Topic: Are There Any Good Air Purifiers for $200 or Under
seekhelp
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posted
I'm looking to buy a decent air purifier for our home. I don't have tons to spend though. I would like something for our main room of our home and another for my office.
Ideally I'm hoping to find one with washable filters as the HEPA replacement filters can be EXPENSIVE to replace often.
Any brands/ideas are appreciated. My eyes are watering 24/7. There is SO much dust in my home even though I clean all the time. It's kind of scary. I took some light bulbs out of a bathroom fixture and there must've been an 1/8" of dust on them. Yuck. Thinking I'm breathing this stuff makes me sick, probably literally. lol.
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
The best are austin air ...They have the Jr Healthmate at around 2???..It is the only one that has a metal casing so now outgassing for MCS patients and the filters last for 5 years.
Posts: 871 | From orange county, ca. | Registered: Jan 2006
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momlyme
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I got the austin air healthmate from amazon - I think it was $350
I found one that mercola promotes right after I bought this one and I thought that one looked pretty good.
Toxic mold was suppressing our immune systems, causing extreme pain, brain fog and magnifying symptoms. Four days after moving out, the healing began. Posts: 2007 | From NY/VT Border | Registered: Aug 2010
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seekhelp
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posted
MomLyme. how large of an area are you using the product for? I purchased a small tabletop air purifier for my bedroom yesterday for $60, but I swear it's making the air small worse. It's black plastic. It has a funny smell. Even my wife said it was odd. How the hell does an 'air cleaner/purifier' make a room small worse?
Can any of these units realistically purify an entire upper level of a 1,600 sq foot home?
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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karenl
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My Honeywell Hepas are some 4-5 years old but under 300 and run every day. I would not wash filters. They also have a small and cheaper one which is easy to lift. Post at sickbuildings which is the cheapest good one.
Posts: 1834 | From US | Registered: Oct 2008
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Razzle
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Check out allergybuyersclub.com - they test all the air purifiers they sell, and post reviews on their website. You can also contact them and discuss your specific air purification needs and they will help you figure out what the best option(s) is/are.
I'm not financially connected with this website/company, just a satisfied customer.
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4166 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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Lauralyme
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Abxnomore
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Austin Air is the best. I have mine since 2000 and it runs 24/7. Works great, never had a problem with it and you don't have to change the filter often. Can remember exactly but the bigger one covers a large amount of square feet.
Google it and check out the specs. It could be close to 1,600. It think it covers 1,500 square feet.
Posts: 5191 | From Lyme Zone | Registered: Jan 2009
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randibear
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Member # 11290
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somebody told me to get a ionic air purifier but then i read they're bad for you. something about ozone.
we have a big round one, honeywell i think. it's really noisey tho.
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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feelfit
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posted
If you want to do something inexpensively, especially in your basement, get a box fan at Home Depot and a 1700 filterette air filter. Tape it to the cord side of the fan. It captures 99% of mold and allergens.
It is quieter than my honeywell, which I stopped using because of the noise and costs about 40.00 complete.
A friend of mine told me about this method. It was recommended to her by the doctor that cannot be mentioned.
Posts: 3975 | From usa | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
I'd recommend a Rabbit Air. I got mine at drugstore.com, when they had a 25% off coupon, so it came to about $250. Look for discounts from places and you may be able to get it in that price range.
Filters last a long time and aren't overly expensive. It's also very quiet. I has an Austin Jr. previously, and wasn't very fond of it.
Posts: 584 | From NY | Registered: Feb 2009
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If you order 6 filters, shipping is free. I have no affiliation with this company.
The 1700 filters are the same as the 1900 filters. The 1900 filtrete filters are more expensive. The manufacturer is discontining the 1700 filters.
20 inch box fan. 20 inch filter. Use four small pieces of duct tape to tape filter (all 4 sides) to the fan.
It works so well and it is cheap.
