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Hamilton Beach TrueAir 04381 Allergen Reducer Air Cleaner

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Aei...@annamae.com

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May 22, 2009, 12:27:36 AM5/22/09

Price:$79.99
Image: http:///image.php?id=B00008R9PG
Best deal: http:///index.php?id=B00008R9PG

I've been using this for 3 nights now and just this morning realized that I am waking up not congested or stuffy in the morning. What a change especially during hay fever season! Hope it helps my niece when she visits in a few weeks, she is allergic to cats (so am I but I'm used to ours). Found filters online at filters-now.com, they make a replacement that fits this machine for about $13 each, flat rate shipping of $8 so I will order several replacements at once.
I purchased this model in January 2009 for my son's bedroom. He is plagued by both indoor and outdoor allergies, which if not kept in check, result in asthma flare-ups. We turn on the TrueAir 04381 in the evening when we return from work and run it in his room with the door and windows closed until he goes to bed. It takes up very little space on my son's open book shelf. We keep it at medium speed until he is ready for bed and then turn it down to slow while he falls asleep. On medium it is noticibly loud, but not horrible. On slow speed, it is white noise and barely heard. I think it has helped keep down the level of allergens in his room. Our home, with forced air heat, tends to get very dusty, but his room has been less dusty than usual since we began using this product. Spring allergy season has just begun, but I am hoping this little gem will get us through with less asthma flare-ups than we had last year. My husband thinks the bedroom actually smells fresher after the machine has been running for awhile. I don't notice that, but I do notice that my son has been sleeping very well, and his symptoms seem less severe so far this season. Only one BIG problem, both the model AND the filters for this model have been discontinued by the manufacturer! I contacted Hamilton Beach and told them exactly how ridiculous I thought it was for them not to continue offering the filter replacements for a period of time. If I had paid more for the unit, I would be furious. As it is, I am just really disappointed.
Don't get me wrong, this item is a great help (i've had it for 2 yrs now). BUT.....it is discontinued, and so are the filters. I now had to buy another air purifier. This time I bought one with no replaceable air filter so that this problem won't happen again!
4 stars if you don't mind using a filter for 1-2 years, 1 star if you want to change the filter every 4 months as "recommended". Since my room is not that dusty, I will use a filter for up to 2 years--at a cost of reduce air flow (maybe 10-30% less air flow) and perhaps reduced cleaning. From my experience and research on using air filter for my furnace, if anything the dust removal capability improves upon usage--but the airflow decreases so that you need to change the filter. I have 2 of these air cleaner--one for my bedroom (occasionally moved to the den also) and one for my office, and my nose is much less stuffy than before. So far, I've used it for 6 months and it's still working well. I don't intend to open my windows much so that dust will not get in. Even though I managed to buy one spare filter, nowadays filters are hard to get and cost (with shipping) almost as much as the air cleaner itself--hope someone come out with replacement filter soon--but the demand is probably not there.
We bought five of these air cleaners for our office; however, when I contacted Hamilton Beach for replacement filters, I was told they don't manufacture them anymore. They did give me an alternate supplier. When I contacted that supplier, I was told the filters are no longer available from the manufacturer and they did not know of any substitute that could be used. We liked the air cleaners but sent them back because they would have eventually been useless without the filters.
True-Air Compact Allergen reducer Air cleaner , featuring 3M Filtrete allergen reducer filter. Effective at capturing dust, dust mite debris, mold, pollen, smoke & pet dander. Has 3 speed control for low, medium, high setting. Low cost filter replacement. Filter lasts up to 120 days . For room sizes up to 210 square feet.