I'm a pet owner, and this on-sale $35 air purifier eliminated every funky smell — grab it at Amazon
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One time when my mother came to visit my apartment, she remarked that the space "smelled like cats." Mind you, I own one particularly fussy cat, and she just smells like love and Eau de Litter Box to me, but then again, I'm used to it. I grew paranoid, and asked my friends — especially the other cat owners — whether they thought my apartment had a feline fragrance. They begrudgingly told me it did, but mostly in the bathroom where the litter box was. Unfortunately, living in a small space means the scent permeates everything, and even if I'm super diligent about keeping it clean, it still stinks. Cat people, I know you feel my pain.
When air fresheners, wall plug ins, and chucking my litter box in a closet didn't work (the kitty tracked litter all over my shoes, which is gross) I decided to bring in the big guns — an air purifier. One in particular came with the pet owner stamp of approval: the top-rated Partu HEPA air purifier, on sale for just 35 bucks with a Prime membership. Dear reader, I bought it, but oh, was I skeptical.
Just under a foot tall and about six inches wide, it looks like a fan had a baby with a boombox. Fine with me. When I plugged it into an outlet in my bathroom — right next to the offending litter box — I wasn't sure what to expect. Neither did my cat, who gave it one sniff and scoffed at the thing. I turned it on to the middle setting, and forgot about it until a few hours later, when I walked back into the bathroom and realized I didn't smell a dang thing.
Sure, the Partu might seem unassuming, but it's powerful. Not only did the litter box not smell, but the air in the bathroom seemed less musty, more clean. It was a silent assassin, and it took out all those nasty cat odors, cleaning product smells, and, well, it's a bathroom. There are plenty of scents to go around, but you wouldn't know it.
The magic is in the filtration system. There are three layers: A preliminary filter that captures all those large particles, a True HEPA filter, and an activated carbon filter, that traps all those pet odors. cooking smells and more. It has three whisper-quiet fan speeds, a lock to implement for kids and curious pets, and even a spot to add fragrance.
The Partu HEPA air purifier has more than 18,000 five-star reviews from pet owners, smokers, and more. One shopper shared how it helped with her cat allergies:
"I have carpets in my house and horrible allergies!" she wrote. "I love my cat but I’d wake up so stuffed up before I got this. Now I feel like I can breathe a lot better and I get to have my sweet kitty sleep in my room! Getting rid of my cat wasn’t an option so this was the best purchase I’ve ever made."
Another agreed: "After coming home from work, it smells like cat. Even after cleaning the litter box, the smell can linger. Plugged this air purifier in for ONE hour left and came home — no smell!"
Smokers — and those living with or next to one — attest to how effective this purifier is at battling odors.
"Oh my! This little machine is a wonder!" one reviewer shared. "My boyfriend smokes and I don't. The house would fill with smoky air and cause me a lot of problems. I immediately opened this and hooked it up. We tried it and it works so well! He can blow the smoke right at the purifier and I can't smell it! I did a happy dance!"
However, the biggest endorsement of all came from my mother. When I asked her if it still smells like cats weeks after I got my beloved PARTU, she had this to say:
"What cat?"
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