The IQ Air Healthpro Plus is part of a line of air purifiers that has a high reputation for being the best air purifiers to help support people with any number of large and small respiratory ailments.

Are you looking for a top rated air purifier? Do you want the best for your home or office? This could quite possibly be what you are looking for. Are you skeptical of the cost? Read on to find out if it’s worth it.

What makes this particular air purifier so great?

The IQ Air Healthpro Plus works well and works fast

People who buy the IQ Air Healthpro Plus often find that they start to get relief from their allergy or asthma symptoms within a week or even just a few days – and it’s a noticeable relief.

The fact that this air purifier can remove a huge range of particulate and molecular air contaminants speaks volumes. A lot of other air purifiers on the market can’t do that. This is what makes this air purifier a perfect choice for those with highest demand for clean air due to allergies and asthma.

It has multiple fan speeds so it can be run at low speeds to keep things under control, or it can be run at a high speed to clear the air very quickly in a room.

Four types of air filtration

The IQ Air Healthpro Plus filters the air in four prominent ways:

1. Micro-particle filtration – this removes pollen, spores, pet dander and other similar stuff from the air
2. Granular activated carbon – this removes organic compounds from the air that cause odors
3. Pelletized chemisorption – this destroys harmful chemicals in the air
4. HyperHEPA filtration – this removes bacteria and viruses from the air

These four key areas of filtration combined together are what makes this air purifier such a powerful piece of hardware – it covers all the areas of air purification, not just a couple.

Controls

What types of controls does this unit offer?

• 6 speeds of operation
• A timer
• Filter life monitor
• Remote control

This isn’t too shabby at all, it’s a very nicely controllable purifier.

Other comments

In addition to the controls, this unit also comes with wheels. It’s a large air purifier, so it’s nice that it can be easily rolled around to move from room to room. I personally like to move my air purifiers around, so it’s always an awesome feature when they can be rolled easily.

There are some experiences out there regarding this unit going through an odor releasing phase upon initial use. What does this mean? It means that some of the filtration media will release gasses into the air upon first operation, for a short period of time. This maybe happens sometimes if the unit that was purchased had been stored in a place where it was able to absorb gasses into it’s filtration, for example. This can cause alarm for some buyers, but apparently it goes away after a short period of operation, so it’s just a temporary thing.

Overall, this air purifier is going to cost you some money, but it’s a highly regarded machine and is well worth the cost.

This thing is pretty straightforward, as far as air purifiers go

If you are thinking about buying an air purifier, be sure to read this review, it’s an honest take on one of the biggest workhorse air purifiers out there for home or office use.

After several months of deliberation, I decided to purchase an Austin Air Allergy Machine for use in my two bedroom apartment.

I have mild allergies, and also have 3 cats, so the notion of using an air purifier is something that has been on my mind for quite some time.

I often would wake up in the middle of the night with a stuff nose and sneezing, and all that other good stuff that goes along with that.

While researching air purifiers that would be effective in a 2 bedroom apartment I continually ran across Austin Air, and I like the look of their machines. I narrowed my search down to the Austin Air Allergy Machine and the Austin Air Pet Machine.

They both looked similar, so I emailed Austin Air to ask which might be better for my situation. I received a response from a customer service rep quite quickly, and she let me know that the allergy machine would probably be more effective for my situation.

Deciding to get the Allergy Machine

After deciding that I was going to get the Allergy Machine, I ended up ordering the item from a merchant through Amazon.com.

I received it in about 3 days, it showed up really quickly. The box was big and the unit was in perfect condition.

I unpacked the machine and let the cats play in the huge box.

After unpacking, I read the instructions and found that this was a rather simple machine to put into use. I basically just had to plug it in and let it rip, right out of the box. That was pretty easy.

This air purifier won’t need to have the filter replaced for quite some time, so I won’t have to worry about taking it apart for any reason any time soon.

Do you want to check out pricing for the Austin Air Allergy Machine? I bought mine from Amazon.com – good prices and easy ordering.

Click here to check pricing

What types of features does it have?

The Austin Air Allergy Machine is a pretty straightforward air purifier.

It has a dial on the front of the unit to activate 3 different air circulation speeds: low, medium and high. And that’s it.

Simple controls on this machine

There are no other options, no electronics. It’s just a basic machine with state of the art filtration capabilities.

This is exactly why I bought it. I felt that because it was a high-quality filtration unit with little electronic overhead that it would probably be a good “bang for the buck” purifer, and I was correct. I paid very little for this unit considering how capable it is of cleaning the air inside my apartment.

When I turn it on the lowest setting, it is pretty quiet. On the lowest setting, it will not interfere with sleep if you need a quite atmosphere.

