watchdr_2000's Full Review: Oreck Super Air 7 Air Purifier
“Every breath you take, every move you make…” With apologies to Sting I thought that his old hit would be a great way to introduce the Oreck Super 8 Professional Air Purifier. There is a virtually endless array of different air cleaners to choose from, with new models coming out all the time too. So why did I buy the Oreck?
If you are an avid follower of Consumer Reports, you’ll notice that the Friedrich C90-A consistently wins their vote for the best all around air cleaner. Unfortunately, it costs a little more money than I was willing to spend, and most places selling it don’t have the same generous return policy that Oreck offers. Seeing as the latter is about $100 less and comes with a full 90 day risk free trial, I decided to give it a try. I also read a few reviews here on Epinions, and they were quite encouraging too.
Why do I need an air cleaner at all?
Good question. Although I’m one of the fortunate few who doesn’t suffer from allergies, unfortunately both my wife and daughter do. Also, as watchmaker, I do some work at home to earn extra money on the side. The solutions that I use to clean the watches are all quite strong smelling petroleum based products, especially the cleaning solution which also contains ammonia. As one can imagine, my family aren’t too happy with the smell in the apartment when I use the cleaning machine. Although these solutions are not nearly as volatile, or evaporate as quickly as gasoline, the smell is not too pleasant and takes quite a while to dissipate from our medium sized apartment. Lately I’ve been doing a lot more work at home than usual, so I thought that now would be as good a time as any to get a decent air cleaner before my wife and kids throw my watch cleaning machine out!
Some Important Manufacturer’s Specs:
Size = 16” Wide X 10.5” Deep X 5” High (my own measurements differ slightly from those listed on site)
Weight = Approx. 10lbs
Five Stage Cleaning Process = Pre-Filter, Ionizer, Collector, Activated Charcoal Filter, Negative Ion Generator
Air Flow = 140 CFM (cubic feet per minute)
Regenerates the air about once per hour in a 30’ X 30’ room
Can be wall or table top mounted
Air vanes on top allow a limited choice of changing the direction of the air flow
Fragrance cartridge can be inserted in the fragrance slot if so desired
Negative Ion Generator has its own switch, so it can be turned off if need be
Warranty = 3 year overall plus a 12 year warranty on the collector cell/electrostatic cleaner
Please note that I’m not sure whether the 140 CFM air flow is on the high or medium setting.
So Gary, does it work?
Last weekend I cleaned a few watches at home, so it was a good opportunity to put the Oreck’s air cleaning capabilities to the test. Fortuitously it was also a very hot and smoggy day here in LA too, so although it wasn’t a pleasant day for most of LA, it was an excellent day for just such a test. In order to make the machine’s job a little bit easier, I did move it down to the den so that it was only a few feet from my cleaning machine. I also switched the Oreck Air Purifier onto the high mode.
I have to say that I was impressed. In fact I have to say that my family were not only impressed, but happy too – happy that they won’t have to put up with the noxious odors of my watch cleaning solutions any more. The smell in the lounge, which is only about 15 feet from the den, with no door separating them, was only very slight while the watch cleaning machine was running. About 30 minutes after it had switched off there was zero chemical smell, and I was able to switch the Oreck Air Purifier onto medium.
How does it work for people with allergies?
Another good question, although this one I can’t answer personally. My 15 year old daughter said that she immediately noticed a big improvement in her allergies, and would now like to have the air purifier in her room.
My wife – who has the worst allergy attacks from smog, pollen, dust etc of anyone that I know – wasn’t so sure at first. I didn’t say anything, but waited until she had a sneezing, coughing watery eyed allergy attack. I then switched the machine on high. About 30 minutes later she complained that the noise was bothering her, and so asked me to turn it lower. I switched it onto medium and waited for her next allergy attack. Needless to say, there wasn’t one. Only after I pointed that out to her did she fully realize what a great job it was doing keeping her allergy attacks at bay.
Cleaning and Maintenance:
While I haven’t had this air cleaner long enough for it to require a cleaning, I did take it apart just to see how it works and how easy it would be to maintain. Oreck also make it easy to know when maintenance is necessary as the green status indicator “on” light will change color to red.
The pictures that are in the instruction sheet that came with it are pretty self explanatory, but on the downside the notes that go with said pictures are not on the same page. Not a big deal, but Oreck should have pointed out that the notes are on the next page.
Important Note, turn the machine off and unplug it from the wall plug before cleaning the machine. After it has been turned off and unplugged, the front grille can be removed by unscrewing the retainer screw underneath it. The collector cell can be removed by pulling it straight up by its two small handles. The pre-filter slides into two grooves in the front of the cell, and can be easily slid out for cleaning or replacement. The activated charcoal filter snaps into position at the rear of the cell and is easily snapped out for replacement, or if you need to clean the collector cell.
The activated charcoal filter should be good for about 2 to 6 months, depending on how dusty your local environment is, or whether there are heavy smokers in your household.
Soaking the collector cell in a good cleaning (dishwashing) solution will clean it, or one can use Oreck’s recommended Assail-A-Cell propriety cell cleaner. Allow it to air dry thoroughly before replacing it. Not doing so can result in both damaging the machine, or even hurting oneself.
Final Thoughts:
My family and I are obviously very impressed with the Oreck’s air purifying capabilities. It works as well as advertised and seems reasonably priced for the performance that it delivers.
The machine is easily disassembled for cleaning and maintenance and the build quality seems quite sturdy. The on/off switch on mine is a little bit stiff, and seems a little flimsy compared to the solid build of the rest of the machine. The collector cell looks simple and sturdy enough to deliver years of trouble free use.
The high mode would probably be too noisy for most people to use while in the same room, but is acceptable for a short while – my wife’s limit was 30 minutes. Obviously a moot point if you leave it on high while not in the room. On medium mode it is easily heard, but is not obnoxiously loud. You certainly wouldn’t need to raise your voice to be heard while having a conversation close to the machine while it’s on medium.
Oreck boast about the machine’s Silence Technology, and rightfully so. In this mode it is literally whisper quiet. Even a light sleeper shouldn’t have any problems getting a good nights sleep with this machine in their bedroom on this mode.
The only negative comment that I can make about this machine is that now when I leave my apartment in the morning I can really smell how smoggy the air here in LA is! Now where did I put that Sting CD? Gary.
http://www.oreck.com
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 349.95 Battery Life: N/A Noise Level: Average
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