what is a good air purifier?

[aagee]

We are looking to purchase an air purifier. I have allergies, & we also have 2 cats, so I'm hoping an air purifier would be a good thing for us. Any suggestions of a good one? Would like one that covers a good amt of square footage, but also decent price. thanks!

 

[Justsyd2]

We have purchased Holmes for the past 10 years are so. We are very happy with them. You can find them at Walmart in all price ranges.

 

[Best Aunt]

I always buy Honeywell. I have seem them at Target and Wal-Mart. You also can get them online.

One thing to watch out for - if you plan to use it in a bedroom at night, make sure it doesn't have a light-up dial. If there is just a light next to various buttons (high, medium, low, etc.), you can put electrical tape over the light to cover it up. But if the on/off switch is a dial and the light is underneath it, you can't cover it up. And you might not appreciate suddenly having a night light in your bedroom. So look at the picture on the box before you buy.

Also, you want one with a HEPA filter. The ionic breeze ones (typically a tower rather than round) emit an odor which makes some people's allergies worse.

 

[kmvand1]

We have one in each bedroom and run them every night. We have gotten used to them and can't live without them. All of our's are Holmes too. I thought I was the only one irritated by lights on the machine though! Sometimes I put a sock on top, or something small to block the light.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Prices will vary based on square footage. I opted for ones that filter the smallest particles (measured in microns--the lower the number, the better.)

Ours filter for dust, pollen, and pet dander (and some other stuff). I need to get more, but at the time I purchased what was needed for particular areas of the home (esp dd's br as she is the one with the dust allergy).

FYI--our allergist told us to ignore "ionizers"--ours does have one, but he said it is not a necessary feature. I got it for the filtration aspects of the purifier--it just happened to have the ionizer.

We have 2 different kinds---both are by Holmes. They were needed for different size rooms--so one was a splurge for the room b/c all the other filters didn't cover the necessary sq footage. I do like it though. (ETA: I think we have this one---http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=9189153)

We found the best deals at Walmart-the same filters were $20-$30 more at Target.

I can't find the ones we got on-line anymore--but they were around $75-$80.

Walmart has some pricier ones on-line---but I would just read the specs for what it is filtering and the particle size as well as the replacement filters and their costs (and how often they must be replaced). Filters will have carbon filters as well as the air filters. Ours all take HEPA filters.

UV is a new technology for the germies, but I didn't do enough research to discover if that was truly effective or not. Thus, I avoided those.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Look for one that has a filter that is permanate otherwise the replacements will cost a futune. I love being able to just wash and reuse ours.

 

[aagee]

thanks for the responses! One of my concerns is definitely filter replacement (how often, cost, etc.).