Mila Air Purifier Review | Tom’s Guide
Mila Air Purifier review: Specs
Weight: 18 pounds
Filters: 7 to choose from
Floor Area: 560 Square Feet
HEPA certified: Yes
Dimensions: 12 x 12 x 16 inches
CADR rate: 447 sq meters per hour
In recent years, the greater Denver area has experienced some of the worst air quality in the world. That’s due in large part to wildfire smoke, but also pollutants from automobile traffic, and oil and gas production. Living just outside of Denver, the effects of these pollutants on my well-being, and that of my family, has been noticeable. That’s why investing in one of the best air purifiers is essential.
Enter Mila’s Air Purifier. This unassuming box helps reduce some of those pollutants within the spaces in my home by combining HEPA filters with an intuitive user experience on the Mila app and on the display on the unit itself.
It’s been a welcome addition to my home in order to clean the air we breathe all day (I work from home) and all night. My only issue with the Mila Air Purifier is its noise level when it’s working on high — which it’s often doing, since the air quality here is so poor so frequently. But that noise belies a bigger benefit: it’s purifying the air effectively. So the trade-off is worthwhile, as long as it’s running in the room I don’t happen to be sitting in.
Mila Air Purifier review: Price and availability
The Mila Air Purifier costs $349 and is available for purchase now on Mila’s website. That price is just for the unit itself, though Mila offers a lot of plans and packages that get you the right filter for your needs, on top of the air purifier unit. It is also available on Amazon for $439. That makes it slightly more expensive than other air purifiers in this size range like the Blueair Blue Pure 211+ Auto ($300), but not by much.
Replacement filters for the Mila range in price, between $59 to $99 (as listed below). But you can save some money by opting for the less expensive filter (The Basic Breather), or really customize and go for the more expensive filters (like the top of the line Overreactor). Mila recommends changing your filter twice a year, and offers an Auto-Refill program. You’ll get your first filter free, and you can cancel the auto refill program any time.
Mila offers a one-year warranty, as well as a 30-day guarantee. You’ll get free same day or next day shipping too. And at checkout, you can choose to pay the full amount up front, or pay in installments using Shop Pay.
Mila Air Purifier review: Design
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The Mila Air Purifier looks pretty cool. Unlike so many other home appliances that are designed to essentially disappear into the room, the Mila is noticeable and interesting. People ask about it. But it doesn’t stand out so much that it becomes an eyesore. Its aesthetics hit a great balance that will be at home in just about any room.
An LCD screen on the top of the unit gives you all the important information you need at a quick glance. It’s full color too, which is a nice touch. Mila’s messages to users are friendly and quirky, a nice touch that makes the Mila more interesting to interact with.
The filters are also super easy to swap out. There’s a large tray that pulls away from the main body of the Mila, and swapping filters is as easy as pulling out the old one and tossing in the new one.
And there are many filters to choose from. Mila’s totally on-brand here and gives the filters clear but quirky names:
- The Basic Breather ($59)
- The Mama-To-Be ($79)
- The Overreactor ($99)
- Critter Cuddler ($79)
- The Home Wrecker ($79)
- Big Sneeze ($69)
- The Rookie Parent ($69)
Each filter offers different levels of filtration for various types of airborne particles, tailored to the user groups noted by the names. You can choose which filters are best for your needs, or order several to see which ones suit your space the best.
Mila also sells a filter sock, which the company says will help extend the life of the filter — though it’s unclear exactly how the sock does that. Once it’s up and running, the Mila Air Purifier has a clean air delivery rate (CADR) of 447 square meters per hour. The Mila website advertises 45 square feet of certified HEPA, and says “HEPA is the only filtration technology that filters 99.97% of airborne particles 0.3 micrometers in diameter–smoke, allergens, house dust, PM2.5, and PM10.”
The Mila also has eight sensors that measure micro-particles as tiny as 0.01 microns wide, as well as VOC (volatile organic compounds) and humidity. Mila says it’s the first air purifier with a built-in sensor for detecting carbon monoxide, too.
A final nice touch: the room presence sensor detects when a human is in the room. When that’s the case, the unit will stay quieter, and when that human leaves the room, the Mila will ramp up operation to clean quickly.