Posts: 671 | From Fort Myers, Florida | Registered: Jun 2009
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seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
Elaine, I see a $12.99 price on the 1700 filter, not $9.99. Am I missing something? Anyone used the 2200 Filtrete ones yet?
Another question...they say it eliminated 94% of mold spores. That still leaves a hefty 6%. Is this really good enough if severely sensitive? Is that the difference between these filters and a true hepa-based independent air filtration unit where the box says it removes 99.97% of bad stuff? Here is where I'm coming up with the 93-94% figure:
$9.99 per filter for that model is great if true. I would be able to get two of the 2200 filters for $31 after rebate from 3M. I just don't know if the 2200 is so much better than the 1700 or 1900 models?
I wonder how much sq footage each fan really can handle though. It is a cheap method, but how effective?
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
Seek, click on the "order now" button for that filter and you will see that the 20x20x1 filter is $9.99 per filter but you have to order two.
The 2200 filter only filter 1% more why spend the extra money.
I used my central vac in the house to vac up to mold spores, it is actually more effective than the HEPA, which is what I have read because it is taking the mold spores out of the house.
You need to work on the dust in the house and the 1700 should do the job for you. Get rid of any clutter and it is easier to clean.
My house is 4000 sq feet under air. I use one in our bedroom, also one in each guest bedrooms for ventilation when the air/heat are off and one in our great room which has a 23 foot high ceiling. So far my mold spore counts are down to the equivalent to outside spore counts.
It is a cheap way to go even if you just try one in your bedroom.
Posts: 671 | From Fort Myers, Florida | Registered: Jun 2009
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posted
So you are running box fans all winter, and then replacing the filter every three months?
Can these filters be bought at home improvement stores instead.....Home Depot or Lowes?
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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The Filtrete filters can be bought at Lowe's and Home Depot. I also found them at our local supermarket, here in Florida.
I change the filters around every 6-8 weeks because I did have mold spores in the house. 3 months is the suggested time to run a filter.
These filters pick up dust, dust mites, mold, bacteria, pet dander and pollen.
When changing the filter, even if you use these filters in a furnace or air handler, put the old filter in a plastic bag and seal it before walking though the house to discard. Do NOT carry a used filter in the house since you will be spreading debris from the filter throughout the house. Always seal in a plastic bag first.
Beside water being the culprit for mold growth with high humidity, lack of ventilation is another problem with mold growth.
Posts: 671 | From Fort Myers, Florida | Registered: Jun 2009
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seekhelp
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Thanks Elaine for the good advice. Much appreciated as always.
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
Great am confused on how to set this up, u tape the filter to the front of the fan and turn the fan on, blowing air through the filter? Need specific instructions , thanks!
Posts: 532 | From Texas | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
Great am confused on how to set this up, u tape the filter to the front of the fan and turn the fan on, blowing air through the filter? Need specific instructions , thanks! Posts: 532 | From Texas | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
No, tape filter to back of fan. So it pulls the air thru the filter. See feelfit's post above.
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
Elaine, I ordered 6 of the 16" x 20" x 1" thick filters. VERY convenient as that's the size my central furnace takes too. Everyone, note you can save another $6 off this total price if you go to the 3M website. They offer a one-time $6 mail-in rebate when you purchase two furnace air filters with a rating of 1250 or above. It does not matter where you buy them.
So in total, the cost is $53 for six of these filters shipped to your home. They retail for $16+ each retail so it's a 50% savings. WOW.
[ 11-04-2011, 12:49 PM: Message edited by: seekhelp ]
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
Seek, let us know how it works for you. I'm happy you saved a few $$.
Posts: 671 | From Fort Myers, Florida | Registered: Jun 2009
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seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
OK, this may be early to say much, but I am getting real convinced real fast I have a serious air quality issue in my home. I have been running two 20" box fans with attached 3M filters to the back for 3 days now.
