Review: I Tried The Mila Air Purifier And My House Has Never Felt So Clean

Courtesy Rachael Phillips

When it comes to air quality, many of us have no idea what’s going on inside our homes. Thankfully, the best air purifiers can turn that around. They’re designed to remove dust, dander and odors, leaving you with a clean and fresh-smelling home.

As someone who suffers from seasonal allergies and owns two crazy, small terrier dogs, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the Mila Air Purifier to see just how well it worked. With a range of custom filters, Mila says that this air purifier is designed with “real air-breathing humans in mind.” It also claims to remove odors associated with pets. I love my dogs, but they don’t always smell the sweetest. I’ll do anything to get rid of dog smells in my home.

As a journalist who covers home appliances, I’ve tried plenty of regular air purifiers and air purifiers for pets in the past. They’ve made little impact, but the Mila Air Purifier offers something different. Its smart technology is impressive, and it tells you more about the air quality within your home than you ever thought you’d need to know. Allow me to share my findings with you with my Mila Air Purifier review.

What is the Mila Air Purifier?

Courtesy Rachael Phillips

The Mila Air Purifier is a smart air purifier that delivers a guaranteed level of clean air. It removes up to 99.97% of airborne particles as small as 0.3 microns. It attacks threats you can’t see, such as smoke, pollen, dust and pet dander. A carbon filter removes odors and VOCs (volatile organic compounds), so think cooking smells, wet dog smells or even damp and mold odors.

The Mila Air Purifier isn’t just another boring appliance I wanted to hide away. It doubles as home decor thanks to the unique design. But its super stylish looks pale in comparison to all its cool features. An LED screen shows real-time clean air information and the mobile app allows you to see what’s going on in your home from anywhere.

I could use the app to operate the air purifier and swap between scheduled cleaning modes. I also love that there’s nothing to assemble. The Mila Air Purifier is ready to use right out of the box. Just download the Mila Cares app to your phone and connect it to your internet.

The Mila Air Purifier just comes in one model, but there are plenty of personalization features. Seven filters match my lifestyle needs. I tested out “Basic Breather,” which is a good all-rounder for achieving clean, fresh air. If having to choose the right filter overwhelms you, don’t worry. The website is almost as intuitive as the smart app.

Mila Air Purifier features

Courtesy Rachael Phillips

For a small, compact appliance, the Mila Air Purifier comes jam-packed with cool features and different ways to view your data, which, if you’re a stats geek like me, you’ll absolutely love. It’s my secret to having a clean home.

Modes

There are two ways to use the Mila Air Purifier: manual or automagic. In manual mode, you’re in control of fan speed. Set it as high or low as you like. Automagic mode offers more customization. Set a wake and sleep time, then select one of the modes to operate between these times.

These modes include “Bubble Boy,” where Mila will do whatever it can to keep the room particle-free regardless of the fan speed. This isn’t the best mode if you’re working or trying to relax. Depending on your air quality it can get a little loud. “Energy Saving” mode turns screens and fans off once AQI readings reach zero.

HEPA filter

As with any good air purifier, Mila uses 4.2m2 of certified HEPA alongside one pound of granular active carbon in their filters. HEPA filtration is the only proven technology guaranteed to remove airborne particles. Still, the carbon is what gets rid of household odors and harmful VOCs from the air and surfaces.

When carbon dioxide levels get too high, they can cause a range of different health issues. Mila is also the first air purifier with a built-in sensor for carbon monoxide. Humidity filters monitor the moisture in the air, giving you a heads-up when it goes over 55%. If you’re in the room, Mila will detect it and quieten down, ramping up its efforts when you leave so it doesn’t disturb or disrupt the peace.

