Desk of Contents
Air high quality is one thing I did not pay any consideration to for many of my life. Whereas a lot of the U.S. thinks my hometown of Seattle has gray, wet climate year-round, we even have unbelievable summers. However these days we’ve run into a brand new and really unwelcome occasion — smoke season. Someday between July and September, wildfire smoke from Canada or Jap Washington makes its approach into the town, masking us in a thick haze that makes the sky look apocalyptic. Whereas I actually love the scent of campfire, inhaling that smoky air 24/7 is admittedly unhealthy.
Air purifiers with HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filtration are the go-to when coping with wildfire smoke. They seize components that negatively affect indoor air high quality, like smoke, pollen, mud, and even viruses. Since I cope with seasonal allergy symptoms and I reside in an space liable to wildfire smoke, air purifiers are throughout my home now. However I didn’t need an enormous mannequin in my bed room, so when Shark got here out with the NeverChange Compact Professional, I wanted to try it out. It’s lovable and is available in actually enjoyable colorways, however is it truly well worth the $180 price ticket?
How does the Shark NeverChange Compact Professional work?
The Shark NeverChange Compact Professional is designed for use in rooms which can be 250 sq. ft in measurement or much less. Shark makes use of a multi-level filtration system that features an preliminary display screen, meant to seize massive stuff like hair, mud bunnies, or lint. You’ll be able to simply wipe or vacuum that display screen clear, which implies none of that stuff is clogging up the extra essential HEPA filter. That filter makes use of three layers of safety: an outer layer catches bigger air particles like pollen and dander, behind that could be a carbon filter that helps clear the air of smells from cooking or from pets, and lastly is the ever-important HEPA filtration itself, which is the place super-fine particles like smoke and viruses get caught.
Energy, show data, brightness, and fan velocity are all controls on high of the air air purifier. Shark’s Odor Neutralizer Expertise dial sits on the high.
Credit score: Lauren Allain / Mashable
The NeverChange a part of the title refers back to the filter, since Shark says you would possibly be capable to go 5 years earlier than getting a brand new filter. Understand that that quantity comes from testing the air air purifier for 12 hours of operation every day on the utmost fan velocity, so your mileage will most likely differ. As of Could 2025, a brand new Shark PetPro HEPA Filter, which is what the NeverChange Compact Professional comes outfitted with, sells for $49.99 on Shark’s web site.
A spherical of applause for the design
Let’s be sincere — air purifiers aren’t the prettiest decor so as to add to a room, however I genuinely assume the Shark NeverChange Compact Professional is lovable. It appears like a cute little robotic that sits in your bedside or your desk, protecting the air clear and wholesome. And we’ve got to speak in regards to the colorway choices since you’re not caught with a impartial white possibility right here (though that’s the mannequin I examined). Shark makes this mannequin in a chilled lilac, a very fairly gentle pink known as quartz, and the really magnificent honeydew. Not solely do I discover these colours superior, however I think about children would love them too. Getting your selection of colours in an air air purifier that isn’t black, white, or gray is uncommon, and it’s one of many issues I really like most in regards to the Shark Compact Professional.
The LCD show can be a powerful contender for my completely favourite a part of the Shark air air purifier. I’m a numbers particular person, which signifies that I don’t love that the majority air purifiers work on a easy coloration system (blue is clear air, yellow/orange is questionable, and crimson is unhealthy). As an alternative of this, the Shark’s LCD shows the model’s CleanSense IQ, which provides a share studying of unpolluted air. You may as well toggle this to show PM 1.0, PM 2.5, or PM 10 (these are air particle measurements). And, as is my choice at bedtime, you’ll be able to regulate the brightness of this show or flip it off solely.
The Shark NeverChange Compact Professional’s HEPA filter will get positioned inside whereas the air purifier is the wrong way up, which locks into place with the underside.
Credit score: Lauren Allain / Mashable
The show is tremendous helpful for realizing when to open some home windows to filter out bacon smoke or when to shut home windows in the summertime wildfires. The adjustable fan velocity has 5 settings, or you’ll be able to go together with the auto mode, which arms the brains over to the air purifier to regulate as wanted. If air high quality sticks at 100%, the Shark will flip the fan off and hand around in eco mode till it feels the air high quality dips right into a degree that wants filtration.
