Honeywell 17000N Permanent Pure HEPA QuietCare Air Purifier Sunday, May 10, 2009

This portable air cleaner is recommended for filtering the air in a closed room as large as 168 square feet (12 by 14 feet). As it continuously circulates a room's air--about six times per hour--it employs two filters to remove smoke, pollen, dust, animal dander, dust mites, molds, bacteria, viruses, and odors. Especially useful for asthmatics and allergy sufferers, the cleaner contains a true HEPA filter that is at least 99.97 percent effective at trapping extremely tiny particles (as small as 0.3 microns) while a prefilter reduces odors. Honeywell's IntelliCheck system permits monitoring the filters' lives. Each filter has a button. Pressing a button activates a light, which blinks or shines steadily. One blink indicates that the filter has lots of life remaining, two blinks means less life, three blinks means even less, and a steady light indicates the filter needs changing. The HEPA filter lasts one to three years; the prefilter, three months. Filter replacement is simple, and replacement filters can be ordered separately. The air cleaner has three speeds, and all are exceptionally quiet for an air cleaner this large and powerful. It carries a five-year warranty against defects. --Fred Brack
Customer Review: Love them! We have 5...
After enduring burning, swelling and irritated eyes when I was in my house (particularly my office,) we feared we might have a serious indoor air quality problem in our home. We called our insurance company about air testing, we discussed ripping out all of the carpeting...then I decided to try a simple air purifier to see what happened. Despite dusting, vacuuming, dusting, vacuuming, steam cleaning everything I could get my hands on, and HEPA filters on the HVAC system.......THIS air purifier still caught an unbelievable amount of particulates in the air. Within a few days, running the air purifier 24/7 in my office, I no longer had the allergy irritations I'd experienced for so long. I bought two more and ran them in rooms our family uses most often. I was giddy checking the carbon pre-filters regularly to see the dust and who-knows-what accumulating. I promptly bought boxes of pre-filters to have on hand for replacing, and 3 MORE Honeywell HEPA air purifiers. They run in the master bedroom, living room, kids play room, home office and my son's room - because he has a heart defect that causes pulmonary infections. Pros: *They work. Very well. We've seen particulate matter accumulate rapidly on the pre-filters, even when vacuuming rooms several times a week, dusting, a housekeeper who does the same. *I no longer have the allergy symptoms when I'm in my own home. *They are small enough that my young children can move them fairly easily. *They are wickedly powerful in air-exchange in a room, which helps drum up the tiniest particles you don't want lying around. *On 'high-speed' it provides nice white noise. Cons: *Out of 9-10 I've ordered, I've had to return 3 because of mfg defects. *The filters are very pricey. *People turn them off if they're in a living space where you'd want dead silence (ex: during movie night) and I'm always turning them back on. But that's a personal problem, not Honeywell's :) They have changed the quality of air so drastically in our home, that i'm willing to pay for the pre-filters that require changing. Actuallly, the "carbon pre-filters" are there to catch the larger particulate matter and *remove odors*, the "HEPA" filter does not need replacing, only a quick vacuum a few times a year. (if you use it as much as we do) Therefore, I actually *vacuum* the "carbon pre-filter" lightly with a dust buster to get the layer of visible dust off of it. This will remove some of the carbon with it, reducing the efficacy, so I'd only do this once or twice - to try to squeeze a little extra life out of it before paying for a new one. Of course the manufacturer does not recommend this, but after speaking with a technical support manager at Honeywell, confirmed that the minimal amount of carbon removed with one light vacuuming won't kill ya'.
Customer Review: Great for Asthma!
I go to college and live in an extremely old house. Recently my asthma was acting up and decided it was the old dust and mold spores in the house. I was looking for an HEPA air purifier, because the more popular "ionizers" actually can harm asthma sufferers. The low mode is not too loud and actually helps me go to sleep. Since this unit was turned on I have not had any asthma or allergy related problems. The unit is located in my bedroom and came with 3 pre-filters! It has been turned on for about 1 1/2 months, and I have yet to change the filter. If the filter needs to be changed, a light comes on, which is also a plus. Pick up this unit if your looking for a great purifier at a low cost!