On the medium setting, the Austin Air Allergy machine starts to make a little more noise, but it’s more just fan noise rather than mechanical noise. It’s not that loud really, especially considering the amount of air that you can feel going through the unit.

On the highest setting, this thing cycles a LOT of air. It’s also pretty loud. I tend to only turn this unit onto the highest setting either if I’m not in the same room that the unit is in, or if it’s an emergency air clearing situation.

For example, I’ll put the Allergy Machine in my bedroom on the highest setting for about a half hour before I go to bed. That gives the unit a chance to cycle the air heavily for a decent period of time. Then when I go to bed I turn the dial to medium or low.

Technical Specs?

As far as actual numbers, here’s a few bits of info I grabbed from the Austin Air web site.

It also has a 4 stage filter:

STAGE 1 – Large Particle Pre-filter
Removes particles easily seen by the
(e.g.dust, hair and pet dander)

STAGE 2 – Medium Particle Pre-filter
Removes small to medium size particles
(e.g.molds, spores and pollen)

STAGE 3 – 60 sq.ft.of Certified HEPA
Removes 99.97% of all particles
larger than 0.3 microns

STAGE 4 – HEGA Carbon Cloth
Removes chemicals, gases and odors
(e.g.sulfuric acid and ammonia)

And it also comes with a 5 year mechanical warranty and filter warranty. It’s amazing that the filter will probably last me about 5 years, unless I abuse it somehow. The warranty covers normal use. Basically, if you use this to clear thick smoke or use this thing to clear out the air in a heavily abused workshop on a consistent basis, it might be hard to justify getting the filter replaced via warranty.

Overall I’m pretty happy with this machine. My allergies are noticeably less annoying and it’s actually kinda weird to wake up in the morning with a clear nose. Just as long as I give this air purifier a chance to clear the air properly and consistently, it does a good job of helping me keep allergies under control.

Learn More or Buy

If you want to learn more about, or buy the Austin Air Allergy Machine, go to Amazon.com to get very competitive pricing and great purchasing security.

More reviews are also available there too.

Click here to learn more or buy the Austin Air Allergy Machine

The Austin Air HealthMate is a great air purifier for home or business use. This air purifier is a serious machine and should garner the attention of anybody that is in the market for an air purifier.

The Austin Air will remove from the air a variety of contaminants including dust, pollen, dander, odors and chemical vapors. This air purifier is rated by Austin Air to be effective in areas up to 1500 square feet. That is a good chunk of space for sure.

The Austin Air Healthmate is a good option for both allergy sufferers and asthma sufferers.

Straightforward Air Purification

Compared to other air purifiers in it’s price range (around $400-$500) it pretty basic in functionality, meaning it doesn’t have a lot of “extra” features, but it packs a punch in the filtration department.

Other air purifiers in this price range have features such as timer controls, filter replacement indicator lights or a remote control. This might deter some people, but the filtration capabilities and low maintenance that the Austin Air HealthMate offers more than make up for the lack of extra features.

Low Maintenance

The Austin Air HealthMate air purifiers are known for their low maintenace cycles and costs. This is the kind of air purifier that you can pretty much turn on and just let it do it’s thing. The most maintenance you might need to do on a regular basis is vacuum the outside pre-filter and that’s about it.

Austin Air claims that the air filters in the HealthMate will last 5 years before before needing to be replaced under normal air purification conditions. That is much longer than the typical 6 months to 1 year that you will get out of the filters on many other air purifiers.

Four Stages of Air Filtration Media

The Austin Air HealthMate air purifiers use a 4 stage filtration process.

The first stage is the large particle pre-filter that encases the rest of the filtration media. The large particle pre-filter removes large, visible particles from the air.

The second stage is the medium particle pre-filter. This filter will knock out many of the other small to medium size particles that make it through the large particle pre-filter.

The third stage is 15 pounds of activated carbon and zeolite. Yep, 15 pounds! The carbon and zeolite will remove chemical, odors and gases from the air with ease.

The fourth stage is 60 feet of true HEPA filter media to polish out the air that is passing through the Austin Air HealthMate.

5 Year Filter and Mechanical Warranty

The AustinAir HealthMate air purifiers come with a 5 year mechanical warranty and a 5 year filter warranty. It should be noted that these warranties cover normal “residential” air purification conditions.

If you are going to be using the unit in extreme circumstances you might have a hard time getting your unit replaced under the warranty. You also need to return the warranty card to Austin Air to be able to take advantage of the warranty.

Excellent Air Purification

On the Austin Air web site they claim that the HealthMate will filter 250 cubic feet of air every minute. Considering that much air is being pulled through that much filter media and carbon/zeolite, this is quite a beast of an air purifier. This air purifier will work well in any size room in your home, provided you don’t live in a vaulted ceiling castle of a house!

