying Healthy & Comfortable with Dorm Room Air Quality Products
These items may not have topped your original list for college, but they’ll keep your student healthy and feeling good inside their dorm or in their at-home study space. With all the changes in the first year of college, and especially the unusual circumstances we’re still dealing with, the last thing you or your student needs to worry about is poor air quality.
Have you used any of these in your dorm room, home, or apartment? Need any other suggestions for your college living? Reach out to us in the comments below or via Facebook and Twitter!