HUGE difference in the freshness of the air in the house. Easier to breathe. Head feels clearer. I didn't feel like a walking zombie today. Even my wife who has no health issues commented that the air seems fresher. Even though I ALWAYS clean my home when able, there is massive amounts of dust accumulating. My ceiling fan blades had like 1/8" dust on them. Everywhere I look, dust. Under our bed...TONS of dust on the floor.
This is all with NO carpet. We ripped it all out a year ago. Scary.
I even slept so much better after doing a super thorough dusting of the bedroom. I literally cleaned every item in the room. Is it normal to have this much dust?
I'll be pushing it up to four box fans soon. Right now I have one in the basement and one in our living room. I hope they don't cost too much to run all the time.
Does this point towards a mold issue perhaps? MomLyme many times has stated she believes it's my problem.
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
If you become convinced it's a mold or other air issue, you may wish to just splurge and get an IQ Air (at least for your bedroom).
It's super expensive, but it's also probably the best purifier you can buy.
Posts: 584 | From NY | Registered: Feb 2009
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sammy
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posted
How often should you replace the filter with these things?
Sorry, I see you already answered that question earlier in the post. I just missed it the first time I read through it. Thanks!
[ 11-13-2011, 11:50 PM: Message edited by: sammy ]
Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
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karenl
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posted
It is sure you have a mold problem even if you do not believe it.
Did you do the visual test for mold from Dr.S: survivingmold.com
Sammy, with the box fans you replace the filters when they get some greyish color and please order Merv 11, pm me for cheap source.
Box fans are not expensive and the energy is not so much - consider how much you lost by being sick and your child. If she is so sick she cannot grow enough.
Posts: 1834 | From US | Registered: Oct 2008
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karenl
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Member # 17753
posted
sent pm with link
Posts: 1834 | From US | Registered: Oct 2008
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karenl
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sent pm with link
Posts: 1834 | From US | Registered: Oct 2008
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karenl
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sent pm with link
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TerryK
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I have an allerair. It covers 1500 sq ft. Love it but it is expensive. I sleep so much better with it.
We bought several box fans and taped hepa filters on them to pick up mold spores because we didn't want to put the allerair in a room with a lot of mold spores. I didn't feel sick when I went into the room with the mold spores until we put the fans in to pick up the spores.
I think the fans were stirring up the mold spores. We changed the filters after a few days but it made no difference I still felt very sick when they were running. When we turned the fans off I felt much better.
The best way we've found to get rid of mold spores in the air is with the use of a diffuser and thieves oil. Thieves oil cleaner concentrate with a bottle of the oil added does a good job on window frames and hard surfaces. I also use it for any clothes that have been exposed to mold.
What kind of diffuser? Is it electric? Where did you get it?
Where do you buy Thieves oil?
-------------------- Son, 26, Dx Lyme 4/10, Babs 8/10 Had serious arthritis, all gone. Currently on Valtrex Daughter, 26,bullseye 7/11 arthritis in knees, cured and off all meds. . Self:Lyme, bart, sxs gone, no longer treating. Posts: 496 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Jul 2010
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TerryK
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Thieves oil is a Young living product. They are a multi-level marketing company which I'm not keen on but it is a very effective product so I put up with it. You can get the best deal on the oil by signing up with the company.
This book is excellent. Gives case studies and recommendations on how to get rid of mold. Be sure to check the website, it is full of info.
I use an electric diffuser. I have one from Young living which is OK but I bought this one and like it much better because it is more powerful. http://tinyurl.com/7jta6k5
Terry
Posts: 6286 | From Oregon | Registered: Jan 2006
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momlyme
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You can get thieves oil without going through Young Living. I got mine on ebay.
I have a propolis diffuser and I add a couple of drops of thieves oil to the propolis. I also bought propolis by the pound from ebay... that should last me a lifetime!
