Is the Mila Air Purifier Worth Buying? Our Editor Weighs In
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I have never been concerned about the air quality around me. My general outlook was: out of sight out of mind. However, after the Canadian wildfires blew into New York City last summer, I checked the AQI (air quality index) on my phone's weather app more than usual, panicking anytime it surpassed 100, as anyone can be negatively impacted by breathing in pollutants daily. Now if your heart rate, like mine, spikes at the word "pollutants," rest assured that there's a solution that doesn't involve moving out of your densely populated city and into a rural area away from civilization. (AQI tends to be worse in urban areas). The solution in question? Air purifiers. I am currently using the Mila air purifier, it's been a month, and I was not prepared for how much this nifty machine would literally change the way I live in my own home.
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The California-based company, kindly sent me their carefully designed air purifier to ease my stresses about AQI, and I have to say, I'm impressed. Not only does it look good and works well in my space, but I can quite literally feel the difference in my apartment. Here's how: I always wake up a little wheezy and am sneezing from dawn to dusk. Since using Mila, I don't think I've sneezed once. If you're part of the sensitive group of people who are easily affected by high levels of AQI, or just want to rest assured knowing that the air in your home is as clean as possible, you may want to invest in an air purifier. Since I love my Mila, you can learn more about how it works ahead before you purchase it.
Air Purifier
milacares.com
$314.00
What Are Air Purifiers and How Do They Work?
As their name implies, air purifiers clean the air in its immediate surrounding area. Each purifier is built to clear the air within a certain range, so if you have one purifier in a three-story house, you'll notice that the machine isn't cleaning the whole home's air. Mila's radius, for instance, is 1,000 square feet. So, if you live in a home with a lot of rooms, you may want to get air purifiers for the ones in which you spend the most time in. Though devices vary in sizes and functions, they all have a similar purpose: they use both an internal filter and fan to pull in potentially dangerous particles from the surrounding air and pump clean air back into the room.
Is Mila Different Than Other Brands?
Yes. For starters, there aren't a lot of attractive air purifiers out there, in my opinion. They tend to look highly industrial, which can ruin the vibe of a carefully curated room. Not to mention, the most effective ones are never the cute, tiny options that you can stick on your desk; they're usually quite large. The Mila is pretty big (about the size of an end table), but it's dressed in an elegant white cover with perforated holes and stands on natural wood legs. As for the piece itself, there's only one model and seven types of HEPA filters, none of which you can actually see because they're working their magic from behind the door. Each filter offers a different function based on your environmental needs.
Pros
Minimizes indoor allergens
Purifies rooms as big as 1,000 square feet
Elegant design
Pairs with an easy-to-operate app that lets you schedule and personalize modes
Seven distinct filters
App thoroughly explains common pollutants and clarifies healthy and unhealthy levels
Filters are easy to swap in and out
Cons
Expensive
Takes up a lot of space in the room
Some cleaning modes are very loud
Available in only two colors (white and black)
Choosing the Right Filter for Your Mila
The Mila only comes in one model and there are seven different types of HEPA filters available, none of which you can actually see because they're working their magic from behind the door. Each filter offers a different function based on your environmental needs. Before picking my filter (as seen above in blue), I thought about what I deal with in my apartment: cooking smells from both my neighbors across the hall and street (my window faces a small courtyard where my neighbors often grill), constant dust, and whatever pollutants exist outside.
I ended going for the Basic Breather filter because I figured I could use it during the colder months when my seasonal allergies aren't so horrible. It's also great for anyone who likes the idea of inhaling clean air, but doesn't have any specific health concerns. I also opted for The Big Sneeze filter, since I have debilitating allergies. When the seasons start to change, I can barely see or breathe, and this filter is designed specifically for people like me. It retails for $69 and can trap everything from dust to pollen, so that you don't wake up with puffy, itchy eyes; or a scratchy throat. Mila also makes filters for new parents, pet owners, and more that you can browse through on its website.
