You don't need to spend thousands of dollars to significantly improve your home's air quality. This guide shows you exactly where to spend $200 for the maximum impact—based on what research and experience show works best for landfill neighbors specifically.
The Strategy: Seal, Monitor, Filter
Every dollar spent on sealing gives you more protection than a dollar spent on filtration, because sealing reduces the problem at the source. Every dollar on monitoring tells you whether your other investments are working. Filtration is the last mile.
This $200 budget is designed for a household that wants a significant, measurable improvement—not perfect air quality—without committing to a full system overhaul. Think of it as your foundation. Everything else builds on it.
The $200 Budget Breakdown
Step 1: Monitoring ($40–60)
Buy a monitor before you buy a purifier. Your monitor tells you what you're dealing with and whether your other investments are working. Without data, you're flying blind.
Temtop M10 Air Quality Monitor (~$50)
The best value monitor for PM2.5 and VOC tracking. Professional-grade sensors used by research institutions. USB rechargeable, compact enough to move room to room.
Check Price on AmazonStep 2: Sealing ($30–50)
Spend before you filter. You can buy $400 of purifiers and still have terrible indoor air quality if outdoor air is flooding in through outlets and door gaps. Two sealing tasks, one afternoon:
Outlet gaskets: Every exterior-wall outlet in a 3-bedroom home. 30 minutes, completely invisible after installation.
Weatherstripping: The two most-used exterior doors. 45 minutes with scissors and a clean dry surface.
Frost King Foam Outlet Sealers
6-pack of fire-retardant gaskets. Buy two packs for a full house. Your highest ROI sealing task.
Check Price on AmazonKeliiyo EPDM Weatherstrip 66ft
Enough for 3–4 exterior doors. EPDM holds up in all temperatures. Does the job for years.
Check Price on AmazonStep 3: Filtration ($80–100)
With your remaining budget, add a bedroom HEPA purifier. The bedroom is where you spend 8 hours every night—this is where clean air matters most.
Levoit Core 300S Air Purifier
The best value HEPA purifier for bedrooms. 141 CFM, 22dB sleep mode, AHAM-verified. Don't buy a cheaper unit—the filter costs are similar and performance drops significantly below this tier.
Check Price on AmazonYour $200 Spend Summary
| Item | Approx. Cost | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Temtop M10 Monitor | ~$50 | Know your baseline; track results |
| Outlet gaskets (2 packs) | ~$16 | Seal all exterior-wall outlets |
| Weatherstripping (1 pack) | ~$12 | Seal 2–3 exterior doors |
| Levoit Core 300S | ~$100 | HEPA filtration for your bedroom |
| Total | ~$178 | Measurable improvement in your most important space |
Measuring Your Results
After completing all three steps, run this test: turn on your bedroom purifier on high, close the door, and watch your Temtop M10. After 30 minutes, PM2.5 should be below 10 μg/m³ in a properly sealed, properly filtered bedroom. If it's not, the room has more infiltration than your sealing addressed—focus next dollar on identifying those pathways.
What to Add Next
Once you've completed the $200 setup and confirmed it's working: expand filtration to the living room, add CO₂ monitoring to guide ventilation, upgrade your HVAC filter to MERV 13, and begin sealing utility penetrations with expanding foam. Each step compounds on the last.