Air Filters & Purifiers
Parent Q&A
Archived Q&A and Reviews
May 2004
Hello: I want to purchase an air purifer and was looking at the kinds that are installed in the HVAC system rather than the large, boxy units that I don't have the space for. My husband, baby and I all suffer from pollen and dust mite allergies, these are our primary concerns for wanting an air purifier. Bacteria, virus and odor are secondary concerns. Can anyone recommend a good and effective system? There are so many. The one I'm looking at uses Ozone to clean and kill allergens (sol-aire). Ozone??? Isn't that harmful? Help! You can post to this newsletter or send me email directly. THANKS!! jessica
[no replies received]
Mar. 2004
I would like recommendations for effective room air filter systems for living room (24 x 12 ft) and bedrooms (11 x 13 ft). The house we live in attracts more dust than other houses I have lived in. We don't have central heating, have good ventilation and all new dual pane windows. I was thinking about an ozone filter because it doesn't require filters, but I just read that ozone damages respiratory tracks. Want something that is not huge, is quiet and economical. Thank you. Barbara
[no replies received]
Feb. 2004
Re: White Noise
We use our air filter for this -- it screens out miscellaneous noises and it helps reduce my husband's snoring in the springtime (yay!) without drugs. I would suggest going somewhere where they stock them and plugging them in and listening to them before buying. I saw one at Costco yesterday, we bought ours at Osh (3 or 4 years ago) and I have also seen them at Sears. Sara
Feb. 2004
Re: White Noise
We used a hepa air filter which we bought online (originally to keep the air clean when I was pregnant while we were remodeling the house.) We found it created white noise and cleaned the air for her fragile repitory system. We have a dog and two cats so it was a great way to remove the fur from the air. She's outgrown it now (8 months) but we used it constantly when she was very tiny. Who knows if it made a difference? But I figure anything that is done routinely to help signify ''sleeptime'' is useful for them. You can buy little ones that aren't as expensive. They also sell machines that produce ''white noise'' -- I think you can get them at Target. anon
We had the same issue in our small, not sound-proofed house. We find our air filter on medium does the trick. I think we bought it online (hunter brand) but Berkeley vacuum sells them as well. For travel we use a sharper image noise maker/alarm clock on white noise setting. It's not as white noisy as the filter but it definitely does the trick on the road and is quite lightweight so you could try that first before investing in a filter and finding out your daughter hates the sound. White noise lovers
How about a HEPA air filter...white noise plus delicious air to breathe... we use one despite the noise, because its so good for filtering out allergens and dust. Heather
Jan. 2003
I live near the freeway and am looking into buying an air purifier. Any advice? Do any of you own a Surround Air purifier? Angela
EL Foust makes good air purifiers. I especially like the room air purifier on this page:
http://www.foustco.com/catalog/search_results.asp?txtsearchParamTxt==31=ALL=1=ALL=ALL=fromSearch=6=9
It is small enough to move from room to room. Most of the good purifiers are too large. sunsol
Aside from a dehumidifier and an air purifier, try spraying the basement with Zero Order Pro (not regular Zero Order — the Pro version works better and faster). You can buy it on Amazon. You may have to spray, check later, and spray again and repeat many times until the smell is gone. Also, if you buy the small tubs of moisture eliminator with charcoal (Dollar Tree store), they will help remove moisture, which should help prevent the musty smell from coming back. Good luck!
We did a lot of research on this for similar reasons. We ended up buying this Frigidaire 50pt with the 4 year coverage plan from Amazon. We’ve run it basically nonstop since we bought it over a year ago and had zero issues so far. Our humidity is definitely reduced since using it! We use a separate air purifier — I don’t know if you can get a 2 in 1 but if you can I would imagine it would be pricey. Good luck!
https://a.co/d/eIng4f7
For air purifiers, I highly recommend an IQ Air. We’ve had a Health Pro Plus for a few years, and it works terrific, moving a lot of air without much noise. It also doesn’t need much maintenance, other than replacing a filter maybe once a year. The price is a stretch—the unit is very pricey, as are the replacement filters. We’ve kept it running daily for years, though, and it still runs smoothly.
We’ve only had our dehumidifiers for a little bit, so I can’t speak to the longevity. We have TCL units we got at Target, and they’ve been very effective, though a little noisy when the condenser is running. They also generate quite a bit of heat. Not sure if these issues can be avoided. One thing to consider is whether you’ll be able to run a drainage line from the unit, or if you’ll need to empty the unit’s tank. Our tank can hold 6 gallons, and it still needs to be emptied twice a day, since the atmospheric humidity around here is usually up around 70%.