Air purifier/cleaner - anyone here using one?

[cantdrv55]

Just wondering if those appliances are effective for “cleaning” the air. We’re keeping windows and doors closed more now since it’s cold and I think that’s why we have allergies. It doesn’t help that we have a large GSD mix that sheds a lot. We vacuum and use a Swiffer at least 3x/wk to keep dust and fur down to a minimum. I’m thinking of getting a couple of HEPA air purifier machines but I don’t want to waste money if those things are a big scam. What are your thoughts about them?

[Rot 911]

If you have forced air heat and air, you can just turn the fan on to recirculate the air through the furnace filter. Better furnace filters lead to more filtering.

[masraum]

We had them years ago. The missus wanted them. I never noticed a difference with them on vs off. You did collect stuff in the filters, but then the HVAC filters also collect stuff.

Be careful with getting filters for your HVAC that say they filter out everything. They can slow the flow of air through the system and impact functionality. But you can definitely get better filters to help. Filtrete makes pleated paper filter. We used to use their "1900" level in our old home. I'm pretty sure those were causing problems with the HVAC. I think now I'm using their "1100" level filters, and I don't feel like I'm having a problem with those. I could maybe go up a level or two, but I don't know that it would benefit us much.

[jyl]

I have four or five HEPA air cleaners, acquired during Covid. We've resumed having larger gatherings in our house, and I run the HEPAs in the living and dining rooms during those events. I believe this reduces risk, and as there is no downside, it is a measure I am happy to take.

I cannot directly observe the HEPA air cleaners filtering out airborne pathogens, but I have also used them during wildfire season when smoke is blanketing the area, and they definitely work then.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by jyl

I have four or five HEPA air cleaners, acquired during Covid. We've resumed having larger gatherings in our house, and I run the HEPAs in the living and dining rooms during those events. I believe this reduces risk, and as there is no downside, it is a measure I am happy to take.

I cannot directly observe the HEPA air cleaners filtering out airborne pathogens, but I have also used them during wildfire season when smoke is blanketing the area, and they definitely work then.

Good to know!

[brp914]

I got a couple of the Winix purifiers from costco and put them where I have electronics to prevent dust collection. They are pretty quiet. One is near my bed. It's just light white noise and doesn't bother me. Well, they pick up a fair amount of crap but the dust accumulation continues. I don't have allergies so can't comment on that.

[Deschodt]

Do they work ? Hell yeah...

2 examples - I have a very sensitive nose:
- We had a golden retriever (sadly passed now) - I would have moved out of my house without the filter. WEnt from "**** it smells like dog, bad" to "nothing"
- Summer fires - entire house smelling like BBQ - with filter on - > nothing

I use a big Blueair filter - not saying the filters are cheap (charcoal activated) but to they work ? Absolutely. Pretty quiet too ! The house AC filters did nothing by comparison, they may stop dust-like stuff, but not SMELL. Those filters are great if you have a need for it! Stopped a lot of the sneezing at pollen time inside too.

[cantdrv55]

Originally Posted by jyl

I have four or five HEPA air cleaners, acquired during Covid. We've resumed having larger gatherings in our house, and I run the HEPAs in the living and dining rooms during those events. I believe this reduces risk, and as there is no downside, it is a measure I am happy to take.

I cannot directly observe the HEPA air cleaners filtering out airborne pathogens, but I have also used them during wildfire season when smoke is blanketing the area, and they definitely work then.

If it helped during the wildfires, that’s enough info for me to get a couple.

[cantdrv55]

Thanks all for responding. I’m off to shop for a HEPA air filtration appliance.

[astrochex]

We recently got a Blueair for our bedroom and another a gift to our son.

I am very happy with it because it is quiet. I have yet to change the filter to see what it has captured.

[URY914]

HEPA filter are what you need. We use them exclusively in our hospitals.

[ramonesfreak]

We have a winix HR900 in the family room. Looking at the filters I replace I would say it does quite a bit. Has been running 24 hours per day for 3 years. I like it and would replace it if it broke.

[cantdrv55]

The Winix is at Costco. Bonus!

[brp914]

Originally Posted by cantdrv55

The Winix is at Costco. Bonus!

They are sensitive. If I spray on suntan lotion or even peel a grapefruit nearby they kick into overdrive. They have a washable pre-filter plus carbon and hepa.

[astrochex]

We had a Molekule in the bedroom, but it did not play well with power outages (restart was noisy) and we could never get the wifi feature to work. We moved it to the office.