Air Cleaner/Purifier Recommendations Please

[launderess]

Several months back there was a conversation here on the group about air filters/cleaners. Based upon some comments, picked up a MIB but older Kenmore tabletop electrostatic air cleaner for use in the laundry area. Mainly wanted the unit to cope with all the dust/lint from laundry (line dry most items and thus no dryer to catch lint).

Long story short after about four months of continous use, the Kenmore unit has begun making some rather funny noises, and vibrates like a cheap motel bed. Tried all the recommendations suggested by the owner's manual (oiling), but to no avail. So methinks this unit is not long for the world, and it is time to find another.

While the Kenmore unit did a decent job, noticed when cleaning there was lots of dust on the charcoal filter in back of the unit. If there was that much dust being collected after the air had passed though the unit, just what good was the thing I wondered. Yes, there was much lint/dust in the unit and pre-filter, but just as much dust it seemed was blown up into the air, landing all over the place. From what one has heard, this is a common problem with electrostatic air cleaners; that charged dust lands and clings everywhere.

HEPA units supposedly do a better job of trapping dust, but for most the cost of replacement filters will equal the unit cost, and over the lifespan of the unit, surely surpass what one paid for the air cleaner as a whole.

Models have my eye on are:

BlueAir
Kenmore (both HEPA and Electrostatic)
Whirlpool (HEPA, it's cousin is sold under the Kenmore brand above).
Freidrich C90B (big, loud, and not very attractive, but CR has rated it top dog for years now).

Despite my complains about the Kenmore unit, it did do a good enough job. Went from having to Swiffer/vaccum the floor two or there times a day, to once a day. However one still had dust on surfaces from being blown up and about from the unit.

Suggestions?

L.

 

[oxydolfan]

I LOVE my Kenmore Plasma 85500 unit (although it did not get particularly good reviews in CU).

It's made by Samsung in Korea. Has an auto function where it cycles back and forth from low, medium, high, and turbo, as needed. It also has a sleep setting that is virtually silent.

My only criticism is that the remote control inexplicably stopped working recently. When I have a moment, I'll call Sears Parts and have them ship me a new one.

Otherwise, I'm immensely pleased with its performance, and would absolutely purchase another one.

 

[sudsman]

Launderess

I have A Fresh Air by Ecoquest model . I do not about the other models you ask about. but I can say don't waste your money on this thing.....

 

[petek]

Hi Laundress
I've tried quite a few different ones in order to cope with all the dust from my birds, which are the worst dust shedders of all. There should be a pre filter in front of electrostatic plates on those Kenmores.. I have a couple of them but don't use them anymore. I found a large kenmore console model and even it spews some dust after it's been running awhile. I've also tried those round Honeywell HEPA ones...the new ones are sold with a washable HEPA filter which never needs replacing so that might be a consideration. The HEPA filters were expensive when you had to dispose of them. I see Honeywell units all over a thrift stores etc for around $5 so if you can find one all you need is to get a new Honeywell permanent Hepa filter at Home Depot...they're about $35. I don't think any type is going to get rid of all the dust but should help somewhat.

 

[launderess]

Thanks all!

Actually had one of those large Honeywell round things, which lasted several months, before being donated to a thrift. It was too large and made a such a racket one couldnt' hear oneself think. Sadly on anything less than "high" setting, didn't do much of anything.

HEPA filters seem better at catching dust, but again must be replaced often or they begin rapidly to loose cleaning power. Also have heard the gunk and stuff trapped inside can actually become a breeding ground for all sorts of nasty things.

Keep those suggestions coming!

L.

 

[wcd63]

Hello Laundress
I have the holmes tower HEPA and I love it . I bought it at K Mart. The replacement filters are only about$ 15.00 to 24.00. I have had it a year and I do see a great difference in my bed room. a whole lot less dust and it makes the room so fresh smelling. I only paid I think about $ 69.99. I bought two others as well one for my living room and the other for the other bed room. they are very quiet on low and medium and some what more noizy on high. I use the high setting for about one hour before I go to bed and then turn it down to low. I also use the high setting to drown out my s ----y new neighbor brate when they play that filthey dirty rap crap.
the only naintaince that I do to it is about every two weeks or so I will vacuum the pre filter and the hepa. my filter that come with the unit just set off the red change light. ran down to K mart and bought two new ones and will not have to worry for a nother year. the other thing that I like about the unit is that you can tuck it in a corrner of the room and not know that it is their. I have one in the living room corrner and on the med setting I can feel it circulating the air. very pleased and well worth the money. check it out.

 

[cehalstead]

air cleaner

I have a whole house air cleaning unit on my forced air heating system...I have had one for over 17 yrs, and I have severe allergies. You might want to consider one if you have a forced air heating/cooling system. It does reduce the dust in the house, but what does end up on the furniture is easier to wipeup. I only have to clean the filter twice a year. The one negative is that it only functions when the furnace/ac fan is running, so most of the time, except during extreme heat or cold, I leave the fan on constant run. A plus to that is that there is a low level of white noise constantly in the house, and makes the house seem quieter....