• Uses a HEPA filter to capture and remove over 99.97% of airborne particles as small as 0.3 microns
• Sensor-controlled cleaning detects people or animals in the room
• Selection of pre-programmed modes
• Smart technology operates the air purifier and displays personalized data
• Uses one pound of granular active carbon to remove odors and harmful VOCs from the air
• Can be programmed to adjust fan speed based on the air quality in your home
• Stylish design
• Choice of seven different filters for personalized cleaning
• Smart app sends notifications about air quality
• Easy to use right out of the box

How we tested it

Courtesy Rachael Phillips

I tested the Mila Air Purifier for two weeks in different rooms around my home. The main three spaces were my living room, my dining room (which opens into my kitchen) and my bedroom.

My experience with air purifiers in the past is that they’re big, bulky and heavy. The Mila Air Purifier was different right off the bat. When it arrived, I was surprised to see just how small and compact the box was. I expected a lengthy setup. After all, this is an all-inclusive air purifier with smart capabilities, which sounds complicated, right? Well, the setup was easy. I downloaded the app, and it walked me through a couple of steps to connect the Mila to my Wi-Fi connection. And that was it. No complicated assembly; no frustrating connection process.

In the bedroom

As I mentioned earlier, I have two terrier dogs. They’re cute, fluffy and smell pretty bad at times. I confess that when it comes to my own home, I fear I could be slightly nose blind. But sometimes no amount of mopping and air fresheners will get rid of that stinky dog stench. So, the first place I tried this air purifier was in my bedroom.

It’s a carpeted area, and smells do tend to hold onto the fibers regardless of my cleaning schedule. I placed the Mila in the bedroom and let it calibrate so it knew the size of the room it was working with. I closed the door and popped it into Housekeeping mode, which gives the room a thorough clean when no one is around. This wasn’t a quiet mode as it sounded like there was a jet engine about to take off from my bedroom. But, boy, did it do its job.

Entering the room just a couple of hours later, it smelled so clean, fresh and light. I’ve been suffering from a cold for the last few weeks with a really annoying cough. I left this air purifier on turn-down mode before I went to bed for an intense clean an hour before bedtime. I slept so soundly that I didn’t wake up once coughing. The air felt so fresh, my congestion cleared and I found it easy to get comfortable and drift off to sleep. It’s a quick-acting cleaning product that I can take into any room.

The dining room

I also tested it in my dining room, which is attached to my kitchen. While I’m cooking, all the smells and smoke naturally drift into that room. It did a really good job of recognizing as soon as I started to cook. A notification on my phone told me that the AQIs and VOCs were rising. Because I left it on Automagic mode, it battled hard to bring those levels back down to a normal range and totally eliminated any trace of cooking smells—even the strong smell of curry on one evening.

A closer look at the features

If you love to know what’s going on in your own home, you’ll love the Mila. I found myself checking the app often to find out whether my humidity levels were good, how the AQIs were and what the indoor temp was looking like. That last feature is super handy if you have a smart thermostat because you can raise or lower it when it hits a specific temperature.

The app is not only super simple to use, but it’s really nicely laid out. I could easily switch room type if I was planning on moving the appliance from room to room. It automatically calibrates as soon as it’s plugged in so that you get a personalized clean. There’s also a setting on the app that gives a complete rundown of all the specifics of the room’s air quality.

I used the Bubble Boy, Housekeeping and Turndown Service programs the most, although I did try it out in manual mode a few times to see if it made any difference. But for me, I like that the air purifier tells me what my ideal room environment should be and adjusts the fans accordingly without too much interference.

The filter is easy to remove and change. It’s recommended these are changed every six months to keep your Mila working to the best of her ability, of course, but I tested it out for a couple of weeks, so I didn’t need to change the filter. I did pull it out, though, to have a good look at how easy it will be to replace (spoiler: it couldn’t be easier). It is worth noting that when you get the machine, don’t forget to remove the filter and take off the plastic coating before it gets to work.

Pros

• User-friendly smart app
• One of the highest CADRs (Clean Air Delivery Rate) on the market
• Excellent range of cleaning modes
• Easy to change the filters
• The filters can be personalized
• White noise mode

Cons

• It can be expensive to replace filters twice a year
• Too much data can be overwhelming for some
• High price point

FAQ

Courtesy Rachael Phillips

How long do the filters for the Mila Air Purifier last?

