While the Shark Never Change Air Purifier Max wasn’t powerful enough to completely clear the air while I was still seasoning the pan (as I learned last year, not even a commercial exhaust system can do that), it only took a few minutes to get back to a “good” range (85% and higher) after I removed the pan from the heat.
Now I’m low-key obsessed with the air quality in my open-concept main living space. It only drops about 10–15% when I make pancakes on the Breville Control Freak Home induction cooktop, but browning meat can temporarily take me down into the 60th or 70th percentile and the Never Change Max automatically kicks into high gear. It’s also fun—yes, fun—to watch the momentary but (hopefully) fairly harmless drops that occur when I light a match or blow out a candle. Even throwing open the windows in my dining room causes a small dip in air quality, though the number varies depending on the traffic and construction happening outside and generally stays within the Good range.
What I love about the Shark Never Change Air Purifier Max
Real-time air quality monitoring
As I mentioned above, the LED display shows the quality of your indoor air, with 100% being the best and 0% being the worst. For even more intel, you can toggle the display settings to get additional information including how long it will take to clean the air and what kind of particles you’re dealing with (though PM1, PM2.5, and PM10 might not mean much to you.)
Responsive filtering
The Never Change Max has four settings (Low, Medium, High, and Max) but I keep mine on “Auto.” When the device detects airborne pollutants, it automatically kicks into a higher power setting to filter more efficiently. Once the air quality goes back to the “good” range (85%–100%) the power is reduced.
Easy-to-clean filters
The Shark Never Change Air Purifier Max has three filters: The large, multi-layer “Never Change” HEPA filter which is intended to trap up to 99.98% of pollutants and allergens plus two “DebrisDefense” filters on the sides which catch particles like pet hair and dust. The machine conveniently displays an alert when it’s time to clean the dust filters and they’re super easy to remove and vacuum or wipe clean before sliding them back into their slots.
Other features
In addition to switching between fan or filtering modes, and giving different air-quality readings, the intuitive control panel allows you to adjust the brightness of the LED display and set a shut-off timer. There’s also an optional odor-neutralizing cartridge that can be inserted into the top of the machine for a subtle fresh scent.
What I don’t love about the Shark Never Change Air Purifier Max
The Shark Never Change Air Purifier Max is pretty bulky; it has a 13.2-inch diameter and stands just over 22 inches tall. With a suggested retail price of $330 at the time of publishing, it’s also on the pricey side—until you consider what you’ll save on filters. According to the product description, that’s $300 more you won’t have to spend on replacement filters over the course of five years. On that note, I’m compelled to point out that the “never” in Never Change is somewhat misleading, because while five years is a long time for a filter to last, it will need to be replaced eventually.
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