 

[alr2903]

Rainfresh

Launderess, we have the rainfresh, I won on E #ay, its the ionizer type of thing, When we returned to our home last September after the hurricane, we had a mold problem from a tree busting in part of the roof, we did not have flood water in the house just rain from roof damage, when we started using it our a/c filter was just filled with yellow looking dust. Ionizer type is best used while you are away at work, the electrode filters are like a screen wire on a plasticy/ ceramic kind of square, you wash them with detergent in the sink and dry well, reinsert and your good to go. For a while I also used the High dollar Filtrete filters in the central a/c.

 

[helicaldrive]

Without a doubt

A Honeywell electronic air cleaner installed on your HVAC system is the way to go. While you're at it, install an Aprilaire humidifier, too.

It will make all the difference in the world. Once you have them, you'll never want to go back to being without.

 

[cehalstead]

air cleaner and humidifier

I have both and can't imagine not having them now. I can walk into a house for the first time and know in a matter of minutes if there is a whole house air cleaner in use. And it doesn't take my sinuses long to determine if a whole house humidifier is being used, either..

 

[whirlcool]

We have a whole-house electrostatic (I think it's an Aprilaire) unit built in to the furnace / a/c forced air system w/ a UV light. The amount of dust and dog dander it catches is amazing.
In our last house we had an Oreck table top filter/ionizer that worked pretty good in the bedroom. It has a prefilter and main filter that are washable. The only filter that needs changing is the optional Charcoal final filter. It lasted us a few years before the motor was replaced, but it was only $35.00 to fix it and it still works after all these additional years.

 

[launderess]

Thanks all for your suggestions!

Ended up ordering a Fedders Trion tower type EP unit. Price was good and Home Depot sells quite allot in our area, for what that may be worth.

While the HEPA units filter well, IMHO they simply are a money trap. Like many other products/applinaces sold today, thet get you not with up front costs, but parts costs over the lifespan of the unit. HEPA filters aren't cheap for the best units, and after a few years or worth of replacements, one has met the unit cost. After that everything is gravy for the appliance maker, since they've got you on the hook because filters rarely are switchable between units.

While the electrostatic units are not perfect, based upon my experience with the Sears unit, the best do a decent enough job in keeping dust and other airborne muck down. Coupled with good regular vaccuming (with a good vaccum) and so forth dust and such should be kept down.

Thanks again lads,

L.

 

[neptunebob]

Laundress, you must have hot water heat, as I would have recommended an electronic air cleaner on your heating and air conditioning system. Consumer reports did high rate the Fedders unit, although isn't it almost as expensive as a built-in air cleaner? With the electronic air cleaner, or even with the Fedders, I recommend investing in a used or low-price dishwasher to have in your basement to wash the collector plates. They get Very dirty and usually the kitchen dishwasher is busy. Besides, it's no fun having to soak them in the laundry tubs (also busy). Have you ever considered a central vac? They exhaust air outside and I think helps keep the dust down. I just cleaned my bedroom today and oh, the dust!. I used the Oreck upright, which filters well, and clogged the bag (they're expensive). Let us know what happens with this new cleaner. nep

 

[launderess]

Yes, we have steam heat, thus needed a stand alone model.

Have provided a link below to the Fedders model. Like the idea of going with an established HVAC company as opposed to some of these off the wall brands.

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/jsearch/product.jsp?pn=100341686

 

[launderess]

Cleaning Filters

Went to Fedder's website to read the owner's manual and the filter for this model cannot be washed in the dishwasher. No huge deal, can leave it soak for a few hours in the tub, then hose it down.

Used to wash my Kenmore's filters in the dishwasher with no problems. Think many electrostatic filters are recommended for cleaning that way because of the powerful super hot water streams will clean between the plates with less chance of damage. Another site recommended just spraying any good household cleaner like Fantastic or Simple Green all over the filter, let it work in, then soak, then rinse.

Main thing is one has to wait for the filter unit to dry totally before reinserting. Again, a dishwasher is better because the super hot water means "flash" drying, and or the used of the heated drying cycle speeds things up.

 

[neptunebob]

This must be a new model. The Friedrich model Consumer Reports liked had a 70's shape to it and cost about 400 dollars. How is it working?

 

[launderess]

Hasn't arrived yet, tis an Internet purchase. Will keep you posted though! Home Depot sold out of these units, and they are listed as second most popular on their website.

Couldn't find any consumer reviews, so yes the model may be new. Fedders does have a solid HVAC reputation, which helped influence my purchase.

L.

 

[launderess]

Fedders unit arrived yesterday and so far so good. Am here to tell you it is so much more quiet than the previous table top Kenmore unit. Even on high one cannot really hear anything, just a quiet purr, sort of like an air conditioner on low.

Cannot really tell much about how well it is cleaning air after just one day. First few hours had a really horrible smell, but according to the owner's manual it was normal during new units first few hours of operation.

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/jsearch/product.jsp?pn=100341686

View attachment 9-22-2006-05-51-54--Launderess.jpg

 

[petek]

Laundress, that Fedders unit looks surprisingly similar to my old Kenmore console and I'm wondering if it's the same. Also the name Trion? There was maybe still is a company here in Canada that made air cleaners called Trions and they rebadged them for Sears in Canada so that's got me wondering if Fedders hasn't just bought them out and are now selling them as such. Trion also made the whole house air cleaners that hook up to the furnace like Honeywells.