Can anyone talk to me about home Air Purifiers?

[lovin2shop]

Do they really work to reduce allergies? We are a very allergenic family, so I'm thinking about giving it a try. I haven't had the kids tested yet, but I tested the highest for dust mites. I was up late last night as I couldn't sleep and got sucked in to watching a shopping channel show the Hunter air purifier that you can vacuum out the filter rather than replace it. If I decide to get one, what do I need to know? I'm also wondering if these can reduce VOC's in the air (as discussed in my previous post about needing new carpet and worrying about the off gassing). Any insight appreciated, feel free to bust my bubble on these and save my wallet.

[srhs]

I'm interested in these as well and am sure many will jump in!
I did read something on Consumer Reports last year that said in their opinion a good furnace/AC filter was just as effective as a unit. They ranked those, and I wrote these 2 down as the ones I shop for:
3M Filtrete 1700 or
3M Filtrete Ultra Allergen Reduction 1250

[tarabenet]

If you go to the high-performance Filtretes (either of the two listed above), know that you absolutely *must* change them at least as often as they say. Better to change them more frequently. They put a lot of strain on your air system and can even cause complete breakdown, per the guy who installed our new a/c a few years ago.

If this is a serious health concern, you might want to talk to heating/cooling tech about what your system can manage. Look at the possibility of installing an in-line air handler with high-filtering capability. I did this in a place I owned years ago and could not believe how much it cut my dusting! It freaked me out.

Here, we use the Ionic Breeze in three rooms. Plenty of people will tell you they don't work. Heck, court cases will tell you that. But my husband starts sneezing a couple of hour after I turn of the one in a room he is in, so I have to believe they are making a big difference. And I know how much crud I clean off the blades every week -- clearly they are doing something.

[ThreeofUs]

We use a honeywell with hepa, and it really helps us all. We also got rid of all carpets, which REALLY improved the air quality in our house.

[srhs]

If you go to the high-performance Filtretes (either of the two listed above), know that you absolutely *must* change them at least as often as they say. Better to change them more frequently. They put a lot of strain on your air system and can even cause complete breakdown, per the guy who installed our new a/c a few years ago.

Eek! Thanks for the warning! So waiting for the light to start flashing on the thermostat...then putting it on the shopping list...then transferring it to several shopping lists until you find the store that carries them is NOT the way to go? :innocent:
So how often am I supposed to replace them?

PSA--We borrowed a pricey model a few years ago that has a square footage setting on the back. Unbeknownst to me, DH thought, "Hey, the more power the better!" and cranked it all the way up. I was S I C K for days before I wondered about the correlation. Looked online, and sure enough, too much ozone being put out of the thing. Go figure!
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/ozonegen.html#how%20is%20ozone%20harmful

[crazydiamond]

A whole home cleaner like this one is what we have

http://www.aprilaire.com/index.php?znfAction=ProductDetails&category=7&item=2200

As others mentioned a simple Honeywell HEPA room cleaner will also help in a single room.

However, neither of these will remove VOC's - just allergens and dust. If you want a high-end air cleaner with VOC removal - these Austin units will handle it all.

http://www.natlallergy.com/cat/11/healthmate-austin-air-cleaners-hepa-purifiers.html

[Jenny_A]

We have 2 Austin Air Purifiers. One we keep in the Living Room and the other in our Master Bedroom. They are on wheels and can be moved quite easily though. DH has allergies. We have no pets. We keep them on low all of the time and have noticed a big difference just in the quality of air and the amount of dust in the Master Bedroom especially. If there is a bad smell in the house (I've burned something, sprayed a chemical, etc...) we will turn those suckers on high and it really cleans up the smell well.

We bought them from the link the PP listed. The National Allergy Association or something like that. They were very pricey - several hundred each but DH did a lot of research and wanted the best. I think lower end models would definitely still work.

I believe these filters need to be changed every 5 years so, honestly, not that often.

Our Austin Airs are loud. There are 3 settings. Low is not bad (and what we keep them on) but setting 2 and 3 get on my nerves after a while. Like having a big fan in the room.

Hope that info helps some. DH bought them so he know a lot of the details. Let me know if I can provide any other info!

Jenny

[dhano923]

We have the Kenmore ones from Sears and ADORE them. We have a larger one downstairs in our living/dining area and a smaller one in the kid's room. My DS, DD and I all have terrible allergies and we definitely saw an improvement within a day of turning these on! I even ordered them for my office and my data entry office at work. We work in an older office building and the vents spit out dust sometimes. The purifiers worked wonders on keep the air clean.