Fine, for what it is
Written: Nov 22 '04
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Pros: Simple. Keeps going and going; low cost for the unit, and low cost replacement filters.
Cons: Small filtering capability. In its old age, mine has grown louder at the higher speeds.
The Bottom Line: I like this product because it has been reliable for so long, and cheap to keep running with new filters. You could pay more and get less.
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| auscultatus's Full Review: Holmes Products HAP240 Air Purifier |
I've had this product now for about 4 years. It is rather small, so it won't handle a whole room, but it's fine for what I use it for: it sits next to my bed where it keeps relatively clean air circulating directly over where I sleep.
The unit itself consists of a a very simple design: first air passes from the front of the unit across a foam pre-filter, which appears to do most of the cleaning. I clean this often by spraying a little detergent on it and running water through it. It cleans right up.
Behind the foam pre-filter is a proprietary paper filter which I have found does not need replacement as often as the manufacturer suggests. I vacuum the front of this filter as often as I clean the foam filter. The proprietary filter is not a terribly expensive item, especially given how infrequently it needs replacing, but nevertheless overpriced for what it is. Holmes puts a sticker on the unit that shows you how dirty-dark the filter looks when it needs replacing. The filter I have in it now is 25 months old, and looks like it still has a quite while to go. The proprietary filter has an activated carbon filter on the exhaust side, so if filtering for odors is a big consideration for you, you may want to change the filter more frequently. I doubt carbon activated filter do much after the first couple of days of use...
Behind the proprietary paper/activated carbon filter is the fan. It is not particularly quiet, in fact, on 'high' it is remarkably loud at this point. It has gotten louder with age. It doesn't bother me, however, I consider it "white noise" for sleeping. The motor, however, has been an 'energizer bunny', cranking away continuously for YEARS now, which is more than I can say for another bigger, much more expensive model I owned that cooked its motor after less than two years.
Finally, after the fan the filtered air passes over an ionizer unit; you have the option of turning ionization on or off. I have doubts about the safety of ionizing air, so I keep that off. The filtered air emerges from the top of the unit.
For the price, and not expecting a lot from a filter this small and simply designed, I have to say I have been pretty happy with it -- especially because it has kept going long past the time I would have expected...
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): Don't recall
Battery Life: N/A
Noise Level: Somewhat loud
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Epinions.com ID:
auscultatus
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Reviews written: 1
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