Fresh air. Sure, New York's much cleaner than when we were children (remember the black soot that used to collect on the outside windowsill?), but this is still not a city where you want to sleep under an open window.
Try this: if you live near Broadway on the Upper West Side, sit on the benches in the middle of broadway with a clean white piece of paper on your lap and see what happens to it in just 15 minutes. It's not appetizing.
We recommend using air purifiers at home, and have found that cheaper models with regular filter changing are just as good as the super duper expensive models.
We like the design and size of the Bionaire's LC series. It comes with a HEPA filter and carbon filter, an ionizer and either 2 or 3 speeds. It will accomodate room sizes from 100 sq. ft. to 208 sq. ft., and prices run from $13 to $80 (ATTENTION: These models are being discontinued and won't be available for too long. Bionaire (800-363-3479) has some, as do these online retailers. We still think it's worth it. The filters will still be available and the new ones are more expensive). MGR
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Comments (8)
As far as I can tell from looking at their e-store and Amazon.com, the LC series is no longer available. Do you know if they can be purchased elsewhere or have an alternate recommendation? Thanks.
Emily, my apologies! Just got off the phone with Bionaire - @1#$%&! – and they tell me they are discontinuing this great product. No matter. There are still plenty left online AND the replacement from Bionaire – which may take a while to get my thumbs up – is the BAP 825U, which is a small tower with permanent filters. Maxwell
here is the link for the larger model:
http://www.bionaire.com/eStore/product.aspx?CatalogId=1&CategoryId=1232&ProductId=9864
I loved my HEPA filter - I still have the black soot on my windowsills!! - but the replacement filters were almost the cost of the machine itself. To do a full replacement about twice a year (which is minimal considering how dirty they get here) would be about $150!
It just didn't seem economical, when the machine only cost about $100.
Has anyone tried the Sharper Image Ionic Breeze no-filter air purifier? I'm thinking about getting one of those.
The Ionic Breeze does seem to pick up lots of crap, but it is hell to clean and we quickly stopped using it in our apartment. The construction of the unit also seems quite shoddy. Plus, it starts to look VERY VERY dirty and ugly after a few months of use.
I went air filter shopping a few months ago, and wrote about it in this blog post:
http://www.cjc.org/blog/index.php/archives/2004/02/24/air-cleaner/
The bottom line is that the Sharper Image Ionic Breeze air purifiers can't be relied upon: the company seems more intent on bringing lawsuits against critics than submitting the machine to independent testing.
The HEPA filters are basically these filter cartridges attached to $2 fans, so it's natural you will pay a lot for the filter replacement, since you're more or less consuming the expensive parts every six months or so.
We settled for Friedrich C90A, which is an expensive, ugly utilitarian contraption that resembles a giant kitty litter box. But it kicks ass (highest CADR rate of any unit tested by Consumer Reports in that issue from last year), and you clean it by more or less running the electrostatic unit under your tub's faucet for a ten minutes every few months.
As far as I can tell, the $13 price is for the filters; I could be mistaken, but the cheapest I could find this is for $75.
(all the links to $13-50 prices are mis-addressed.)
Too bad this is not sold any longer. I'm trying to find out more information about a new product from http://www.PureNight.com that is designed to let you sleep under HEPA filtered air for about $500. There's another product that does this, but it's very expensive.
TRUE HEPA vacuums and air purifiers trap the dust and particles with a minimum efficiency of 99.97%, up to 0.3 microns – as measured with my particle counter seen in
my YouTube Air Purifier Videos – As seen on ABC 7
Over the years, HEPA filtration has become a marketing scheme deployed by both vacuum cleaner and air purifier manufacturers to lure customers to buy products that do not meet the HEPA definition. Most vacuums and air cleaners that I have tested on the market claim to be “HEPA,†however, lack the filtration efficiency and other important benefits that are intrinsic to HEPA technology – so they are “fake HEPA.†They are simply imposters that do not deliver what they claim – in other words, they do not trap the dust.
To precisely find real HEPA machines, I test products (where the air flows through) with the particle counter. It is important to note, that I not only test the middle of the filter, but also the side edges and other areas of the chasis, where more often than not, there is high readings due to leakage.
Also check-out my blog called Consumer Reporter - a vehicle to educate consumers about the vacuum and air purification market.
If you appreciate the information I provide on Miele vacuum cleaners via You Tube and my blog, please support my on-line store, KillDirt.You’ll get free shipping and no tax (as long as you do not live in New Jersey). We will be sure to make your shopping experience a pleasant one