Setting Up the Mila
When your Mila arrives, it comes in one giant box with the basic filter already inside the machine. Any additional filters you ordered will ship separately. Take out the machine and place it wherever you think it will look and work best in your home. Next, snap off the front door, gently slide out the filter, remove the plastic wrapping, and pop it back in with the door in place.
Then, plug the air purifier into an outlet. You'll immediately hear the fan going to town, which is good. It just means that Mila is calibrating, which it tells you on the circular touchscreen on the top of the machine. If you plan on using the app, you'll never really use the touchscreen; but it always tells you what mode it's in, any elevated pollution levels, and if you should close or open your windows.
Once Mila is settled, go ahead and download the app. It will ask you a few questions, including whether or not you have any pets, how many people you share your home with, where your home is (urban or rural), and if there are any modes you know you want to utilize, including bubble boy, turndown service, and energy save. All of this and more is available in the app's control center. Here, you can also set a child lock on the machine so that your little ones won't accidentally turn it off or fuss with the settings. The best part? If it's in your bedroom, you can schedule the white noise to click on when you sleep.
After about five minutes, Mila will finish calibrating and get to work—you'll hear it.
Does the Mila Air Purifier Make a Difference?
For me, yes. Everything—pepper, dust, pollen, and about a million other things—makes me sneeze and cough. I noticed that I hardly have allergy flare-ups since getting and using my Mila a month ago. What I love most about it are the aforementioned special features. The app lets you customize modes and settings, plus informs you when there are any changes in your space's AQI. It doesn't just let you know that your home is more polluted than what is considered healthy; it actually tells you which specific particles, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM1), are circulating at dangerous levels. Then, within seconds, I can hear the fan on full blast, pulling dirty air in and spewing clean air back out. It's amazing.
As you can see from the photos below, the difference is pretty astounding. The photo on the left is the AQI levels when I first installed the Mila and the one on the right is the next day.
I notice that when my AQI levels rise, it's because I'm cooking, lighting a candle, or working out nearby. The app also warns me when AQI levels are expected to rise in my neighborhood and goes into what it calls "bubble boy mode" when the levels in my room also go up. The fan is loud, but I like it because that means it's working. There's also an opt-in "turndown service" feature, which activates an hour before your scheduled bedtime. Mine is 10 p.m., so turndown service, a function that gives your space a deep clean to reduce nighttime allergies, begins promptly at 9 p.m. There's a whole host of cleverly named functions that you can play around with and opt into, or out of, on the app.
Do You Need to Use the Paired App?
No, you don't need to, but it's much less time-consuming and generally easier to operate your Mila on the app than it is on the touchscreen, which is about the size of a coaster. The app is also much more in-depth when it comes to explaining what pollutants are present, what AQI levels are healthy, and which are dangerous.
For instance, the humidity levels in my apartment change drastically on a day-to-day basis. According to Mila, anything in the 45 percent to 55 percent RH level is good, and mine is sometimes in that range and sometimes as low as 19 percent. The app explains what happens when levels surpass 55 percent (this can promote mold, mildew, fungi, bacteria, and virus growth). Luckily, mine has not reached this level, but we'll see what happens in the summer. I may need to invest in a dehumidifier.
The app breaks down each type of pollutant and air measurement in detail for you when you click on it (see the screenshot below), so that you can understand what's happening with the air you're breathing in and out all day. I find this information insightful, which you can only get through the app.
Is the Mila Air Purifier Worth Buying?
The short answer: absolutely. Mila is something I never would have realized I needed until I actually lived with it for a month. Now that I have it, I will never live without an air purifier again. This one is designed for people who may not have a basic knowledge of air pollutants, what they are, or why they're bad, so Mila just identifies them, explains them, and then gets rid of them. All I have to do is plug it in, program it, and let it do the work. Having this machine has been an absolute game-changer in my NYC apartment. With climate change in full force these days, I am expecting all of the negative effects that come with it to affect me more. The Mila makes me feel like I can literally breathe easier in the face of a highly polluted world.
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