IQAir HealthPro HEPA Air Purifier

OVERVIEW: Many consider the IQAIR Healthpro Air Purifier to be the Cadillac of Air Purifiers (of course given the problems with GM it may not be the best reference). It has a list of awards and good reviews across the board. It is also the most expensive model in the industry for home use which means that the online air purifier dealers promote (and push) the unit because it offers the most profit. But it begs the question: Is it really worth $899?

Pro's

1 - Best HEPA around for particle removal

2 - Solid construction

3 - Good customer service

4 - 5 Year Warranty

Con's

1 - Expensive Cost

2 - Expensive Filters

3 - Louder than average brush-type Fan motor

4 - Does not help much with Viruses, germs, Bacteria, Mold, Mildew

(from top-air-purifier-reviews.org review site)

Conclusion
The 3 stages of purification are very well done (HEPA, Carbon, Pre-filter) although it excludes many technologies that can kill germs, bacteria, mold, viruses, etc. It’s HEPA filter is one of the largest you'll find – however it is also one of the most expensive to replace. It will cost you to run this unit.

There are two conditions by which I recommend the HealthPro and that is; 1) you have a serious lung condition and 2) money is no object. With serious lung conditions you don't want to play around with less expensive models - even if they can do 80% of what IQAIR can do for 1/3 the price. But you will end up paying $340-500 a year to maintain this air purifier.

If you have mild to moderate allergies, or simply want cleaner, healthier air, then I would recommend you buy 2 air purifiers with more technology (UV, negative ions, etc.) that can also handle germs, bacteria, viruses, etc. for the same (or less) money than 1 IQAIR Purifier. It is a great air purifier, but you're paying top dollar for something that is Swiss made. nothing against the Swiss - it's just that the labor costs are more, and some of the technology is a bit outdated (ie: "brush motor")

Go into debt to get one of these... my hubby has had over a decade of allergy issues-environmental (pollen, dust mites and woodsmoke particulate amongst others) and odor sensitivity... The allergies caused eye issues that were possibly permanently damaging, and impaired him a great deal. And were getting progressively worse.

We plugged this in upon unpacking and cranked it, even the other end of the house the air 'changed' within a few minutes. He is a brand new man after two and a half hours.

We have had other 'hepa' filters before (and were replacing filters three times as often as suggested, and the filter set was as much as buying a new unit!), monthly replacement of 1900 rated hepa furnace filters, I even purchased a D17 vacuum to help remove dustmites and dust allergens from the environment (house). The vacuum did help, but the allergies still raged. With the expected cost of filters over the next five years, the cost of the unit; the cost of electricity to run it; it is still worth that initial outlay. Don't scrimp, find out how good it can be.

It was taller than I expected, but footprint is fairly compact. The casters are a little difficult to snap into the bottom frames-I had issues but my hubby did not. The handle on top is NOT an engineer's joke about 'portable'. It lists at more weight to ship than it really is, even in the double boxing and other packaging. Once freed of packing and adding the casters, plug and play.

Setting #1, had to put ear by the vents to hear if it was running, 2&3 are still pretty quiet; 4 is not bad. 5 is kind of noisy (box fan) and 6 is noisy (box fan on high and sitting in front of it).

It killed every musty and off odor for about 20 feet away, that we can tell. Our house is about 20% larger than the rated capacity for the unit but it is causing a 'feelable' difference at the other end of the house (45 linear feet)

We will be getting another in a few months, to 'overlap' the coverage and in case one develops issues and needs servicing. If you have allergies or asthma ask your doctor if you can get help with a prescription-our doctor said he could but the deductable came out to more than the unit price.

This 'cadillac' of air cleaners/filters is well worth the investment, compared to the last four predecessors that could only handle one room, ate filters, and even with top of the line hepa furnace filters could only offer a little relief. You'll be glad you purchased this one!

IQAir is a very highly rated Swiss air filtration system.
The product and all the replacement filter are very over priced.
There is a timing system that tells you when to change your filters.
If your air is pretty clean, it does not need to be changed as frequently.

I bought this air filter a few months ago when my Oreck filter started making loud noises. This filter is way better. After doing research online, I found that this is the air filter (or, brand of air filter) that people who have major allergies choose. I am glad I did. The filter is loud (on the higher settings), but there is a programming feature so I have it on lower settings while we are home and the higher setting while we are away. I would recommend this filter to anyone with allergies.

Expensive ? Yes. Does it work? Extremely well. I can't compare as this is my first (and will likely be my only) air purifier, but I cannot imagine not having one of these units in my home. The ONLY downside is that it's expensive dollar-wise, but value-wise ... I have no complaint what-so-ever.