Even then, the HealthMate will perform better than most other cost-comparable air purifiers in medium to large size rooms.

The Alen Paralda was released only recently by Alen Corporation. This is an air purifier that is touted to use less energy than a light bulb. I guess that is green!

From a recent press release:

“Paralda is unlike any air purifier previously available to U.S. consumers to date – it creates an entirely new category,” said Peter Mann, CEO of Alen Corporation. “The powerful yet extremely energy efficient four-speed Paralda couples stylish design with the most advanced HEPA filtration cleaning system available, a UV lamp to kill bacteria in the air – that is set to last 3 to 5 years, ionizer, the industry’s best lifetime warranty, and an easy-to-use 24-hour programmable timer. For holiday shoppers looking for the safest and most efficient air purifier on the market this Christmas or Hanukkah – Paralda is the only green, portable air purification appliance available,” concluded Mann.

So… the unit uses less energy. The first thing that one might wonder is whether or not it’s powerful enough to cycle decent amounts of air through it.

Air Cleaning Capability

The Alen Paralda is rated to clean a 400 square foot room, which isn’t bad. It contains a HEPA filter that cleans the air with 99.97% efficiency. In addition to the HEPA filter there is also a UV lamp to aid in air purification.

A review at achooallergy.com states that the unit might best be used in a smaller room such as an office or bedroom. This might hint at the fact that it might not be as powerful as some other air purifiers.

Power Consumption

The Alen Paralda uses the following amounts of power for each of it’s four fan speeds:

• Fan Speed 1: 19W
• Fan Speed 2: 29W
• Fan Speed 3: 41W
• Fan Speed 4: 55W

In addition to the multiple fan speeds, the Paralda 24-hour programmable. The combination of both of those features will allow you to get the most efficient combination of power consumption and air purification for your indoor environment.

What Makes It Green?

There are four key guidelines that this unit follows to allow Alen to tout this air purifier as a green air purifier:

• 100% lead-free components
• RoHS compliance
• Ozone safe
• Energy Star qualified

The RoHS (or Reduction of Hazardous Substances) compliance basically means that none of the substances lead, mercury, cadmium, PBB’s and PBDE’s are found in the Paralda.

The UV lamp also lasts 3-5 years. This means less replacements and less waste materials.

Other Features

The rest of the features that round out the appeal of the Alen Paralda include:

• A filter replacement indicator light
• An ionizer
• A cable management system
• And a light touch activated display and controls

The Alen Paralda is selling for around $499 right now as a new unit. This cost is higher than other air purifiers that can clean the air just as well as the Paralda. But, there is going to be extra cost for an air purifier that is this energy efficient, at least for now.

The Alen A350 is rated for rooms smaller than 800 square feet, but can provide great value and effectiveness compared to more expensive models like the IQAir HealthPro models of air purifiers.

The Alen A350 is great at removing allergens from the air as it uses a true HEPA filter. In fact, in many tests the Alen A350 air purifier comes pretty close to being as effective as an IQAir air purifier.

True HEPA Filtration

The Alen A350 uses a true HEPA filter that will remove particles from the air that are 0.3 microns in size. This effectively removes nearly all allergy causing substances and will allow you to breath clean air inside your home!

In addition to the HEPA filter inside the unit, there is also a pre-filter for capturing larger particles and a carbon filter that will remove odors from the air. In combination, all three of these filters wil clean up the air in your home efficiently and effectively.

Quite Air Purification

Another benefit of the Alen A350 is that it is quite in operation. Using an air purifier that is quite will reduce the amount of white noise in your home and will also allow you to use the air purifier in your bedroom while you sleep.

The benefits of using and air purifier in your bedroom are great, and you’ll sleep better at night when you can breath clean air continuously.

Lifetime Warranty

An Alen A350 air purifier, if purchased brand new, is sold with a lifetime warranty. This is a great deal for any mechanical device, as you know that anything that has a motor or movable parts will probably eventually break down at some point.

In order to get the lifetime warranty you need to register for the filter replacement program which will get you two HEPA filter replacements per year.

Bang For Your Buck

Considering that the Alen A350 is nearly as effective as an IQAir air purifier, it is a great bang-for-your-buck air purifier.

An Alen A350 retails for just under $400, or even less depending on where you buy. An IQAir HealthPro will cost you $700 or less depending on where you buy.

If you are looking for a great air purifier that is quite and cost-effective, it is hard to go wrong with the Alen A350.

