Not all Air Purifiers are Created Equal
The term “buyer beware” is especially important when it comes to choosing an air purifier. Although you may see air purifiers on the shelves at your local hardware or department store selling for $100-$200, or those advertised through slick television infomercials, there are significant differences between those units and the high-quality Austin Air, Blueair, AllerAir and IQAir air purifiers that we sell.
| Substandard brands and low-cost units… | The high-quality air purifiers we sell… |
|---|---|
| May have under-powered motors (or none at all) that fail to move large enough quantities of air to properly clean a room | Have powerful motors capable of performing 6 to 8 complete air exchanges per hour to fully clean the entire room |
| May have inferior designs that allow contaminated air entering the unit to bypass the filter system and return into the room without being cleaned | Have properly sealed and gasketed air filtration systems to ensure that air entering the unit passes through the filters and is thoroughly cleaned |
| Usually lack a pre-filter, resulting in more frequent changes of the expensive HEPA filter and carbon material due to clogging | Include a pre-filter to extend the life of the HEPA filter and carbon material or have main filters that are reasonably priced |
| May contain filters labelled as “HEPA-type,” “HEPA-like” or “99% HEPA,” which do not meet the industry standard and are less effective at removing particles | Have true medical-grade HEPA filters or combined technology HEPA filtration that meet, or often exceed, the industry standard of removing 99.97% of particles down to 0.3 microns* |
| May contain such a small amount of carbon (sometimes only a few ounces sprayed onto a mesh filter), that it could be depleted in weeks | Contain some of the largest amounts of activated carbon on the market, making them extremely effective against airborne gases, chemicals and odours for up to 5 years without having to replace the filter |
| May contain substandard components that compromise product quality and reliability | Are built from high-grade components to offer exceptional reliability and satisfaction for many years |
| Can generate toxic off-gassing due to their low-grade plastic housings and inferior components | Do not off-gas because they have all-metal housings with powder-coated finishes, or are made from ABS plastic that is ultraviolet-stabilized and contains no halogen or heavy metals |
| Can produce ozone, a known lung irritant and asthma trigger (e.g., negative ion, electrostatic units and ozone generators) | Do not emit any ozone – in fact, our air purifiers actually reduce the amount of ozone in the indoor air |
| May offer little or no protection from chemically-reactive gases and dangerous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) | Offer a combination of HEPA filtration and activated carbon to remove the broadest range of airborne contaminants, with many units having enhanced or impregnated carbon to adsorb harmful gases and VOCs like formaldehyde and benzene |
| Generally cannot be customized to handle specific concerns | Can often be customized with special activated carbon blends, germicidal UVC lamps, tar-trap filters, additional coarse dust pre-filters or source-capture attachments to better handle specific air quality issues |
| May have higher operating costs over the life of the unit due to more frequent filter changes and greater power consumption | Have lower operating costs as the filters need to be changed less often and the units consume less power |
| Require replacement filters or other accessories that may be difficult to find or are no longer available due to frequent model changes and discontinuations | Have been made for years, with all replacement filters and accessories available through our company |
| Have poor warranties resulting in costly repairs or being forced to purchase a replacement unit after only a short period of time | Come with some of the best warranties in the business, ranging from 5 to 10 years for most models |
*Excludes certain air purifiers designed specifically to capture gaseous contaminants rather than particles
The above factors can result in drastically reduced air cleaning efficiency, serious health risks, or simple frustration. In some cases, a substandard air purifier may become ineffective after only a short period of operation. Perhaps most important is the fact that many lower-priced air purifiers simply don’t clean the air!
If you are serious about improving your overall indoor air quality or are buying a unit for a specific purpose (e.g., to help control tobacco smoke or alleviate allergy symptoms), we here at Modern Alchemy Air Purifiers strongly urge you to invest in a high-quality unit and to learn all the facts before making a purchase.
“The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of
paying a low price is gone”
