Re: Sharp Plasmacluster KCC100U User Review, Swine Flu

A Reader writes:

Hello Ed.

Re; Sharp Plasmacluster KCC100U

I bought this air purifier a few weeks ago and so far it has worked beautifully.

It was $471.00 Canadian from Sears as they are a Sharp dealer in Canada.

I have a water softener installed in my house and so far it does not seem to leave, or has not so far left any "Bad Stuff" in the humidifier portion.

I do however clean it out every couple days. A bit of a PITA but have to refill the water tank anyway.

I use the KCC100U in the "Auto" mode and let it figure out what it should do.

So far I have noticed the following benefits from running the Sharp air purifier.

#1. No dust. All the fine dust that used to appear in the house every few days is now noticeably absent. Even the stuff that used to appear on the TV screen is not there any longer. (Wife finds this the greatest benefit.)

#2. Cooking smells ! WOW ! Seems that our smoke detector is most commonly used as a cooking timer and the smells from cooking are gone in about 30 - 45 minutes. Even the smell of frying bacon is gone and does not linger in the house all day. ( My favorite feature )

#3. I/we seem to sleep better now and do not wake up "stuffed up". I have no doubt that the Sharp Plasmacluster has something to do with that.

#4. QUIET ! In Auto mode you cant hear it. The fan will ramp up when it gets a sniff of dust or whatever it is that it smells, but goes back to "Library Quiet" quickly. The lamps at the front of the unit will tell you when it gets a sniff of stuff you cant see and they slowly turn back to green when cleaned. You can also shut these lights off as they are quite bright. A nice feature.

#5. House smells better now. Might be my imagination but wife seems to think so too.

H1N1 "Swine Flu" and Air Purifiers

I found an IQ Air dealer shortly after I bought the Sharp and spoke with the sales person there. The units that they sell are $899.00 ca. (Canadian $) for one that will do approx 600 sq feet and $999.00 ca. for the larger one.

Sales person told me that they have started to get lots of interest in them because of this H1N1 hysteria that is occurring here now. ( They also had the whole home furnace mounted IQ and I cant recall the price but it was substantial )

The store advertises that the IQ will filter "Viruses" from the air. As the specs that are stated by the salesman, ( 0.003) filter particles 100 times smaller than the standard hepa filters it seems to get quite a lot of attention.

I am led to believe that the H1N1 virus itself is between .01 and .05 microns that the standard hepa filters that filter .03 microns might let some of it through. However, the virus is almost always attached to a water droplet which makes it much larger.

Sorry to go on so long here.

In closing,Thanks again for all your research and I am really happy with this Sharp unit that I purchased.

Ed's Reply

No need to apologize for the length of your excellent post.

I have read that many Sharp Plasmacluster KCC100U users are filling with distilled water.

Everyone will be pleased to hear of your impressions in 6-12 months, as Sharp Electronics seems to be pushing the humidifier/air purifier versions to the detriment of the older style dry Plasmaclusters.

I think with the propaganda campaign surrounding the "swine flu" that there is no honest information available anywhere. I do not pretend to know whether any air cleaner, whether through oxidation or filtration, can completely remove airborne viruses.

However, I am sure that flu viruses, which are short lived outside host cells, cannot be stopped by air filtration. They are transmitted from host to host by direct sneezing and touching.

The masks used by the Chinese during SARS, very frequent hand and face washing, and most of all vector avoidance (crowds, schools, hospitals, aircraft, public transportation, close contact in the workplace ...) are my recommendations for a viral epidemic.

An air purifier in your bedroom probably won't prevent the flu, regardless of it's ability to filter sub-micron particles.

But with the huge media budget behind the current bug, many marketers are jumping on the H1N1 bandwagon, some with exaggerated claims.

Thanks for the quality input,

Ed

Sharp Plasmacluster KCC100U