Coway AP-1512HH Mighty Air Purifier Review

We purchased the Coway AP-1512HH Mighty Air Purifier so our reviewer could put it to the test. Keep reading for our full product review.

Air purifiers are easy-to-use machines that clean the air in your home through the use of filters. Purifiers can catch harmful particles in the air like mold spores, pollen, pet dander, smoke, and other pollutants you don’t even know are floating around. Seasonal allergy sufferers have much to gain by using one of these gadgets—especially if thorough cleanings hasn’t helped to reduce sneezing or congestion. They’re also useful in homes with known air quality issues, which can be caused by a variety of common household substances. We tested out the Coway Mighty for a few weeks to see how it performed in our home. Read on to see what we discovered and if it could be a good fit for you.

Setup Process and Manual: Super easy, but don’t expect a lot of info on functionality

It takes very little effort to get the Coway up and running. The front panel of the unit snaps off to reveal the filters which come packaged individually. Just remove the plastic before reinserting the filters, plug it in, and you're ready to go. The process is the same for replacing the filters, which you'll need to do when the filter indicator light turns on (likely once every 3 to 6 months).

The instructions detail how to operate the unit and use each feature, but what you won't find in the accompanying booklet is exactly what each function does. For example, you can see the air quality on the indicator light—blue for clean, purple for mid-range, and red for poor—but the book doesn't include information on how it monitors the quality or what exactly it’s detecting. The most glaring of these oversights is the lack of information around the "ionizer" feature. There's nothing in the booklet that indicates what it does or why it's needed. You'll need to go online to the brand website to learn that this setting uses an electrochemical reaction to reduce particles in the area (though it's unclear what type of particles, exactly, or when one needs to use it).

Performance: A quiet and feature-rich solution

We tested the Coway Mighty Air Purifier in an open floor plan living room. This is exactly the kind of room it’s intended to be used in, with the manufacturer recommending it for rooms up to 361 square feet in size. We found that after only a few hours of use, the entire space smelled fresher—even with a dog in the home.

As this purifier has an air quality monitor, you can see real-time feedback on the device. When the purifier is on auto mode, the air-quality indicator changes color and the unit increases the filtration speed when it detects a change in air quality. This setting worked very well; on two occasions when we cooked particularly pungent foods, the purifier switched to purple—the mid-level air quality color. It also turned purple when our dog sat next to it after a rowdy play session. The purifier seemed to detect the extra dirt and dander in the air and increased filtration for a few minutes.

The Coway Mighty has a four-stage filtration process which includes a HEPA filter that can screen 99.97% of particles larger than .3 microns. For reference, a standard filter captures particles larger than 2 microns. For allergy sufferers, that 1.7-micron difference will undoubtedly make a difference. One tester in our home is prone to allergen- and pollen-induced nosebleeds, but he noted a lack of nosebleeds during the week the unit was running. If you have allergies, be sure to place the unit in a room already designed to reduce dust and nasal irritants for the best results. 

Functionally, the features of the Coway Mighty Air Purifier are quite easy to use and all performed as promised during our testing. You can manually choose a setting or put it on auto mode, with or without activating the ionizer option. There’s also an eco mode, which shuts down after detecting clean air for a continuous 30 minutes. There’s a timer as well, which operates in one-, four-, and eight-hour bursts in case you’d like to run the purifier for just a few hours in the evenings or even overnight.

While the features are functionally sound, we did have a few volume concerns. Speeds one and two are rather quiet, but speed three is quite loud and was found in our testing to be too loud for watching TV or chatting over dinner. On the few occasions where the purifier automatically switched to mode three, we had to pause the TV until it was done.

Design: Uninspired, but fine

In terms of aesthetics, the Coway Mighty Air Purifier falls somewhere in the middle of the pack compared to other units we’ve tested. The facade is modern and sleek, not unlike a large speaker, but the size and large circle on the front look more suited to a business environment than a living room. It’s too large to set on most surfaces and would likely work best under a table or beside a couch where it won’t be a focal point of the room. Fortunately, the unit is available and both white and black, so residential users can choose whichever will best blend in with their home decor.

Maintenance: Potentially frequent filter replacements

Aside from the features mentioned above, we like that the Coway Mighty Air Purifier has an indicator light to tell you when it’s time to change the filters. While the average homeowner should expect to change the filter every five to six months, homes with multiple pets or smokers may need to change the filter far more frequently—potentially even monthly.

Price: An expensive but justifiable option

The Coway Mighty Air Purifier retails for $250. While you can find an effective purifier for less than $100, budget options won’t offer the same breadth of features or coverage area. Price points, features, and the size of the room a unit can clean vary greatly, so be sure to read up on all the factors you should consider before buying an air purifierfirst.

Competition: A happy medium for most users

We found that the Coway purifier struck a happy medium between the size of the room it’s able to filter (361 square feet) and it’s noise level while operating on low and medium settings. Though it covers a smaller space than heavy-duty purifiers like the Honeywell True HEPA Allergen Remover (which can cover 465 square feet), it was highly effective in both our 300-square-foot living room and 192-square-foot bedroom. The Coway is also far more attractive than the larger and heavier Honeywell purifier, which has a more industrial look. Additionally, the Coway is the only purifier we tested with an air quality indicator. This, when paired with the auto feature, gives you far more information about how the machine is performing. If you’re looking to cover a medium-sized space (or smaller) and care about noise volume and extra features, definitely give this purifier a go.