The Shark NeverChange Compact Professional additionally will get excessive marks on the subject of a quiet operation. In fact, on the max velocity setting, you clearly hear a fan sound, however on a low setting, it’s barely noticeable and a welcomed white noise in lots of conditions. This makes it additional excellent for a bed room, nursery, or workplace. Once I slept with the Shark on my nightstand with the LCD show off, I needed to double-check if the air air purifier was even nonetheless on — the noise was that unnoticeable.
The Shark NeverChange Compact Professional in comparison with the scale of my 14-inch Asus Zenbook laptop computer.
Credit score: Lauren Allain / Mashable
The Compact Professional is light-weight, coming in at just below 4.5 kilos, which makes it tremendous straightforward to take from room to room. Shifting it from the workplace to the bed room at night time isn’t any downside, however I want there have been a carrying deal with or a slot on the again to get a safe grip on the air purifier.
The Shark air air purifier additionally neutralizes odors
Shark outfitted the Compact Professional with the model’s Odor Neutralizer Expertise which “releases a fresh scent,” and might help reduce down on pet or cooking smells. That is executed through a cartridge that sits on the highest of the air purifier, and you may regulate the dial to decide on your required scent depth.
I’m not a candle girly, and I don’t like air fresheners, so this isn’t the characteristic for me. I didn’t discover the scent to be off-putting and my relations didn’t thoughts the scent, however I adopted Shark’s tips for utilizing the air purifier with out the scent and eliminated the cartridge from the dial. However if you happen to’re one to make use of air fresheners in your own home, this characteristic actually provides some bang to your buck.
Shark NeverChange Compact Professional vs. Shark NeverChange Max
Shark’s lineup of NeverChange air purifiers consists of a number of fashions on the time of penning this assessment — the Compact Professional is the smallest, and the Max is the most important. Whereas the Compact Professional is supposed for small areas, the Max can filter air in areas that attain an enormous 1,400 sq. ft. This makes the Max a a lot better possibility if you happen to’re aiming to wash the air in your eating room, kitchen, and front room. It may also be optimum if you happen to reside in a studio house. The NeverChange Compact Professional actually shines in a small workplace or a bed room, not the entire home.
The Shark NeverChange Compact Professional (left) in comparison with the Shark NeverChange Max (proper).
Credit score: Lauren Allain / Mashable
When it comes to bang on your buck, the NeverChange Max affords one of the best deal. At full value, the Max prices $329.99 to wash an space of 1,400 sq. ft. That works out to beneath 25 cents per sq. foot. That’s a a lot better value per sq. foot in comparison with the Compact Professional, which prices $179.99 to cowl 250 sq. ft — that works out to about 70 cents per sq. foot.
Though the Max affords a greater worth, the Compact Professional remains to be fascinating if you happen to solely must purify the air in a small room otherwise you sleep with the bed room door closed, reducing it off from different air purifiers. Plus, the Max solely is available in white, which implies you must go together with the Compact Professional to get that lilac colorway.
Is the Shark NeverChange Compact Professional well worth the value?
The value to worth ratio of the Shark Compact Professional will depend on your needs. Air purifiers with HEPA filtration could be a lot inexpensive, however I discover the CleanSense IQ to be well worth the premium value because it offers me a real-time studying of my indoor air high quality in numbers as a substitute of a coloration show. The general look and colorway choices are additionally large advantages, and it makes the air air purifier match into the class of perform and enjoyable decor as a substitute of simply perform. Plus, the long-lasting HEPA filter would possibly wind up saving you large time on the subject of filter replacements.
There’s additionally the well being issue when deciding if you happen to want an air air purifier. For me, inhaling clear air is an funding in my future self and general well-being, particularly when coping with wildfire smoke. I feel it’s nicely well worth the value, particularly if you’ll find it on sale.
At full value, the Shark NeverChange Compact Professional is available in at $179.99 in all colorways. If the filter does truly final you the total 5 years, that works out to beneath $40 per 12 months, which feels cheap for clear air.
