Air Cleaner Prices and Deals

Replacement Particle Filter for Blueair 500/600 series air purifier (set of three) for the Blueair model 501 and 601 air purifiers. One complete filter change three standard HEPASilent filter of polypropylene (traps particles). Updated by Blueair, this filter is more economical and doesn’t have a carbon filter.

Eight of eight people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of five stars Out of date picture, May 8, 2009
By M. Hays (California) See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) () This review is from: Blueair substitute Particle Filter for Blueair 500/600 Series Air Purifiers, Set of three (Kitchen) I ordered the Blueair filters from the Recording Store, and they weren’t shipped till five days after the order has been placed which resulted in longer shipping time than from other merchants. They were real Blueair filters and arrived in good form.

With regard to others complaints about not having the charcoal filter, that is true, but after visiting the Blueair website, it seems like Blueair changed their manufacturing procedure and now include active carbon in the polypropylene part of the filter.

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Seven of seven people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of five stars Best there’s, June 18, 2007
By Shawn LoCascio “Yummy Delicious” (San Mateo CA United States) See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Blueair substitute Particle Filter for Blueair 500/600 Series Air Purifiers, Set of three (Kitchen) I lived with allergies for many years and in that time tried some number of purifiers.



The Bluair is simply the best I have ever used. There was a noticable reduction in airborn allergens in my place. I have weened off my allergy meds. Using this in conjunction with allergy decreasing pillow cases and mattress covers will improve your life quality by 100



The ONLY thing I wish the machine had was a UV light, but you may be able to keep the negative ION crap.

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Six of six people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of five stars wrong picture, March 4, 2009
By Michael C. Bishop (kc,mo) See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) () This review is from: Blueair substitute Particle Filter for Blueair 500/600 Series Air Purifiers, Set of three (Kitchen) I just bought these filters are they don’t match the picture. I owned my purifier for a couple years now and bought some number of sets of replacements. This is the 1st time that I received filters without the extra black carbon filter. The last set are just the white particle filter.

Yes, I know they sell some number of types of different filters, but I pulled up one of my old orders and clicked through to the product so I could expect to get the same item. And not matter what, the picture shows the filter with carbon, which is certainly not what they shipped.

Hopefully this is just an glitch and they’ll sort it out quickly because the Blueair is a great air purifier. I have never had a problem with mine and it does a great job of cleaning the air.

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Honeywell QuietClean Compact Tower Air Purifier with Permanent Filter is 99 economical at capturing a range of harmful indoor particles such as: smoke, dust, pollen, cat dander & tobacco smoke.

70 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of five stars Great small air purifier, February 19, 2010
By D. Allin (Albuquerque, NM) See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) () This review is from: Honeywell HFD 010 QuietClean Compact Tower Air Purifier with Permanent Filter (Kitchen) We bought this one to replace a bigger Honeywell tower that had burned out the motor bearings. We have a room dedicated to small parrots, and they produce many of dander that we do not want to spread into the rest of the house. Our old Honeyworked well, but it was hard to clean and pretty deafening. This new one is much quieter, and works just also, filtering a great total of dander out of the air. It’s far easier to clean, and the fact that no filters ever have to be replaced was a big reason for our buy. It’s running constantly, but it’s virtually unnoticeable. We tried some number of air purifiers over the years, and this is by far the best we have had.

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52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of five stars tough and greatly economical, February 14, 2010
By Cobe “Cobe” (Phoenix, AZ United States) See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE) () This review is from: Honeywell HFD 010 QuietClean Compact Tower Air Purifier with Permanent Filter (Kitchen) We have three air purifiers in the house, all different brands. This Honeywell is, by far and in every respect, the best of all three. It’s tough, well made and very economical. We have it on 24/7 on the low speed and it totally neutralizes odors (we have four dogs) and, most importantly, it collects a big total of dust and all types of particles. We have had this purifier for nearly a year and it’s as calm today as it was on the 1st day. We also like the fact that the permanent filter is easy to clean. Greatly recommendable. (We wish to thank the other reviewers whose valuable opinions helped us make our choice)

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58 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of five stars Sold Product, April 5, 2008
By Jw Tucker “Jim T.” (FISHERS, IN United States) See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Honeywell HFD 010 QuietClean Compact Tower Air Purifier with Permanent Filter (Kitchen) Honeywell has generally put out good merchandise. The HFD 010 exceeded my expectations and makes for a good size air purifier for any room. It isn’t the biggest unit, and it doesn’t have many of features for different control (just two speeds). On quick, it took in many of air. Works well for hallways, bathrooms, and for kitchens, particularly if you have pets or cooking smells that linger during the house. I also like the idea of it having a permanent filter.

I recommend this product. But if you want to have more alternatives for speeds, you may want a bigger unit.

