Need help and advice on Air Purifiers?????

[micknpluto]

I always trust my fellow DISers for consumer advice.

I just started to do some research on air purifiers. I have really bad allergies and think this might help. I take allergy medicine every day to control my allergies, but sometimes even the medicine doesnt help. We just got a kitten (6 months old) and the cat hasnt seem to make my symtoms worse. But its still uncomfortable at times, I just cant breathe out of my nose!! This started a few months ago. I cant figure out whats triggering it? I thought an air purifier might make things a little better.

Does anyone have any advice, do you use one, does it work, which brand/model is best? I was on ebay searching and found some that werent that expensive.. right around $100 - $120. I live in an apartment which is about 1000 square feet. I would love to have one for the bedroom and the living room.


any advice would be wonderful!

Thanks guys!!!

xoxo

 

[Pakey]

I spent about $800 on mine (don't know the brand; it's at home) about 2 years ago and it has done nothing to alleviate my allergies or congestion. It does however, eliminate cooking odors right away.

 

[Disneychix]

We have the sonic one, can't remember the name, but we got it off HSN. We have a small house, 1000 square feet and we just have the one little machine. We do move it into the bedroom sometimes if we feel it's 'icky' in there.

I have bad allergies but I'm not totally certain that this helps but it does eliminate odors in the house and cleans the air in that sense.

They are also good about exchanging them for a lifetime warranty. We've already done this 2x!

 

[micknpluto]

hmmm.. really? It doesnt sound very promising...

I wouldnt want to spend a lot of money, especially if it doesnt work.. I did read they are good at eliminating odors, like from cooking and such.


I might try it just to see. Maybe I'll look in Target or Walmart.

Thanks for your responses!!! =D

 

[bunny]

I sell filters for a living. My son has allergies, so I have looked into these units also. In my opinion,you would be wasting your money.

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

www.allergybuyers.com

I have a Friedrich electrostatic precipitator for living room and a new air cleaner with an arm that overhangs the head of the bed.

They help a lot. With the present ragweed, if i don't have the Friedrich on i start wheezing w/in an hour if the front door is open. Don't wheeze if have Friedrich on.

The weather channel website has allergy maps and there is another website that does allergen email alerts with the allergens present and how high the levels are. That can help you figure out what allergens are most troublesome for you.

 

[micknpluto]

www.allergybuyers.com

I have a Friedrich electrostatic precipitator for living room and a new air cleaner with an arm that overhangs the head of the bed.

They help a lot. With the present ragweed, if i don't have the Friedrich on i start wheezing w/in an hour if the front door is open. Don't wheeze if have Friedrich on.

The weather channel website has allergy maps and there is another website that does allergen email alerts with the allergens present and how high the levels are. That can help you figure out what allergens are most troublesome for you.

thank you. I will look into that as well. Its overwhelming cause' there's so many different products to choose from. It seems something that uses a "HEPA" filter is supposed to be helful with asthma too.

 

[doxdogy]

I just bought one last weekend at Lowe's. It is a Hunter and so far it seems to help. I have it set up in the bedroom. I purchased mainly because my sinuses were stopped up in the morning. All this week, I not had to take anything for my sinuses.

 

[micknpluto]

I just bought one last weekend at Lowe's. It is a Hunter and so far it seems to help. I have it set up in the bedroom. I purchased mainly because my sinuses were stopped up in the morning. All this week, I not had to take anything for my sinuses.

OOOOHHH I was looking at them online at Lowes.com... which model did you get? They had some really expensive ones and not so expensive.. I have my asthma under control but my sinuses are horrible!

 

[Barbossa]

One word: IQAir. They're made in Switzerland, are quiet, high capacity, extremely well made, and are top rated for particle and gas filtration. Not cheap, but well worth it. Check them out here:

http://www.iqair.us/residential/roomairpurifiers/

 

[micknpluto]

One word: IQAir. They're made in Switzerland, are quiet, high capacity, extremely well made, and are top rated for particle and gas filtration. Not cheap, but well worth it. Check them out here:

http://www.iqair.us/residential/roomairpurifiers/

Yeah, I read about the IQair. I dont know if I want to invest that much money into this.. If It really works, it might be worth it.

thanks again for the info!!

 

[Barbossa]

Yeah, I read about the IQair. I dont know if I want to invest that much money into this.. If It really works, it might be worth it.

thanks again for the info!!

Yeah, they're pretty pricey. If you're really sensitive to particles, then it might be worth it. Otherwise there are other effective purifiers that cost much less. We have this Honeywell filter in our kids' rooms:

http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/product/1b842d6748b8a42a28e5648c33a067f3/

They're about $100 at target and work very well.

