Air purifier recommendations

[shellylh]

Because of my mold problem, I am looking to get another air purifier.  Right now I have the Winix Plasmawave but I am going to keep that in the room with mold and put the other one with in the room I sleep in.  Any recommendations?  The Winix is good but doesn't have activated carbon filters so I don't know if it is as good as some others.  The mold specialist said that Honeywell makes good ones.  Anyone tried those? 

What are the important qualities.  I know that a good HEPA filter is the most important. 

Should UV sanitizer be avoided because of Ozone?  

Avoid ionizer (the Winix Plasmawave has this)?

Are activated carbon filters a lot better than regular carbon filters? 

Edited August 25, 2015 by shellylh

[jvlgato]

I have a big, round Honeywell from 6-7 years ago. It looks like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-Long-Life-QuietCare-Purifier-17000/dp/B000050AQ5/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1440516311&sr=8-7&keywords=honeywell+hepa+filter

It's cheap, it works well, and I definitely noticed an improvement in my allergies.

But it's a little loud, and would like something quieter since I sleep with it on. I'm not sure if it's possible to be quieter, since you have to move air somehow. If there's someone that measured decibel levels for good HEPA filter machines, that might be worth looking at.

I'm pretty sure carbon filters are to remove odors, and nothing else. I don't think it'll help the mold in any way.

 

[wink]

Go with a negative ion generator.

 

The downside is that you will have a greasy patch where the ioniser is located that will need cleaning occasionally. depending on the amount of gunk in the air.

 

Also, the better ones have a cleanable electrode in the unit.

[Sherwood]

I used a handful when I lived in China.  My favorite was either the BlueAir Classic (https://www.blueair.com/us/blueair-classic) or the IQ Air HealthPro Plus (http://www.amazon.com/IQ-HealthPro-Plus-Air-Purifier/dp/B002VXDCHW/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1440518798&sr=1-1&keywords=iqair)

These both work exactly how you would imagine: pump a metric ton of air through a very good disposable filter as quietly as possible.  They both work wonderfully, I owned both, but the Embassy bought a few hundred Blue Airs and filters were provided every month, so I sold my IQ Air.  

They are serious machines, but this is Head Case.  I wager there is nothing you can throw at these that I did not experience in Beijing.

[acidbasement]

We have two Honeywell HEPA filters, and Eleanor (who has allergies and asthma) claims they work well. I notice they're good at removing odours. Like John said, they're a bit loud when operating at full bore, which is good when my kids are trying to sleep but not so good in the daytime when I want to listen to music.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I use the RabbitAir -- it's good, but I don't clean it as often as I should, so I'm not the best judge.  It uses the layered approach, so if you don't clean your outermost filter, then it clogs up, and the second layer has to start doing the work of the first.

My only complaint is that it will only ever shoot air upwards -- it's only quietest when it's on its lowest setting, so I would like to have it shooting directly at my face when I sleep.  And I can't.  It's still quieter than the Honeywell QuietCare that I used to have, but not by much.

[shellylh]

I used a handful when I lived in China.  My favorite was either the BlueAir Classic (https://www.blueair.com/us/blueair-classic) or the IQ Air HealthPro Plus (http://www.amazon.com/IQ-HealthPro-Plus-Air-Purifier/dp/B002VXDCHW/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1440518798&sr=1-1&keywords=iqair)

These both work exactly how you would imagine: pump a metric ton of air through a very good disposable filter as quietly as possible.  They both work wonderfully, I owned both, but the Embassy bought a few hundred Blue Airs and filters were provided every month, so I sold my IQ Air.  

They are serious machines, but this is Head Case.  I wager there is nothing you can throw at these that I did not experience in Beijing.

I started looking at the IQAir Health Pro Plus and it looks pretty awesome.  The biggest difference between that and the BlueAir seems to be the lack of a chemical and odor filter on the BlueAir.  How difficult is it to move them from one room to the other?  I would like to use it in the living room during the day and bedroom at night.  