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For big rooms up to 500 square feet, this air purifier features electronic controls and four fan speeds, as well as Turbo Setting to clear the air quickly, and Sleep Mode for calm operation while saving energy. The True HEPA filter captures 99.97 of particles as small as 0.3 microns. A charcoal pre filter traps odors and pre cleans the air before it reaches the HEPA filter. Removes airborne allergens like dust, pet dander, pollen, tobacco smoke, fabric fibers and mold spores. The calm Partner® System offers the quietest high efficiency air purifier technology. Manufacturer’s 30 day Money Back calm ensure and 5 year restricted Warranty. This model filters the air 4.8 times per hour in a room up to 500 square feet. AHAM Certified CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate). ENERGY STAR® Qualified

129 of 133 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of five stars Whirlpool 510 and 450 and CADR Ratings , November 6, 2010
By David Showalter (San Dimas, CA United States) See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Whirlpool AP51030K Whispure Air Purifier, HEPA Air Cleaner (Kitchen) To answer many questions in other reviews:


WHIRLPOOL MODEL AVAILABILITY:

The following Whirlpool models are both still available, (as is a 3rd weaker model, the 250, which uses different sized filters):

Whirlpool Whispure 450 Air Purifier (AP45030K), also 315 CADR
Whirlpool Whispure 315 CADR Air Purifier with True HEPA Filter, AP51030K (this page)

Both of these models use the same substitute filters:

Whirlpool 8171434K big Air Purifier Carbon Pre Filters
4 Pack and the Whirlpool 1183054K Hepa Filter, big (links below)


CADR RATINGS EXPLAINED:

The Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) comes from measurements conducted by the affiliation of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), and is a measure of the total of particle free air being delivered into the room. It’s the best measure of the true cleaning capacity of the air cleaner. The higher the CADR, the bigger the room that may be effectively cleaned. A loose equation is: CADR x 1.5 = sq. Ft. Room size.

This is vital because manufacturers can list any “room size” ranking they decide, despite of CADR ranking. You may have one product stating it can effectively handle a 400 sq. Ft. Room, while another product says it can handle a 200 sq. Ft. Room, still both have the same CADR ratings. So generally use CADR ratings rather than room size ratings in making your comparisons.

That said, air cleaners are typically advertised with the room size for which they’re suggested. If this precisely matches about 1.5 times the CADR ranking (as in Whirlpool’s case and with many other top brands like Honeywell), just think about that this recommendation is depending on the the unit’s capability to offer five or six Air Changes Per Hour in a room of that size.

Thus, a 250 CADR ranking x 1.5 = 375 sq. Ft. Room size, means the unit gives five six complete Air Changes Per House in a 375 sq. Ft. Room sized room. Simple enough.

But for allergy sufferers it is a bit more complicated than that. This standard rate is enough to decrease particle levels in the room by about 70, which is not enough for allergy patients. A bigger unit in the same size room can create eight or more air changes per hour, decreasing levels by 90 or more, again, based on properly agreeing CADR to room size. This is the correct target in medical situations.

Finally, Note: the CADR ranking applies to the HIGHEST fan setting of each unit.


MODEL COMPARISON:

The AP510 on this page, is Whirlpool’s somewhat beefier model that has the following extra features: turbo and sleep modes, one extra fan setting, and electronic and the 450′s manual controls.

Since the CADR ratings of the two units above are the same, the extra cleaning capacity over the Whirlpool 450 model must relate to a higher fan speed (and AC wattage draw) at the maximum setting of the Whirlpool 510. Again, think about that if you want to effectively clean a room as advertised, both units will have to run at the highest speeds.

Sleep mode lets a user defined setting for sleep hours, wherein the purifier automatically flips itself to the lowest fan settings for that time period, allowing the unit to be run continuously throughout sleep hours. After sleep mode expires for that period, it flips itself back up to the standard setting. (If anybody has information on Turbo Mode, I’d be grateful and will update this review).

As noted by another reviewer, the AP510 (this page) is buyer Report’s top rated air purifier for home use in 2010, with the Hunter 30547. (Consumer Reports September 2010, p.44, “Lab Tests: Air Purifiers Our Tests Reveal Which Ones Deliver”). I searched for the Hunter unit on Amazon, and it isn’t available as of 11.5.10. Amazing the company could let that, given that they should be selling like hotcakes after CR’s review. It is common price is $350, and it has ratings for rooms the same size as the Whirlpool AP510 on this page. (I couldn’t find the CADR ranking for the Hunter, but assume it must be the same or alike to the AP510).

UPDATE: The Hunter model was discontinued, and they sell new models now that rate alike and which are sold here on Amazon: Hunter 30401 QuietFlo and Hunter 30402 QuietFlo. The 401 model is programmable, the 402 isn’t. The Hunter site lists the programmable 401 at a higher price than the 402, while sells it for a lower price than the 402. Go figure. Check Hunter’s site for more details.