The life of the filter depends on the usage. However, it is recommended that you change the filter every six months to maintain the best performance. When it comes to filters, there are seven unique filters to address specific needs.

The “Basic Breather” is a great all-rounder if you’re not sure what you need. The “Big Sneeze” is the one for you if you suffer from allergies, and the “Rookie Parent” is for little ones who are building their immune system and need a little help. Then there’s the “Critter Cuddler,” which is perfect for anyone with animals as it has an extra heavy-duty carbon filter included to get rid of odors. The “Homewrecker” is best if you’re doing lots of DIY projects as it’ll quickly get rid of those new home smells like paint and carpets.

And finally, there is the “Mamma to Be” filter with an H14 HEPA filter for ultimate protection and smell relief, and the “Overreactor,” which will tackle anything hanging about in the air with ease.

Are Mila Air Purifier filters washable?

No, you can’t wash a Mila Air Purifier filer. However, if you do want to extend the life of your filter there are washable “socks” that work as pre-filters to capture larger particles. You’ll still have to replace the filter at around the six-month point if you use it daily.

Does the Mila Air Purifier get rid of mold?

Mila will track humidity levels in your room and predict when it’s “at risk for mold.” It’ll even tell you how many days it’ll take for toxic mold to be visible if you don’t take action. But while the Mila Air Purifier helps remove mold spores from the air, which prevents them from reproducing and spreading throughout the home, it can’t treat active mold that’s already present.

What other reviewers have to say

“We put the unit into our 12-by-14-foot bedroom and the difference is really noticeable,” five-star reviewer Carl A. Trapani writes. “I don’t sneeze in the bedroom anymore! The app was easy to install on two iPhones. It tells about noticeable spikes in poor air quality and then takes steps automatically to improve it. I set up our unit to work on auto mode and it does all the work. Also, very, very quiet we don’t even notice it is running other than a slight breeze coming out of the top. I highly recommend.”

A. Booth, another five-star reviewer, loves how well Mila clears the air. “It is super quiet and color-coded—the color of the slight glow tells you what your air quality is. It is slim and attractive enough without being distracting. I feel it has helped with my allergies and certainly helps with two dogs.”

“Mila is simply the best! She’s so intuitive. On the first day the AQI in my bedroom was almost 300,” writes Jenna Bigham, a reviewer from Northern California. “With the combination of turning on the heat and using tap water in my diffuser, I was coughing a lot! Mila worked hard that day. I helped her by switching to distilled water and changed my furnace filters. After two days my AQI came down to 00. There are so many settings to choose from…not in an overwhelming way. She’s really quite delightful! I’m sleeping better than ever and my morning cough is gone. I’m so happy that I’m ordering another to put in my living area!”

Final verdict

The Mila Air Purifier is a breath of fresh air for any household (it’s a great cleaning gift!). I’ll admit that when I first read about it, I thought it was all hype. But almost every claim has turned out to be completely true. It’s everything you could want in an air purifier and more. It looks sleek and stylish so that it won’t stick out against your decor. It’s super easy to set up and use, and most importantly, it did a fabulous job at cleaning the air. Because Mila keeps an eye on what the air quality is like at all times, you can really see it working.

Since using this air purifier in my home, I’ve found I’ve slept better, and my cold and sinus issues have disappeared. The air just feels so much lighter. I live in an old home, so dampness, mold and condensation are regular visitors. I do use a dehumidifier to keep these at bay, but using the Mila really makes a difference in how fresh the house feels. It feels super clean and breezy.

For anyone with pets, this will do a good job of getting rid of those pet odors (even if you think your home doesn’t have them!).

Where to buy the Mila Air Purifier

If you’re ready to clear the air and breathe better (literally!), get hold of the Mila Air Purifier from Amazon or from Mila directly. It’s one of those house-cleaning investments you won’t regret.