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Re: Austin Allergy Machine vs RabbitAir 421 for Pollen Allergy

A Reader writes:

Thanks for the great site.

I have allergies and my 13-month son has asthma.

We are choosing between the Austin Allergy Machine and the RabbitAir 421A for our 974 sq ft home.

A main concern is yellow pollen, heavy this time of year.

Any input would be appreciated.

A Reader.

Ed's Reply

Hey Reader;

You have chosen two viable candidates - many consumers will ask me to choose among obscure or otherwise unacceptable air cleaners.

Austin Air Allergy machine uses Austin's HEGA (and HEPA) carbon cloth filter. see;HEGA

The Allergy machine is designed for smoke and pollen, but now costs over $500 retail.

Austins are not the quietest.

For pollen, generally a relatively large particle size, you don't need a sophisticated air cleaner. With your near 1000 sq ft area, you could buy some cheaper machines to post around the house, and put the best machine near your child's bed.

Realize that pollen is just large enough to settle on surfaces, rather than remaining airborne for long periods when wind is quiet, then flurry again when air currents stir it.

This makes it difficult to interdict with air cleaners. The trick is to keep it outdoors. Shoes and clothing carry it in.

I built my home in the forest, where thousands of oaks pollinate in the spring. I am not allergic to the pollen, but it piles up everywhere, its yellow-green color wont sweep off, I must hose everything down to keep it off my steps, porches and decks.

So I leave most shoes out on the porch, and don't start the attic fan til pollen season is over.

A good HEPA vacuum is also a good tool against pollen.

I use cheap Holmes and Honeywell (not Hunter) air cleaners from WalMart as dust catchers. These go for $30-40 and are designed to sell rip-off replacement filters.

I never buy these filters.

I stuff these cheap air cleaners with washable polyurethane foam air conditioner filters - $1.00 for a large supply, Air conditioning aisle at big box retailers - and wash the large size particles out about every 3 weeks.

Running these otherwise unacceptable air cleaners, on their highest speed when possible, near a more expensive machine keeps the large particles, including pollen, out of my true HEPAS, greatly extending filter life.

The RabbitAir 421, automated and quiet, is one of my favorites, it sells for over $100 less than the noisy, manually switched Austin. I personally would do the Rabbit for the child's bedroom and dust catchers elsewhere.

Best wishes,

Ed

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