Re: Quiet Air Purifier for Subtle Odors

A Reader writes:

Hi Ed,

Great site you have here.

I have poured over all your reviews etc. and I'm still left undecided... perhaps you can point me in the direction I need to go.

I have an autoimmune disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Its an arthritic disease that effects primarily my spine.

The worst part is the pain and discomfort I get in my head caused by the inflammation in my neck.

My sinus' are hyper sensitive to smells.

Even pleasing smells over time become obnoxious to me.

I live in Connecticut and for the most part don't have issue with summers.

The windows are open and the air is moving.

Winters on the other hand kill me because the house is all buttoned up.

I have done all I can to eliminate the hair product smells my wife and daughter use, but they still have some odor that when blow drying in the morning always seems to find its way to me.

We also have an in-law apt that without fail produces popcorn every evening around 9pm that seeps into our space eventually.

I need two purifiers... one for my bedroom (10x12) and one for the living/dining room.

"L" shape with probably a total of 350sq feet, that will clean the air and "help" with low level odors.

Keep in mind these odors are low level and only I seem to be effected by them.

The one for the bedroom needs to be as quiet as possible.

You guessed it... sensitive to noises as well :-)

The one for the living/dining not as important it be as quiet.

I've considered the Austin Healthmate Plus, The Blueair 650E and the IQ air.

Reading reviews on various sites makes my head spin.

You just don't know who to believe.

I lean toward the Austin Air's but read they are the noisiest of the bunch.

When I look at the db specs they don't seem to be that far off from the others... are they really that much more noisy?

The Blue Air sounds like they are the quietest but don't leave the room smelling as fresh as the Austin (so I've read).

The IQ air, big and expensive... buy the Austin or the Blue Air and save your money (so I've read).

So as you can see, I have analysis paralysis!

Maybe you can nutshell this for me and unlock me.

Price isn't a factor... I'd just assume do this right the first time.

Thanks for any input.

Ed's Reply

Hey Reader;

Your situation has two conflicting aspects; odor sensitivity and noise sensitivity.

For the odor, all three purifiers you have selected will work - the BlueAir would need the extra carbon in the SmokeStop filter option.

However, as you note, the Austins are notoriously loud, BlueAirs "whistle," and IQAirs are loud on high.

But your odors are a sporadic source emission - hair products in the morning and popcorn odor evenings.

So you could run the air purifier on high until the odor subsides.

If your ladies are doing their hair in the bath, an odor grabber near the source might help.

See:

Hamilton Beach Febreze 04530F True Air Odor Eliminator Review

Note that the BlueAir filters must be changed at least every 6 months, while the other two have long odor filter life. Without the pricey optional filters, Blueair is mostly a powerful particle grabber.

Austin also has a one piece combined HEPA/carbon filter which must be replaced as a whole.

IQAir is large and boxy, but for serious health issues I prefer it to any on the market.

I recommend combining the IQAir or Austin with a quiet Asian invasion air cleaner, like the Sharp or RabbitAir models.

This provides very strong burst mode protection when the odors arise, and extremely quiet standby operation otherwise. I run the loud air cleaner on a lower speed, and the quiet air cleaner on medium, simultaneously.

Also, the Sharp Plasmacluster oxidizers might be just the ticket for the light odor situation. You can learn to control the oxidizers in response to symptoms, or just leave the unit on auto.

But be sure to read my warnings on oxidizing air cleaners, especially where heavy chemical loads are present, (fresh paint, spray "air freshener" use, or new leather furniture...) partial oxidation byproducts can occur.

The Austin, which costs about half as much as IQAir, could also be used with a Sharp FP-P40CX Plasmacluster in your front room.

This is the setup I use in my two residences - one IQAir and one Sharp in the bedroom, with Honeywells in the living rooms for particle collection. If there is pollution coming in and we want to watch TV in the living room, I move the Sharp to the front room, and turn down (not necessarily off) the noisy Honeywell.

I sleep undistracted with the IQAir on speed 3 and the Sharp on Medium.

So my order of preference is;

1. IQAir
2. Austin
3. Blueair with SmokeStop option.

Best wishes,

Ed