best air purifier for under $150

[Mark]

im lookin to get an air purifier for my bedroom (11x5x14) and so far this one at amazon seems to be one of the more popular models there and it also has good reviews, and under 100. anyone have any other recommendations?

 

[Deleted member 4644]

Personally, I don't like the Ion type purifiers. I think they add harmful EM radiation to the air. I like the old school filter types.

 

[Born2bwire]

Originally posted by: LordSegan
Personally, I don't like the Ion type purifiers. I think they add harmful EM radiation to the air. I like the old school filter types.

It's not EM radiation, it's ozone. While the FDA does have a maximum safe level of ozone, some groups and people believe that you should not introduce any amount of ozone into the air. Whether or not you believe that any amount of ozone is hazardous, some people do respond negatively to its presence, like having headaches.

The one you linked to is not an ion filter. It's a HEPA filter with a UV light to kill bacteria, so the above concerns are moot. The best value that I have found for the sub-$200 range are the HoneyWell Permanent HEPA filters.

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The only problem is that they are somewhat noisy. However, you only need to replace the carbon prefilter, which costs like $15, if you want to. The actual HEPA filter lasts five years and so you end up saving a lot of money that way. I have their largest model but it does not do very well with the 400 sqft room (despite the fact that it is rated for that size of room) that I use it in against cigarette smoke. It basically needs the whole day to clear it out, which by that time my neighbor downstairs is back smoking for the rest of the evening. However, it does work for my bedroom, but I have the 250 model, so it is rated for a room much larger than my bedroom. Plus, I don't know how effective it is against other contaminants. Smoke is very hard to remove because it's smaller than the size that they rate HEPA filters for and has a strong odor so I would expect these units to do much better against dust, pet dander, etc. The only thing I use it for is smoke.

 

[Sphexi]

Originally posted by: Born2bwire

Originally posted by: LordSegan
Personally, I don't like the Ion type purifiers. I think they add harmful EM radiation to the air. I like the old school filter types.

It's not EM radiation, it's ozone. While the FDA does have a maximum safe level of ozone, some groups and people believe that you should not introduce any amount of ozone into the air. Whether or not you believe that any amount of ozone is hazardous, some people do respond negatively to its presence, like having headaches.

The one you linked to is not an ion filter. It's a HEPA filter with a UV light to kill bacteria, so the above concerns are moot. The best value that I have found for the sub-$200 range are the HoneyWell Permanent HEPA filters.

Text

The only problem is that they are somewhat noisy. However, you only need to replace the carbon prefilter, which costs like $15, if you want to. The actual HEPA filter lasts five years and so you end up saving a lot of money that way. I have their largest model but it does not do very well with the 400 sqft room (despite the fact that it is rated for that size of room) that I use it in against cigarette smoke. It basically needs the whole day to clear it out, which by that time my neighbor downstairs is back smoking for the rest of the evening. However, it does work for my bedroom, but I have the 250 model, so it is rated for a room much larger than my bedroom. Plus, I don't know how effective it is against other contaminants. Smoke is very hard to remove because it's smaller than the size that they rate HEPA filters for and has a strong odor so I would expect these units to do much better against dust, pet dander, etc. The only thing I use it for is smoke.

I wouldn't go with one of the permenant filter ones myself, they're a lot less effective later on in their lifetime than ones with replacement filters, and you only really have to replace the filters every year or so.

Excellent model

Rated pretty highly against smoke and other allergens, mid-level unit for bedrooms and whatnot. I have a much smaller tabletop unit from Honeywell, I leave it running 24/7 in our apartment, probably only filters the air once every few hours, but it definitely helps.

 

[Born2bwire]

Originally posted by: Sphexi

Originally posted by: Born2bwire

Originally posted by: LordSegan
Personally, I don't like the Ion type purifiers. I think they add harmful EM radiation to the air. I like the old school filter types.

It's not EM radiation, it's ozone. While the FDA does have a maximum safe level of ozone, some groups and people believe that you should not introduce any amount of ozone into the air. Whether or not you believe that any amount of ozone is hazardous, some people do respond negatively to its presence, like having headaches.

The one you linked to is not an ion filter. It's a HEPA filter with a UV light to kill bacteria, so the above concerns are moot. The best value that I have found for the sub-$200 range are the HoneyWell Permanent HEPA filters.

Text

The only problem is that they are somewhat noisy. However, you only need to replace the carbon prefilter, which costs like $15, if you want to. The actual HEPA filter lasts five years and so you end up saving a lot of money that way. I have their largest model but it does not do very well with the 400 sqft room (despite the fact that it is rated for that size of room) that I use it in against cigarette smoke. It basically needs the whole day to clear it out, which by that time my neighbor downstairs is back smoking for the rest of the evening. However, it does work for my bedroom, but I have the 250 model, so it is rated for a room much larger than my bedroom. Plus, I don't know how effective it is against other contaminants. Smoke is very hard to remove because it's smaller than the size that they rate HEPA filters for and has a strong odor so I would expect these units to do much better against dust, pet dander, etc. The only thing I use it for is smoke.

I wouldn't go with one of the permenant filter ones myself, they're a lot less effective later on in their lifetime than ones with replacement filters, and you only really have to replace the filters every year or so.

Excellent model

Rated pretty highly against smoke and other allergens, mid-level unit for bedrooms and whatnot. I have a much smaller tabletop unit from Honeywell, I leave it running 24/7 in our apartment, probably only filters the air once every few hours, but it definitely helps.

Actually, the cost of the filters for the 17000 unit is the same as for the 50150 that I linked to. So if you wanted to, you could replace the permanent filters every year and pay the same. I think that the prefilter just costs aroudn $4 more. That's not the case for the 50250 since it requires three of the permanent filters so mine would cost $75 to replace the filters.

Again, my only reservation I would have about the 50XXX series is the noise. It's not that the unit or fan is loud, it's just that the amount of air that it pushes makes noise. So if you go with that unit, look for a local provider, like Home Depot, that you can easily return it to. I have no problem with it because I run the unit when I am out of the apartment and sleep with ear plugs at night (ear plugs are because I'm a light sleeper, not directly because of the air purifier).

 

[ElFenix]

hepa filter + box fan ftw

just tape the filter onto the intake of the box fan. put it in the closet when you're not using it.