Blueair Blue Mini Max review: a compact powerhouse for clean air

T3's Blueair Blue Mini Max review in a sentence: Smaller than their other air purifier models but even better as a result.

I recently reviewed the Blue Air Blue Max 3250i, which was smaller than the Blueair HealthProtect 7470i model I’d tried a few years before that. Now though, there’s the Blueair Blue Mini Max and it’s designed for anyone who lacks the space to own anything larger. The HealthProtect 7470i was certainly a bit chunky for anyone wanting an air purifier for a small flat or box bedroom. This, on the other hand, is tailor-made for folks who want compact all the way.

This model has been specifically designed for small rooms, and the dimensions and performance are therefore suited to those type of surroundings. Meanwhile, the brand itself has enjoyed a presence in our best air purifier guide, even winning awards from the T3 team for its products.

So, why bother with an air purifier? These appliances are a great idea for boosting the air quality in homes and offices. They’re able to get rid of allergens, unpleasant particles and other hard-to-spot airborne pollution in open and closed spaces. Anyone with an allergy will often find them beneficial too, particularly when pollen counts are high.

But without further ado, here's my full review of the Blueair Blue Mini Max.

Blueair Blue Mini Max review: price and availability

The Blueair Blue Mini Max is available at Blueair for $69.99 in the US or from online retailers including Amazon, which currently has it priced at £79 in the UK, which means the unit essentially costs the same on either side of the Atlantic. Purchasers can also supplement the cost of the unit by taking out a filter subscription deal too.

This makes sense as air purifiers contain filters that do need to be replaced from time to time, which ensures they work at optimal levels. Blueair offers variations on the subscription model, with different filters tailored for different needs. Subscriptions can also range from three months, to six or even nine months depending on your preference.

Blueair Blue Mini Max review: what is it?

An air purifier can be a great addition to a home, particularly if it is prone to suffering from the negative effects of bad air, pollution or strong smells. While the benefits of owning an air purifier are disputed by more cynical types, a quality model does have a noticeable effect if its run in the right surroundings and at optimal performance. Achieving the latter is done by regular upkeep and replacement of the filters.

The Blueair Blue Mini Max is a small variation on the air purifier theme, and currently the smallest model made by the Scandinavian Blueair brand. The Blueair Blue Mini Max really is compact too, with dimensions of 17.2 x 17.2 x 28.9 cm and it weighs 1.4kg, although it actually feels even lighter than that for some reason. This unit is recommended for rooms of 9-20m² and can clean air in such spaces in around 30 minutes or so. Owning one should mean it'll reduce 99.97% of airborne particles.

It comes finished with a delicious Arctic Grey material jacket that sits tightly over the main plastic body, which means the Blueair Blue Mini Max looks great around the home and is small enough to sit on a desk or bedside cabinet too.

Blueair Blue Mini Max review: is it any good?

Considering this is a small air purifier, it still promises plenty of performance. Better still, Blueair offers it as a unit and then there are three different subscription options. What these offer is variation on the air purifying theme, so Particle & Carbon is an everyday filter, that can tackle 99.97% of dust, odours, allergens and smoke.

Meanwhile, the Allergenblock option captures around 90% of pollen and dust allergens. Finally, the Smokeblock subscription offers up to 99.9% smoke, toxic gas and smog removal if you’re unlucky enough to live in such conditions.

Blueair Blue Mini Max review: performance

I’ve been impressed with all the Blueair products I’ve tried to date, and the Blueair Mini Max is no exception. Setting it up took me seconds. There’s little to do; just remove it from the box and plastic bag, add the country-relevant plug socket (three are included in the box), plug it in and switch on. There’s no initial setup or work to be done, and the controls are about as simple as they come.

Central to its operation is the topmost surface, with a power on/standby button and a central fan icon for controlling the three speeds. These ca be scrolled through, up and down, by successive presses. This model makes use of Blueair’s HEPASilent technology and I therefore found it mighty quiet, operating at just 20dB on low fan speed. In fact, at the lowest speed it hardly feels like it’s on, with only the LED indicator telling you as much.

I ran my Blueair near my kitchen for a while, which isn’t really the core location for a unit like this. However, it was handy for spotting just how good the appliance was at its job. Food smells and bad air quality from cooking a meal were dealt with very well indeed. Once I’d relocated the unit into a box bedroom, the Blueair Blue Mini Max did a fine job of making the air feel fresh over the course of a few nights sleep. The near-silent operation is perhaps my favourite other aspect of this air purifier.

Blueair Blue Mini Max review: verdict

This is a brilliant little air purifier for anyone with a box room or, say, a child’s bedroom to keep fresh. The quite way it operates is a real boon for light sleepers, but it’s not lacking on the performance front either, with the ability to work surprisingly well give its diminutive stature. The Blueair Blue Mini Max is keenly priced too and, while it does require new filters to stay optimised, the unit as a whole seems like very good value. Better still, the design adds lots of style appeal too.

Blueair Blue Mini Max review: alternatives to consider

The very recent Blueair Blue Max 3250i, which I reviewed not long along, is a good bet if you’re after something slightly bigger. A step up again from that is the Blueair HealthProtect 7470i, which I’ve owned for a few years and still gets the job done in a large living room.

While Blueair is always a good bet, there are plenty of other options too. Take the Dyson Purifier Humidify+Cool Formaldehyde, for example, although if it’s a solid brand name and compact dimensions you’re after, the AEG AX3 as seen in our guide is another model well worth considering.