LG PuriCare AeroTower Air Purifying Fan Review 2023

In our larger tested review of the best tower fans, the LG PuriCare AeroTower Air Purifying Fan earned the title of “best upgrade” model. Here’s why we at Forbes Vetted believe it’s worth every penny.

The LG PuriCare AeroTower Air Purifying Fan is one impressive multifunctional device.

When hot weather and poor air quality collide, a household fan and an air purifier can together make the air inside your house feel more cool, comfortable and fresh. And while investing in two dedicated appliances is always an option, these days, there’s a growing market for tower fans that can clean the air they circulate. The LG PuriCare AeroTower Air Purifying Fan, which I tested alongside nine other top-rated tower fans, is one such multifunctional device that’s smart, versatile and powerful.

Equipped with 10 speeds and varying degrees of oscillation, this sleek bladeless device is capable of distributing a strong breeze that fills a room. But it’s also designed with premium air-purifying technology: Its sleek body houses a true HEPA air filter to capture allergens, as well as a UV light to help banish bacteria. While this versatile device costs significantly more than your average tower fan, this single unit can replace two free-standing appliances in your home. Read on to learn more about all the ways that the LG PuriCare AeroTower can improve your home’s air quality.

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Dimensions: 44.1 x 10.4 x 10.4 inches | Settings: 10 speeds, plus Diffusion, Direct and Wide settings | Timer: 1 to 12 hours | Remote: Yes | Oscillation: Yes; 45, 60, 90 and 140 degrees | Noise range: 35.3 to 50.8 decibels

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The LG PuriCare AeroTower is one robust device. Whereas most tower fans offer three or four speed settings, the LG PuriCare AeroTower has a whopping 10, plus three airflow modes: Direct, Diffusion and Wide. And it’s powerful, to boot. During testing, it projected a strong breeze that could easily be felt 15 feet away, and at a distance of 3 feet away, the wind speed registered 5.4 mph. While using the tower fan, I came to love its high adjustability. One day, over a period of hours of working and relaxing, I idly switched the fan speed from low to high, plus I changed the mode of air distribution from Direct to Wide or Diffusion to suit my preferences in the moment. And even at high speeds, the fan’s operation remained smooth and quiet.

Arguably, the biggest perk of this premium tower fan is its air-purifying capabilities. Relying on a true HEPA air filter, the fan captures dust, pollen, dander and other particles as small as 0.3 microns that would otherwise be recirculated in your breathing air. The model also comes equipped with a UV light housed inside the fan’s body, designed to kill bacteria that gets drawn in through the fan vents. Within the LG ThinQ app, through which you can control all the brand’s smart appliances, you’re able to check the status of the HEPA filter. (You’re also able to turn off the UV light in the app.) After about 3 weeks of on-and-off use, the app shows that my filter has 99% life remaining. I expect that the filter will match the life span I’ve observed for other home air purifiers, which is between 6 and 12 months, depending on use and air-quality conditions.

As you’d expect of a premium tower fan, the LG PuriCare AeroTower is equipped with Wi-Fi and doesn’t skimp on smart features. While you can control the fan using the included remote (which is magnetic and conveniently adheres to the fan’s housing), I much prefer running the show with the LG ThinQ app. Through the app, you can adjust the fan’s speed settings or modes from another room, or even when you’re on your way home and want to ramp up air circulation before you walk in the door. The app also opens the door to setting custom or repeating schedules, so you can have the fan turn down operation at bedtime or increase air speed during the warm afternoon hours.

Savvy smart home users can also control the fan with assistants Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, giving voice commands like, “Hey Google, set the fan speed of the air purifier to high.” It’s truly the most hands-free way to modify the function of this tower fan and especially convenient when you’re busy with hands-on tasks like cooking and cleaning.

The LG PuriCare AeroTower Air Purifying Fan is a powerful pick designed to take the place of two stand-alone devices: a tower fan and air purifier. With 10 fan speeds and HEPA filtration, it does both jobs well, which is why I named it the best upgrade tower fan in my larger tested review of 10 top models. (Just keep in mind that because this model is souped-up, it’s bigger than the average fan: It weighs 28 pounds and measures 44 inches tall.)

If you’re more interested in a tower fan for air-circulation purposes only, then the Dreo Cruiser Pro T1 Tower Fan, which I believe to be the best tower fan overall, will save you more than $400. The Cruiser Pro T1 has only six fan speeds, compared to 10 for the LG PuriCare AeroTower, but testing shows that the former has more powerful airflow. It charted a top wind speed of 8.3 mph (measured from a distance of 3 feet), while the LG PuriCare AeroTower maxed out at 5.4 mph. To its credit, though, the LG PuriCare AeroTower gives you more adjustments for the fan speed and air distribution, which I really appreciated during testing.

I tested the LG PuriCare AeroTower Air Purifying Fan over a 3-week period, during which I compared its features and performance to nine other top-rated tower fans. Every model faced the same challenges. To start, I hung streamers at distances of 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 feet away from the fan, observing how far each model’s breeze reached; I also hung a single streamer behind the fan to test the fan’s degree of oscillation. In addition to these visual observations, I used an anemometer to measure wind speed from each distance on the fan’s highest speed setting. To see how noisy or quiet each tower fan is, I took a decibel rating on the fan’s lowest and highest speed settings from a distance of 3 feet.

After these formal tests, I used the LG PuriCare AeroTower (and other tower fans) for everyday cooling purposes in my Florida condo to see what it felt like to live with each fan. With the LG PuriCare AeroTower specifically, I spent a lot of time on the LG ThinQ app to take advantage of the fan’s smart features and assess the platform’s overall usability.

I’m a writer and product tester with 6 years of relevant experience, and my areas of expertise include small and large home appliances. Most recently for Forbes Vetted, I reviewed the best portable air conditioners, and I’ve also tested other products like air purifiers and vacuum cleaners for other publications. As a full-time Florida resident, keeping cool is a top priority, and I frequently have a fan operating in my living room or bedroom. I’m insistent that a top-performing tower fan be quiet, powerful and easy to use.