 

[micknpluto]

Yeah, they're pretty pricey. If you're really sensitive to particles, then it might be worth it. Otherwise there are other effective purifiers that cost much less. We have this Honeywell filter in our kids' rooms:

http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/product/1b842d6748b8a42a28e5648c33a067f3/

They're about $100 at target and work very well.

I was at Target tonight and saw the Honeywell Brand air purifier! they had it on sale for $69.99.. I was going to buy it but I hate to buy something that doesnt work. I think I'll buy it and try it, if it doesnt do anything I guess i can return it.

thanks!!!!!!

 

[micknpluto]

from what I'm reading it seems if it says its "true HEPA" its good? I see a lot that say "HEPA type"

the one I saw at Target on sale for $69.99 wasnt a True HEPA.. for not that much more money I can get the proper one!

I might invest in the one mentioned above!! =D

 

[Charade]

We have a couple of these 3M air filters and I think they do a pretty good job. It uses replaceable filter and it's amazing the stuff it traps. The filters are about $15 each although there are place on the web you can buy bulk for less than that each.

http://www.amazon.com/3M-FAP02-RS-Filtrete-Ultra-Purifier/dp/B000I4NG22/ref=pd_sim_k_3

They have a bigger one for larger rooms.

http://www.amazon.com/3M-FAP03-RS-Filtrete-Ultra-Purifier/dp/B000I4P4MW

 

[Barbossa]

from what I'm reading it seems if it says its "true HEPA" its good? I see a lot that say "HEPA type"

the one I saw at Target on sale for $69.99 wasnt a True HEPA.. for not that much more money I can get the proper one!

I might invest in the one mentioned above!! =D

I believe HEPA filters were created years ago for use in nuclear test/weapons facilities. They are spec'd to filter out particles of a certain minimum size. I would guess that "True HEPA" filters conform to this spec. The Honeywell 17000 uses a true, washable HEPA filter (which is nice, HEPA filters are pricey), and a pre-filter which needs to be replaced every 2-3 months.

 

[micknpluto]

We have a couple of these 3M air filters and I think they do a pretty good job. It uses replaceable filter and it's amazing the stuff it traps. The filters are about $15 each although there are place on the web you can buy bulk for less than that each.

http://www.amazon.com/3M-FAP02-RS-Filtrete-Ultra-Purifier/dp/B000I4NG22/ref=pd_sim_k_3

They have a bigger one for larger rooms.

http://www.amazon.com/3M-FAP03-RS-Filtrete-Ultra-Purifier/dp/B000I4P4MW

Thank you.

I'm wondering which size will work best? I have an apartment, about 1000 sq ft. I dont know the exact dimensions of each room. The living room and dining room are not separated, its like one big room. shaped like an "L" .

question: Would an airpurifier work in just the section of the living room (where i spend most of my time - Im never in the dining room) or would it defeat the purpose, not covering the entire area?


I would like to buy 2 of them, one for the bedroom and one for the living room. Unless i buy one and use it in both rooms.

I sound like an idiot, but I have no clue about these things. I'm going to narrow it down based on the ones you guys suggested.

thanks again!! =)

 

[micknpluto]

I believe HEPA filters were created years ago for use in nuclear test/weapons facilities. They are spec'd to filter out particles of a certain minimum size. I would guess that "True HEPA" filters conform to this spec. The Honeywell 17000 uses a true, washable HEPA filter (which is nice, HEPA filters are pricey), and a pre-filter which needs to be replaced every 2-3 months.

a pre-filter has to be replaced that often? hmmm.. and they are expensive?

This is another thing I need to consider and would like to avoid.

thanks for the info!

 

[Charade]

a pre-filter has to be replaced that often? hmmm.. and they are expensive?

This is another thing I need to consider and would like to avoid.

thanks for the info!

A pre-filter is used to catch the "big chunks" so the HEPA filter doesn't get clogged up and can do it's job catching the little stuff.

 

[stacyp9]

I always trust my fellow DISers for consumer advice.

I just started to do some research on air purifiers. I have really bad allergies and think this might help. I take allergy medicine every day to control my allergies, but sometimes even the medicine doesnt help. We just got a kitten (6 months old) and the cat hasnt seem to make my symtoms worse. But its still uncomfortable at times, I just cant breathe out of my nose!! This started a few months ago. I cant figure out whats triggering it? I thought an air purifier might make things a little better.

Does anyone have any advice, do you use one, does it work, which brand/model is best? I was on ebay searching and found some that werent that expensive.. right around $100 - $120. I live in an apartment which is about 1000 square feet. I would love to have one for the bedroom and the living room.


any advice would be wonderful!

Thanks guys!!!

xoxo

Be careful with the ionizer type models. Some of them release enough ozone into your home that it can make your indoor air quality substantially worse.
Stick with a true HEPA unit.