Air Purifiers

neilmcl

I'm really struggling with tree pollen at the moment as I do most years now but this year seems to be particularly bad. It tends to be worse in the house in the evening so I've been considering getting an air purifier to put up in the bedroom. Any recommendations as to which is a good, budget model?

I don't really want to get into a debate as to whether they work or not, just recommendations please.

OriginalNM

I'm not sure if you've already purchased an air purifier, but I thought i'd just give a recommendation as I've been looking around for an air purifier as well. I struggle with pollen myself and I was looking for something with an activated carbon filter which removes allergens from the air. 

I ended up going with a Levoit LV-H132 Air Purifier which had cost around £80. Although it's not the cheapest, it's also not the most expensive and it offers a decent amount for what it costs. My room is fairly small and I just needed a compact air purifier which is what this is. The purifier has a three stage filtration system which is supposed to remove most contaminants from the air and having used this purifier for about 6 months, I can say that I have noticed a difference in air quality. 

The replacement filters aren't too expensive as you can find a 2-pack on Amazon for around £20 and depending on your usage, you probably only need to replace the filter every 6 months.

neilmcl

I got one delivered yesterday, the newer model to the LV-H132, the Levoit Vista 200. Unfortunately it's going back because for me it's just too distracting at night. I've seen all the youtube videos where everyone says it's virtually silent on night mode but I'd question their hearing because I certainly had no issues hearing the fan even on the other side of the room. I don;t know what I was expecting but 25db is definitely not near silent.

BTW, the activated carbon filter is there to eliminate odours it will have no affect on allergens, that's what the Hepa filter is for.

If I look at any others I might go for the Blueair Blue Pure 411.

Ectophile

An alternative is an ioniser.  They used to be very popular, but you have to hunt around for them these days.  My current one is a NeoTec XJ-1000 http://www.neotec.com.cn/en/Product_View.asp?classid=314&id=268&sortname=IONIC%20AIR%20PURIFIER

They don't filter dust out of the air.  Instead, they give it an electric charge, so it sticks to anything it touches.  That's great because no fan is needed, and the loudest thing you will hear is a very faint hiss.  The big down-side is that the dust sticks to everything near the ioniser - walls, furniture, etc.

Each ioniser lasts a few years before the high-voltage electronics fails and they silently stop working.

neilmcl

Ectophile said:

An alternative is an ioniser.  They used to be very popular, but you have to hunt around for them these days.  My current one is a NeoTec XJ-1000 http://www.neotec.com.cn/en/Product_View.asp?classid=314&id=268&sortname=IONIC%20AIR%20PURIFIER

They don't filter dust out of the air.  Instead, they give it an electric charge, so it sticks to anything it touches.  That's great because no fan is needed, and the loudest thing you will hear is a very faint hiss.  The big down-side is that the dust sticks to everything near the ioniser - walls, furniture, etc.

Each ioniser lasts a few years before the high-voltage electronics fails and they silently stop working.

There's a reason why they are scarce on their own, Ionizers are in fact quite dangerous. They produce a high amount of ozone which can be damaging to lungs. Also I'm after something that will actually filter out allergens, not leave them all around the furniture and surfaces.

Mutton_Geoff

Tree pollen does seem to be high at the moment. I found a bottle of Tesco's own nasal spray works a treat.

edgex

neilmcl said:

I got one delivered yesterday, the newer model to the LV-H132, the Levoit Vista 200. Unfortunately it's going back because for me it's just too distracting at night. I've seen all the youtube videos where everyone says it's virtually silent on night mode but I'd question their hearing because I certainly had no issues hearing the fan even on the other side of the room. I don;t know what I was expecting but 25db is definitely not near silent.

BTW, the activated carbon filter is there to eliminate odours it will have no affect on allergens, that's what the Hepa filter is for.

If I look at any others I might go for the Blueair Blue Pure 411.

Surely you'd put it on to run before going to bed, & shut the room door.
Then when you go to bed, your going into a room where the air has been filtered, & then you turn it off.

neilmcl

edgex said:

neilmcl said:

I got one delivered yesterday, the newer model to the LV-H132, the Levoit Vista 200. Unfortunately it's going back because for me it's just too distracting at night. I've seen all the youtube videos where everyone says it's virtually silent on night mode but I'd question their hearing because I certainly had no issues hearing the fan even on the other side of the room. I don;t know what I was expecting but 25db is definitely not near silent.

BTW, the activated carbon filter is there to eliminate odours it will have no affect on allergens, that's what the Hepa filter is for.

If I look at any others I might go for the Blueair Blue Pure 411.

Surely you'd put it on to run before going to bed, & shut the room door.
Then when you go to bed, your going into a room where the air has been filtered, & then you turn it off.

You can do that yes but that won't prevent the room filling with dust/allergens etc throughout the night which you'll be inhaling in your sleep.

TomokoAdhami

I have the same problem. Even I am suffering because of sinus infection due to pollen till now. My mother also got some kind of allergic reaction this season. Though there are many air purifiers are available in the market but if you want a reasonable price one then I can recommend you Bionaire which is about £159. However, sometimes these purifiers don't give much improvement in air quality. I was reading this article which says the combination of both the electronic air cleaner (EAC) and ultraviolet air cleaners could work effectively to cleanse all kinds of virus, bacteria, pollen, mould and lint etc from our air.

According to experts, this kind of solutions are only used in big industries to clean the air but I think its the time when we will have to go with such better options as compared to traditional air purifiers. By the way, Dyson Pure could also be a very fine option if you want to cover a desk or a small room. Otherwise, better to ask from your HVAC expert how you can use these purifiers with your air conditioning system etc.