So, my girlfriend moved in with me recently, which also means her sweet little kitty cat moved in as well. Now, I love my girl and I rather like her cat, but I’m also allergic to cats. Measures must be taken. We’re trying Allerpet (a dander-reducing lotion), limiting the spaces the kitty goes in, and Claritin keeps me feeling okay, but it seems like taking allergens out of the air is the smartest next step.
Buying these things is apparently a nightmare. Now, best I can tell, the biggest trick is buying actual HEPA, not just “HEPA-style,” to make sure the smallest hair and dander particles don’t just pass straight through.
Beyond that, though, yeesh. Huge ranges in price, from ~$60-600. My BS-detector pings on most of the high-end ones that tack on a dozen bullet points and fancy design, but most of the cheaper ones come from companies that also seem to make a lot of low-grade junk. Things like filter replacement timing and CADR ratings seem all over the map. I like to try to purchase the best bang for my buck; I don’t mind spending a little extra for quality or reliability, but I don’t like spending extra just to pad the pockets of a talented marketing division.
My gut call is to buy one of the big round-filtered Honeywells for the biggest open space and smaller upright units for the bedrooms and kitchen.
Is anybody here well-versed in purifier-fu? Any tips or tricks or bargains?
I’ve had a lot of luck with the standard Honeywell air purifiers. Just be sure to keep up with cleaning/dusting the outside, and the filter changes.
The best option is a whole-house air purifier/cleaner. My dad and stepmom both smoked. They had a whole-house air cleaner installed and you literally could not smell cigarette smoke when you walked in the house unless someone was smoking downstairs at that moment, or an ashtray had been left in the living room (they never smoked upstairs, ever).
I spent years going through hassles with air cleaners due to allergies. The Honeywell / HomeDepot / Walmart types were big, ugly, noisy, didn’t work well, cheaply made but costly, etc. Replacing filters was a hassle because they rarely had the right one in stock six months later, and buying multiple replacement filters at the same time as I bought the machine was a gamble because the machine might not last long enough to use all the filters.
I finally did my research and bought an Austin Air purifier. It’s quiet, it works well, filters are always available, it’s made in the USA. Mine is almost 10 years old and I will be ordering my second replacement filter this year (filters last five years).
I’ve had a bunch of them over the years and made some not-so-good choices along the way, like buying two of those Sharper Image Quada jobbies that cost over $300 apiece and then it coming out later that the ions coming out of them were bad for one’s health. I got too caught up in that huge TV ad campaign they were doing, fortunately you don’t strike me as being as stupid.:o
Consumer Reports might be worth looking into, but a lot of their reviews are many years old (as it would be too costly to keep doing reviews each time a new model came out).
I guess you probably know to try out various units and just make it a point to keep the receipt.
I love kitty cats and fresh air; no reason not to have them both! Good luck!
Just following up to myself in case anybody else is asking a similar question, it turns out this really is a tough question. In short, though, true HEPA at a minimum is needed, electrostatic cleaners aren’t good enough for allergies.
I’m likely going to purchase Sharp or Winix machines; they’re essentially the bottom of the high-end, as opposed to Honeywell, which is more like the top of the low-end. Not a huge price bump, and they run quieter and more effectively.
It looks like the $400-500 models really can be worth it, but it’s just not in the budget.
I bought a 20" box fan and duct taped a high end 20" by 20" furnace filter to it. Cost me $25 for the fan, and the filters cost maybe $20 for a pack of three. I’ve never had a better air filter. Did wonders for my allergies.
I would just get a decent Honeywell one as well. Also since you’re using it for ‘real’ reasons, I’d get a good sized one so you don’t have to change the filter every three days.
Also, get a HEPA filter for your furnace and, probably more importantly, your vacuum cleaner.
Something else that I’d really suggest (and I know a lot of people that do this), make one section of the house, be it the basement, the second floor, even one room, totally 100% cat free. Then you have one place you can get away from the dander. It’s not on the furniture, in carpet, in window treatments, on your computer keyboard etc.
ETA, I’d also suggest getting allergy covers for your bedding, but if you’re allergic to cats, it might be wise to try to keep them out of the bed. Not being a cat person, I don’t know if that’s a possibility.
Thanks for the suggestions, Joey P. My vacuum is HEPA filtered, so I’m good there. Need to get a new furnace filter anyways, thanks for the reminder.
The cat will never go in my bedroom and probably won’t spend much time in the living room, so that should help.
My only hesitance with a Honeywell is that the good ones are physically bulky and loud (I’ve used one in the past). The Sharp should have greater cleaning power with lower noise for a small bump up in price.
If you’re worried about the noise, you could just have it running when you’re not around and turn it off when you’re in the room (or when it’s bothering you). Besides, the HEPA filter in your furnace will probably do more good than room air cleaner. You could look into a T-stat that cycles the furnace fan on and off randomly throughout the day. It’s meant to keep the temperature even in your house and reduce your heating/cooling bill, but it would also work to cycle the air through the filter.