Mila Air Purifier review: Performance
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The Mila Air Purifier was easy to forget about once I got it set up. That’s largely because it’s whisper-quiet most of the time it’s operating. But, once the air quality got to a certain level of bad — all but a guarantee daily here just outside of Denver — the Mila began to ramp up its fan. And that fan can get quite loud at nearly 68 decibels.
That’s not much of a problem if the Mila is only running on high for a limited amount of time. But the air quality here is so bad that the Mila could run at that level all day. I found myself turning it off periodically, just to get a break from the noise.
Keep in mind that the air quality where I live is often among the worst in the country, and sometimes even among the worst in the world. So if you live somewhere with less of a reputation in that regard, the likelihood of the Mila running on high all day is lower. And the noise only became a problem for me once the air quality got very bad — well over 120 on the air quality index (AQI).
If you did want a quieter purifier however, or you don’t want to disturb anybody’s slumber, we rated Blueair HealthProtect 7470i as the quietest model in our tests.
I also noticed that in my home office, which is probably less than 100 square feet, the Mila was able to get the AQI under control pretty quickly. But in larger rooms, like the kitchen (which opens up into the living room for a combined square footage of around 500 square feet), the Mila ran for a much longer time at the high setting.
It’s worth noting that the Mila’s air quality readings lined up almost exactly with the air quality readings I got from my Alexa air quality sensor. That’s heartening, knowing that the unit is evaluating the air accurately. It was pretty disheartening to see how bad my air quality is on a daily basis, though.
It’s also important to note that the Mila’s advertised CADR (447 square meters per hour) is higher than every other air purifier in our ‘Best Air Purifiers’ list, and by a good margin. Its closest competition is the BlueAir Blue Pure 211+ Auto, which boasts variable rates between 353 and 380 CADR. In other words, the Mila is a CADR powerhouse.
The quirky and conversational messages Mila gives you on the unit’s display, and through the app, does soften the blow a bit. It’s less panic and more learning experience: here’s what’s going on with your air and what Mila is doing to fix it. It’s a pleasant user experience, even if the messages sometimes feel a bit twee.
Mila’s website notes that the unit can sense when a human is in the room and adjust its intensity accordingly. You’ll need to activate this mode by enabling “Quiet Mode” in the app. It took me a while to figure this out and I couldn’t figure out why the fan was running so high when I was in the room. It’s a great option if you have particularly bad air quality and want the Mila doing its job constantly, but don’t want the fan running at louder levels while you’re in the room.
The opposite of this mode is “Bubble Boy” mode, which scrubs the air continuously, regardless of the noise level required. This will get your AQI under control super fast. There are several more modes to choose from, like a white noise mode that will oscillate the fan level to help you fall asleep.
Mila Air Purifier review: App
The app for the Mila unit is very good. It’s quick to set up and easy to use. It gives you plenty of relevant information and options without overwhelming you, too. And you can control the Mila unit remotely, which comes in handy if you’re trying to reach a specific air quality level or simply want to turn the unit off at a whim.
The one complaint I have is that I didn’t find an easy way to change room profiles when moving the unit from one room to another. There are ways to assign multiple Mila units within your house, but I only have one that I was moving from room to room to test capabilities. Each time I did that, I had to start the assignment process all over.
But otherwise, I give the app a good grade here. It’s a pleasant experience overall and gives you information and education all packed in a solid user experience.
Mila Air Purifier review: Verdict
Mila’s Air Purifier works quickly and communicates well through its app and the head’s up display. It’s attractive and fits aesthetically in just about any room. And with plenty of filters to choose from, the Mila is exceptionally versatile to suit your needs.
It is priced competitively, and the different filters can be expensive in the long-run. However, if you’re looking for affordability, the Clorox Large Room True HEPA Air Purifier is our best budget option. Alternatively, if you care more about energy-consumption, the Coway Airmega AP-1512HH had the best energy score of all those tested.
Overall, I’m super pleased with the Mila and intend to keep using it long-term. While I find the noise level when it’s running on high to be a bit too noisy, it gets the air quality in my home office down to reasonable level quickly, and I’m willing to deal with the noise to breathe healthy air.
In larger rooms, that run time gets extended. If your air quality is consistently bad like it is here, you’ll be hearing that fan on high a lot longer. Fortunately, you can engage the Quiet Mode to keep fan noise under control until you leave the room.
It’s thoughtful operation decisions and versatility like that listed above that makes the Mila a top air purifier choice.
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