Toxic mold was suppressing our immune systems, causing extreme pain, brain fog and magnifying symptoms. Four days after moving out, the healing began. Posts: 2007 | From NY/VT Border | Registered: Aug 2010
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sammy
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You all wouldn't believe how timely and helpful this thread has been for me. Last night my dad pulled up some old flooring in the kitchen. Was planning to replace it today. Supposed to be an easy job for him.
Things didn't go as planned. He discovered black mold (not sure what kind, just black colored) under the floor under the fridge. It went all the way through. So now we have a giant 4 x 4 hole in the floor! But no more mold.
We have no idea how long the mold had been there. The floor has been replaced before but the installers never said anything about it. We've never had any flooding or leaks in that area of the kitchen so my parents think that it had to be really old.
It's so sad. You would think that an installer would notify a customer if they noticed a problem that needed to be addressed instead of covering it up.
Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
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Thanks for the info!
Posts: 247 | From Ca | Registered: Feb 2007
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susank
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I want to try the fans and the filters. Can a smaller box fan and filter be used? ie a 12-13" fan? Can a different brand filter be used? Something comparable to Filtrete if necessary?
The box fans regardless of size are square - ie either 12x12 or20x20? So the filters need to be the same size? And 1" thick?
This method does not stir up dust?
-------------------- Pos.Bb culture 2012 Labcorp - no bands ever Igenex - Neg. 4 times With overall bands: IGM 18,28,41,66 IND: 23-25,34,39 IGG 41,58 IND: 39 Bart H IGG 40 Posts: 1613 | From Texas | Registered: Aug 2009
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sammy
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Susan, we spent this past week cleaning everything in the house. When my dad pulled up the kitchen floor monday night (to remove all traces of the mold), all the saw dust went everywhere! It was crazy awful.
We've done so much dusting I don't think there is any dust left for the filter fan to possibly kick up. The whole idea anyway is that they help purify the air. And they really do a good job at that.
Give it a try.
Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
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posted
That was probably mold spores in with the dust !!!
Posts: 671 | From Fort Myers, Florida | Registered: Jun 2009
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sammy
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Member # 13952
posted
The moldy part was a spot only about 12 x 16in. My dad put some heavy duty plastic over that area and taped it in place. Then he cut several feet of the surrounding subfloor out.
There were probably some mold spores that got dispersed when dad removed the flooring above but that was because we didn't know the mold was there initially. We tried to contain it as well as we could once we knew about it.
But yes, it is probably still in our dust. That's why we're still running the filter fans.
Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
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susank
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Got the fan, filter and tape. Where to orient/place/face the fan? How much air comes out the front? I guess one can be in the room where the fan is working - right?
Any more details - things to do or not do?
I don't want to do this wrong and make matters worse. Tks.
Update: Got all taped up and on. I have exchanged one bad smell for another. The filter system has a bad smell when on. Like a factory smell. Not good. Any ideas? I am real sensitive. The fan is old but has been in a box. The filter bought today. Help please.
-------------------- Pos.Bb culture 2012 Labcorp - no bands ever Igenex - Neg. 4 times With overall bands: IGM 18,28,41,66 IND: 23-25,34,39 IGG 41,58 IND: 39 Bart H IGG 40 Posts: 1613 | From Texas | Registered: Aug 2009
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sammy
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Susan, maybe you are getting a plasticy smell from the fan itself? There are so many different kinds of plastics, some are super smelly and some don't seem to have any odor. My fan is brand new (cheap from walmart) and it doesn't seem to smell at all.
If it keep bothering you, you might consider buying another fan. Bring it home, see if it smells, keep the receipt and return it if it does! And you know your filter should not have an odor.
I generally set the fan so that it is in the middle of the room but not blowing directly on anyone. The filter fan gets moved around alot.
A good amount of air comes out of the the fan, especially if you put it on high. I think the sound gets annoying on high so I've been keeping it set on low. Not sure what is recommended.
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![[Frown]](frown.gif)
Even my wife said it was odd. How the hell does an 'air cleaner/purifier' make a room small worse? ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Much appreciated as always.
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