HONEYWELL’S TOP UNIT:

I think of all the many models I reviewed under $600, the Whirlpool is the way to go. Excellent product, strong company backing, easy to find filters, great price. It’s all you need, IF the only thing you need is efficient particle elimination. For serious odor and chemical elimination, look to costly units.

But one other model that’s a strong contender for home use is the Honeywell 50250 at only $159 on Amazon. It was received and has great reviews here on Amazon. It is faults seem to be high power intake and sound. The Honeywell did come in at No. Nine in the same buyer Report’s review (out of 20 rated), where they noted it required to be run on the highest fan setting to be efficient, which caused it to be noisy. As already discussed, all CADR ratings refer only to a unit’s highest fan settings, no matter which brand you purchase.

Noise is a problem. But, where the Honeywell excels besides a great price, is that their canisters are sealed so they don’t tend to leak any dust back out of the unit and into the exhausted purified air. Many other cheaper models do, as well as the Whirlpool models at least as indicated by my online research. (If you may be able to disprove this, let me know). This is a big deal to me, though it may not be to other users, because I have asthma and I can not have the “vacuum cleaner effect” with house dust really blowing up into the room from an air purifier.

UPDATE: I bought two Honeywell 50250 units, and was blown away by the quality of simplicity of design on the units. If only everything was made this well and this easy to use and work with! Filter change was a total breeze. The filters are pretty deafening, which does not annoy me, but it is something you may want to note if you want something calm. But, I had many weird problems with the exhaust on both units, and am working with Honeywell now. The problem looks to be an anomaly and not normal, so I do not want to talk about it here as I think it is just a fluke. One thing I can is that Honeywell offers AWESOME buyer service, and was great to deal with on the phone.


I hope all this helps you with your buy. I have been researching air purifiers for over a month and I know how confusing it can be!

Please note, that running an air purifier like the four discussed here at top speed 24/7 will add a whopping $40 to my monthly electric bill here in San Diego. Do your research before planning to run your brand choice full time. As I mentioned before, top speed is needed to accomplish the CADR ratings advertised.


Links here:

Whirlpool 1183054K Hepa Filter, Large
Whirlpool 8171434K big Air Purifier Carbon Pre Filters, 4 Pack
Whirlpool Whispure 315 CADR Air Purifier with True HEPA Filter, AP51030K
Whirlpool Whispure 450 Air Purifier (AP45030K) HEPA Air Cleaner

And.

Honeywell 50250 99.97 Pure HEPA Round Air Purifier
Honeywell 38002 Enviracare common substitute Pre Filter
Honeywell 24000 substitute HEPA Filter

And.

Hunter 30401 QuietFlo True HEPA Programmable Air Purifier
Hunter 30402 QuietFlo 402 Air Purifier


Hope this helps!

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44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of five stars calm but breezy, September 25, 2010
By Susan (California) See all my reviews () I selected this air purifier because it received high marks from buyer Reports. As CR ratings point to, it’s efficient and calm (relative to other air purifiers I owned over the years). I has been surprised, but, by the quantity and direction (up) of the air flow this unit generates. At the lowest setting it produces as inflexible a breeze as a movable room fan. We tried moving it around our bedroom but could find no place where the wind did not bounce off the roof and blow on us at night, causing chilliness, dry eyes, and other discomforts. Our solution was to turn it off at bedtime (which we had done with out last air purifier because it was so loud). If this schedule works for you, I can recommend the product.

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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of five stars Great Unit, December 29, 2010
By J. Ratliff (Tampa, Florida) See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) () This review is from: Whirlpool AP51030K Whispure Air Purifier, HEPA Air Cleaner (Kitchen) I bought this unit after doing TONS of research and upon the recommendation of a big buyer testing and reporting magazine. My 1st impression of the unit was that it was way too big to fit unobtrusively in my living room; but, because the air is pulled in through the front grill and discharged from the top of the unit, I was able to push the purifier up against the wall to save space.

The controls are easy to use. I find there to be lots of alternatives for fan speed (noise control). On the lowest setting I can watch TV at normal volume levels with the unit sitting three feet from me. After leaving the room it is easy to ratchet it up to the TURBO mode which I leave it on most of the time when not using the living regions. I appreciate the indicators which tell you when the filter needs replacing, and about where it’s at by its lifespan (there are five lights to represent HEPA and pre filter status). I also appreciate the five year restricted warranty that comes with the unit (see brochure for details).

After 2.5 months of use I find that there’s a obvious difference in the quality of the air. It feels fresher, smells cleaner, and I can not see dust flying through the air (which was a common occurrence before the filter). At 1st I was hesitant to use up so much on a purifier which obliged an on going investment each year; but, after spending 2.5 months with the 1st unit I am going to order a 2nd unit for my bedroom. I do not have allergies, but feel that the investment is well worth the reduced dusting, possible health benefits, and quality construction of the unit itself.

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