Molekule Air Purifiers Don’t Clean Air as Advertised, Class Action Lawsuit Claims

Molekule air purifiers are falsely advertised as able to clean the air of pollutants and viruses such as COVID-19, a recent class action lawsuit contends.

Plaintiffs Friday Apaliski, Angelique Fish, John Joyal and Jamie Waterman say Molekule misleadingly advertises its filters as more effective than other filters when it comes to purifying the air. In fact, Molekule reportedly claims its photoelectrochemical oxidation (PECO) filters outperform traditional high-efficiency particulate-arresting (HEPA) filters.

Molekule describes its PECO filter as “the world’s first molecular air purifier;” they work by removing large particulates with a physical filter and then removing contaminants and destroying them with the PECO filter.

Each of the plaintiffs allegedly purchased Molekule Air, Air Mini and Air Mini+ purifiers for between $500 and $800. According to the purchasers, they chose to buy the products based on representations that they could purify the air of pollutants — particularly allergens and wildfire smoke.

However, despite representations that Molekule air purifiers “eradicate[] [sic] the full spectrum of indoor air pollutants,” testing of the products revealed the filters failed to improve air quality and in some cases even made air quality worse.

The plaintiffs reference several reviews and studies of Molekule air purifiers, including a New York Times Wirecutter air purifier guide from earlier this year.

In this review, the guide noted the Molekule Air had the worst performance of any purifier — regardless of size and price — they had tested over the seven-year history of the guide. To make matters worse, the guide revealed the results from the Molekule Air eventually looked worse than the air cleanliness seen with no purifier at all.

The plaintiffs also referenced a review from Consumer Reports that ranked the Molekule Air as the third-lowest air purifier on its list after the product “almost flunked” the organization’s tests. At its high speed, the device reportedly received a “Fair” rating for smoke and dust removal, though this rating dropped to the lowest score possible at “Poor” for the low speed.

However, despite the efficacy and quality of its products being called into question, Molekule allegedly continues to misrepresent its air purifiers in a way that misleads consumers.

Although Molekule has agreed to remove some of the advertisements, other misrepresentations reportedly remain on the product packaging and other marketing.

“Despite this knowledge, Molekule failed to disclose the truth to purchasers of air purifiers and continues to promote false and unsubstantiated representations to attract new purchasers,” the Molekule air purifiers class action lawsuit argues.

“Defendant unjustly profits on these falsehoods by selling air purifiers and replacement parts and accessories thereto.”

According to the plaintiffs, these misrepresentations have real consequences.

If they had been aware of the true performance of Molekule air purifiers, the plaintiffs and other consumers allegedly would not have purchased the products or would have paid significantly less.

As a result, the plaintiffs claim to have sustained financial damages.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a nationwide Class and several subclasses of consumers who purchased Molekule air purifiers. In addition to subclasses of purchasers from California, Massachusetts and Michigan, the plaintiffs seek to represent a subclass of individuals who live in a county at high or extreme risk for wildfires.

This is not the first time Molekule has faced legal action over their its purifiers.

In June, another plaintiff challenged Molekule’s claims that its air purifiers are more effective than HEPA air purifiers when it comes to removing allergens.

The class action lawsuit also challenged representations that the Molekule air purifiers can destroy 3.4 million black mold spores in 50 minutes, 1 million allergens in four minutes, 3.4 million ms2 viruses in two minutes and 3.7 million bacteria in five minutes.

These representations are allegedly misleading because the products fail to remove impurities in the air in the way Molekule advertises.

As a result of the misrepresentations, the plaintiff reportedly paid more than they otherwise would have been willing to.

Did you purchase Molekule air purifiers? Let us know in the comment section below.

The plaintiffs and proposed Classes are represented by P. Bradford deLeeuw of deLeeuw Law LLC; and Nicholas A. Migliaccio and Jason S. Rathod of Migliaccio & Rathod LLP.

The Molekule Air Purifiers Class Action Lawsuit is Friday Apaliski, et al. v. Molekule Inc., Case No. 1:20-cv-01548, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

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