The IQAir HealthPro is commonly regarded as one of the best home air purifiers. Yes, it probably is one of the more expensive air purifiers, but the IQAir HealthPro is one of the best air purifier units available for people that suffer from severe allergies and need the best air filtration and cleaning available in a room air purifier unit.

HyperHEPA Filter Technology

The IQAir HealthPro air purifier models use a HyperHEPA filter that is rated to capture particles that are even smaller than the typical 0.3 micron size that a normal HEPA filter will capture. A HyperHEPA filter is rated to capture particles down a 0.003 micron size!

That is pretty amazing. 0.003 microns is even 10 times smaller than the size of a virus, so you can imagine how clean and pure this filter technology will keep the air in your home.

Very Quite

The design of the IQAir HealthPro air purifiers places the fan and motor in the center of the unit. The fan is surrounded by the filtration materials double walled housing. All of this has a combined effect to make and IQAir HealthPro quite enough to use in your bedroom while you are sleeping.

Of course, on the higher speeds you will experience some fan noise, but if you crank down the fan speeds when you need the unit to be quite the noise is reduced greatly.

Considering the powerful filtration that this unit offers, the fact that it is also so quite is great!

Five Year Warranty

This is one of the best warranties available in the world of room air purifiers. The five year warranty offered by IQAir can really only be topped by the Alen A350, which offers a lifetime warranty.

If longevity and manufacturers guarantee are important to you, you will want to definitely look into the IQAir HealthPro models of air purifiers.

Medical Grade Air Purification

What the folks over at IQAir offer is air purification that is medical grade. This is why these units are expensive, but that is also why they are so effective. This is why the IQAir air purifier models are regarded as the absolute best option for extreme allergy sufferers.

You get what you pay for, and in the case of the IQAir room air purifiers you get the best.

I’m sure many of you have seen them, the Oreck XL air purifier that is frequently advertised on TV.

The Oreck XL air purifiers are promoted as a powerful air purifier that can clean the air in your room of allergens and odors. Oreck also claims that the Oreck XL air purifier does not need any filter replacement or maintenance.

Untrue Claims About the Oreck XL

First of all, the claim that you do not need to replace any filters is just flat out not true. The Oreck XL does indeed have 4 carbon filters that need to be replaced on a regular basis. These carbon filters are what the Oreck XL uses to remove odors from the air. These little carbon filters are also expensive, often being sold for $39.95 for a 4 pack.

Also, the Oreck XL claims that it can filter bacteria and mold, and also makes a claim that it will kill harmful bacteria. This is probably true to some extent, but the Oreck XL will not capture and remove nearly as much harmful bacteria and mold from the air as a good HEPA filter.

Also, the Oreck XL needs to generate ozone to kill bacteria. The amount of ozone that is generated is so small that it really won’t make a large impact on bacteria in the air if there is any. The amounts of ozone that would be required to efficiently kill all bacteria in the air would also be harmful to humans. So basically, the claim of killing bacteria is true only to a certain small degree.

Wonky Filtering Mechanisms

The Oreck XL air purifier uses a metal grid filter to capture particles from the air. The metal grid is electronically charged, that is how it gets particles to stick to it. Sure, this will capture some particles out of the air, but as soon as particles start to build up on the filter (after only a few days in most cases) the majority of the air that is being sucked through the machine is really not being cleaned at all, since the grid has started to collect more particles than can stick to it overall.

If you clean the metal grid frequently, you will probably get some results from the Oreck XL, but once again, you will not get nearly the same air cleaning results as you would from a good air purifier that uses a HEPA filter.

The worst thing about all this is the on the advertisements the Oreck XL claims to be better than a HEPA filter, and also claims that HEPA filters are much more costly to maintain. This really isn’t the case. A HEPA filter will capture and remove organisms from the air that are 0.3 microns in size, and a HEPA filter will continue to filter and clean the air even after it starts to get dirty. When the metal grid filter in an Oreck XL begins to get dirty (after a few days) it’s effectiveness drops considerably until it is cleaned.

Conclusions

Many users of the Oreck XL may find that it does remove allergens and particles from the air. They may see that this unit does actually work to some extent, and therefore not really think that there are better options available. The truth is that pretty much any air purifier that uses and HEPA filter will pull many more times air through it and will remove many more times the particles and harmful substances from the air than an Oreck XL will.

If these Oreck XL owners had actually been using and air purifier with a HEPA filter before trying the Oreck XL air purifier they would indeed find that the Oreck XL filtration methods cannot hold a candle to a true HEPA filter.

Don’t buy into the hype on TV about the Oreck XL. Spend your money ($350 in most cases) on an air purifier that uses a true HEPA filter and do a proper job of cleaning the air inside your home. You will not regret it.