Air Purifier Keeps Shutting Off? 5 Possible Reasons Why

Does your air purifier keep shutting off? A faulty outlet could be to blame. Here are 5 possible reasons why.

Picture this. It’s the middle of the night, and you’re about to go to sleep. Your air purifier is running smoothly, and all of a sudden, it stops.

You wait a couple of minutes to see if the issue resolves itself, but the appliance does not turn back on. Sleepy, and a bit frustrated, you get up and start walking towards it to get some answers, but you find none.

There are many reasons why this could be happening to you. From a faulty wall outlet, to clogged filters. It’s really anyone’s guess. That is, if you don’t have a clear idea of what you should be looking for.

Normally, you’d have to do long, tedious research in order to even begin to understand what could be wrong with your unit, but since I really want to help you, I’ve already taken care of it.

Below you will find a list with the most common causes to this occurrence, and the simplest solutions you can take to address them. Rest assured that, if you follow them religiously, your air purifier will be back to normal in a jiffy.

Are you ready? Let’s get busy!

Fixing a Malfunctioning Air Purifier

While having your appliance malfunction all of a sudden won’t cut off all oxygen supply in your house, this situation can be very inconvenient. Especially if you, or someone in your home, suffer from allergies or asthma.

That being said, as urgent as it is to restore your source of clean air, going about the troubleshooting process without order or detail is the best way to create unwanted problems, as well as waste precious time, and money.

As tempted as you might be to pry your appliance open, and start looking for the culprit in there, I’d advise against it. We will open your air purifier, but only as a last resort.

Your Air Purifier Might Keep Shutting Off Due To:

#1 A Faulty Outlet

Test your outlet for continuity

Your power sources are just as important as any internal components in your air purifier.

While faulty wall outlets are not an everyday occurrence, they can definitely cause a lot of problems when they manifest themselves.

Diagnosing a bad outlet can be tricky because the signs are very similar to those of a  malfunctioning internal component. This is why, before trying to open your appliance, you should rule out the possibility of this factor being to blame.

Depending on the severity of the damage to it, your outlet might not be supplying any power, or it could be supplying power intermittently. The latter is a lot more dangerous, and could put your air purifier at risk of short-circuiting, and sustaining permanent damage.

It is of the utmost importance that, as soon as you suspect this to be the culprit, you stop using your machine immediately.

Solution: Try a different outlet.

In order to do this, you must carefully unplug your appliance. Once you have done that, you can take it to a different section of your house, and plug it back into a new outlet.

Provided that this is, in fact, the source of the malfunction, your unit should work normally again.

If you want a DIY challenge, and own a multimeter, you can test the outlet for continuity with it. This is completely optional, but strongly encouraged, as a faulty outlet could be the first sign of a greater concern in your home’s electrical layout.

#2 A Damaged Power Cord

Damaging your power cord is easier thank you think

If you’ve ever stripped a power cord, you know that inside the thick rubber housing, there are several smaller cables through which the electrical current flows.

As you can imagine, these little cables can be very easily damaged.

I’m not saying that using your air purifier normally will break your cord, but seemingly unimportant bad habits, such as storing it away improperly, keeping it tangled, or pressed against an object in a weird angle, are more than enough to do it in.

If your air purifier keeps shutting off randomly, or due to slight movements, chances are this cable has sustained some damage over time.

Just as it happens with your wall outlet, as soon as you suspect this factor to be the culprit, you should stop using your machine immediately.

Solution: Try using a different cable.

I don’t expect you to have another one lying around just for testing, but on the off chance that you do, you can go ahead and use it. This will save you both time, and money, as well as provide you with an immediate answer.

Just make sure it meets the same amperage and voltage requirements as the broken one.

Provided that you don’t have a spare, that’s fine too. You can always find a replacement at any online marketplace by Google searching your make and model.

#3 Clogged Filters

Clean your filters regularly

Cleaning and maintaining your appliance regularly is essential to extending its lifespan and guaranteeing that you’re always operating it under the most hygienic conditions.

Most manufacturers recommend that you clean your filters every month, and change them every three to six months.

Making sure to keep your filters unobstructed is essential to preventing overheating, and other poor maintenance-related malfunctions. If your air purifier keeps shutting off, chances are it needs a good cleaning session, or a filter replacement.

Solution: Please follow these steps to remove your filter, and clean it:

1. Unplug your unit, and let it cool down

• Remove the outer plastic panel (it should come off easily)

• Remove the outer filter vent

• Remove the filter

• Carefully vacuum it to remove any debris, and then clean it under running water

• Let it dry completely

Again, this will only work if your filter is newer than 6 months. No matter how well you clean an old filter, it will never work as well as a new one if the part is older than that.

#4 Overheating

Excessive temperatures can kill your air purifier

Moving on to more concerning issues, let’s talk about overheating.

As you know, this is every household appliance’s worst enemy. This condition can not only make your air purifier work erratically, but also damage it permanently, and even skyrocket your electricity bill.

When it comes to air purifiers, this can occur due to filter obstruction, a faulty power source, or a malfunctioning internal component. 

This is not true for all models, but most air purifiers are designed with a built-in security measure that triggers automatic deactivation when the appliance runs for too long, or becomes excessively hot.

If your unit keeps shutting off, and boasts this feature, there is a very good chance that it might just be trying to protect itself, and you from the dangers of overheating.

Solution: Try following the steps from the previous point to clean your air filters or change them if you deem it necessary. More often than not, this should solve your overheating problem and get your appliance back to normal.

If clearing any obstruction from your filters does not work, there might be something wrong with an internal component in your unit, in which case, you might want to call a technician for help.

#5 Factory Defects 

Check your warranty, and give your manufacturer a call

Lastly, let’s consider the possibility of a factory defect.

While modern-day production quality standards are extremely high, there’s always room for error. This means that it’s not impossible for a faulty air purifier to have made it into the market inadvertently.

If your air purifier keeps shutting off, and you’re the unfortunate owner of one of these units, you should call your manufacturer right away to have them take a look at the machine.

Solution: Factory defects will usually manifest themselves immediately after purchase, but it’s not always so.

If your air purifier has just started failing after owning it for a while, check your warranty, and see if you’re still under coverage. Provided that you are, do not hesitate to call your manufacturer.

Unless specified otherwise, they should fix the malfunction for free.

I strongly advise against tampering with your unit if you suspect this to be the issue, as you could void your warranty, and end up having to pay for repairs that would have been free if you had just waited a little longer.

Conclusion

To have your air purifier keep shutting off can be a nightmare. Especially if you suffer from asthma or allergies, as having a functional unit is essential to your wellbeing.

Luckily, as I hope you’ve learned on this piece, addressing most of the issues behind this is fairly simple and should not take long. More often than not, replacing a broken cable, and making sure to keep your filters clean, is more than enough to get your unit working normally again.

Trust in yourself, and in your DIY skills. I’m sure there’s nothing you can’t do if you set your mind to it.

Thank you so much for sticking with me all the way to the end. If you found this article useful, why not become an expert in the subject through our other incredible resources below?

Smell that? Your clean air is restored!