[Sherwood]

I started looking at the IQAir Health Pro Plus and it looks pretty awesome.  The biggest difference between that and the BlueAir seems to be the lack of a chemical and odor filter on the BlueAir.  How difficult is it to move them from one room to the other?  I would like to use it in the living room during the day and bedroom at night.  

They are both on casters, so it's dead simple.  I never used the chemical and odor filter on the IQAir, mostly because I don't smoke and nor do my neighbors, but I found the standard filter itself to be very efficient at filtering odors, notably diapers (yay) and scented candles (boo).  Rooms with the filters smell "sweeter" than those without.  It's very pleasant.

Edited September 18, 2015 by Sherwood

[Grand Enigma]

I will add a few.

http://www.alencorp.com/collections/alen-air-purifiers/products/alen-breathesmart-fit50-hepa-air-purifier

and

http://austinair.com/products/

We have an Austin Air Bedroom in each of our bedrooms and a Standard in our basement.

 

 

[shellylh]

They are both on casters, so it's dead simple.  I never used the chemical and odor filter on the IQAir, mostly because I don't smoke and nor do my neighbors, but I found the standard filter itself to be very efficient at filtering odors, notably diapers (yay) and scented candles (boo).  Rooms with the filters smell "sweeter" than those without.  It's very pleasant.

I thought that the chemical and odor filter on the IQAir would be on all the time.  Did you have it turned off? 

[Sherwood]

I thought that the chemical and odor filter on the IQAir would be on all the time.  Did you have it turned off? 

My unit was a health pro compact, which trims 24 inches of height off by omitting the V5 filter, which is specific for filtering out smoke and odors.  There's no real way to turn sections on or off, there's just no slot for the V5 filter on the compact unit.  Looking at their website, it seems that they no longer sell the model I owned, so nothing to worry about there.

[shellylh]

I used a handful when I lived in China.  My favorite was either the BlueAir Classic (https://www.blueair.com/us/blueair-classic) or the IQ Air HealthPro Plus (http://www.amazon.com/IQ-HealthPro-Plus-Air-Purifier/dp/B002VXDCHW/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1440518798&sr=1-1&keywords=iqair)

These both work exactly how you would imagine: pump a metric ton of air through a very good disposable filter as quietly as possible.  They both work wonderfully, I owned both, but the Embassy bought a few hundred Blue Airs and filters were provided every month, so I sold my IQ Air.  

They are serious machines, but this is Head Case.  I wager there is nothing you can throw at these that I did not experience in Beijing.

What size rooms were you using this in?  I plan to use this in my living room during the day and bedroom at night.  I like the fact that the IQAir has prefilters for things like dust and that you don't have to change the HEPA filter as much as the BlueAirs.  Also, I am not sure about the electrostatic filters in the BlueAir.  However, this site claims that the IQAir can only be used in a room no larger than 260 sqft.  They say the BlueAir can be used in rooms up to 400 sqft.  

"HealthPro Plus is perfect for most bedrooms, no bigger than 260 square feet."

http://www.air-purifier-power.com/top-10-air-purifiers.html

 

Also, how good are the casters on the IQair?  People complained that they were pretty crappy.  

Edited October 4, 2015 by shellylh

[Sherwood]

What size rooms were you using this in?  

Also, how good are the casters on the IQair?  People complained that they were pretty crappy.  

I had 6 of them, all told, so in larger rooms I doubled them up.  The largest room I had with one was probably 180 sq. ft.  I had two in a room that was around 500 sq. ft.  The Embassy tested my in-home air for particulate concentration, and found that while the PM2.5 level outdoors would rise above 300, indoors it never got over 10.  They worked very well.

 

I never had any trouble with the casters, but they're built primarily to be unobtrusive, and I only used them on hardwood floors.

[shellylh]

I ordered one yesterday (the compact one with the odor/gas filter - I decided that it is good to be able to smell odors because sometimes they are a good warning, also it is a bit smaller).  It at least has to work better than the Winix I have right now. 

[Sherwood]

I think you'll enjoy it, I definitely loved mine.