I bought one of these a few years ago, and they’re indeed pretty “great.” The reason for this, in my opinion, is the design of the unit: it draws air from the front, and ejects it from the top, at an angle. This means that you can put it relatively close to a wall, while still getting good efficiency. Many other purifiers draw air from the back (or even from all around, like those cylindrical Honeywell units; good for a centerpiece, but not so great is you want to place it in a corner.
Now I will teach you guys a trick (that you can find in many Amazon reviews anyway): prolong the life of your filters by buying cheap air conditioning carbon filters, cutting them to size, and putting them over the carbon pre-filter (they fit just fine, and in fact will make the seal around the edges of the filters even more leak-proof). This will buy your expensive pre-filters a lot of extra lifetime. Just keep in mind that the whole odor/smoke elimination works as an effect of the activated carbon/charcoal doing its magic, and that stuff does get used up over time. The filtration system is essentially just a fan drawing air through a mesh, and that in itself isn’t enough to trap tiny particles.
The PlasmaWave thing is more or less just a gimmick, and produces a noise that can get annoying if it’s otherwise quiet enough to draw attention to it. It’s almost like a dog whistle, but for humans. I tend to turn it off.
@SBouren As soon as it gets dusty enough that it might start to restrict airflow. This will depend on how dusty your environment is, so I can’t give you an exact time range.
@iwilsker I just answered my own question. It is not recommended to clean the charcoal filters, but to replace them every 3 months (unit comes wit 4 carbon filters good for a year). The HEPA filter cannot be cleaned but must be replaced annually.
Sets of 4 carbon and 1 HEPA filter are on Amazon for about $65. HEPA filters alone are about $35.
It may be more cost effective to purchase multiple units from MEH (that include all 5 filters) than to buy replacement filters alone on Amazon.
UPDATE: Third party charcoal and HEPA filter bundles containing 4 to 6 charcoal filters and a HEPA filter are available on Amazon for between $30 and $40, and an EOM filter set is available for about $43. Look at the “Customers who viewed this item also viewed” section on the Amazon page.
Seriously? A month after I buy this from
Ritz off eBay? I would have much preferred buying this here even if it had been the same price (it wasn’t. Close, but still cheaper here.)
@warpedrotors I wish our former next door neighbor had had that courtesy. (Former because we moved, not because he’s dead or anything.) He was a pot dealer (and had a small grow op in his apt.) and it stank through the walls like we were living next door to a dead skunk.
No way, man, I’ll pass. I only look for the six-stage filter systems. The extra two stages filter out the smell of ennui and despair. Which, if you’ve seen my in-laws, are hard things to get out, especially if they’ve spent a week with you.
Same as @speaker184, I got one carbon filter (which is also the prefilter?) and not 4. Haven’t tried the remote because Meh hasn’t sold batteries recently I was too lazy to go get the batteries yet.
The difference between each fan speed is very noticeable, from basically silent to HOLY SHIT TORNADO in just a few button presses. Even the difference from 1 to 2 is substantial. I do feel like this thing will clean some air. This purchase is a win. I kind of wish I’d bought more than one.
I don’t like being monitored so I’ll take a (hall) pass.
But I’m fully in the #NoFilter camp. If I think it I say it when I know I shouldn’t but can’t help it - no filter.
So when Air Quality is Low, the meter is Green (universally understood to be OK-ish) and when the Air Quality is High, the lights will be on the Red. Hmmmm.
@tinsami1 It’s counterintuitive, but it’s actually the other way around. High/Low is in relation to the amount of air junk that the sensor is detecting.
I’m in for one. Already have the high end dyson which works well but I believe this one is better. Going in the weight room. Good to breath some cleans airs when huffin and a puffin, right?
In for one. I have a…few…animals. I have one medium Honeywell air purifier near one batch of litter boxes, but I’ve been putting off getting more because they tend to be pricey as hell. Let’s see how this one does.
So I have to set my clock for middle of the night to see what goes up for sale??? Yeah west coaster here. It is now 7:00 am and this was put up for sale 9 hours ago
@troy@joebarnes INCORRECT this is a high demand item, you should come back at 3:58pm and prepare to write /buy in the comments as soon as 4:00:01pm hits
@communist Incorrect! You want to have this URL open at 3:58: Linky
Then refresh at exactly 4:00 and purchase once the item info pops up as available!
mediocrebot gets overwhelmed on high demand items, so safer to do it manually when it counts.
Got mine and I like it (for the most part) but I feel like it is lying to me about the current air quality. When you first turn it on, it does an air quality check, and then tells me that my air quality is in the orange range. After running it for a while, it seems to think everything is better and it goes to green. But if you turn it off (and unplug it) and then turn it on again, we are back to the orange range for a while.
@cainunable Got mine yesterday, and it did the orange light thing too, just like yours. Mine goes orange again though, after about 15 minutes or so. And the buttons on the front don’t work - only the remote can turn it on, adjust fan speed, etc. And I only got one carbon filter, not 4x. Neither one of those is a killer, but together, it’s kind of annoying, because as far as I can tell, the machine is doing it’s job - the air in the living room does smell and feel cleaner, like a nice hotel room lol. Gonna be calling that warranty number to see what all is involved with unit repair/replacement.
@dave This occurs after the 4 minute cycle. I turn it on, it does whatever it is doing for 4 minutes and then it goes orange and the fan comes on at a higher speed than it usually runs at.
@cainunable Right! it just seems to cycle into orange light territory every 15-20 minutes or so, regardless of what is going on in the room. Might need to put it into a closed, small room over the weekend and spy on it to see if the light still goes orange at the same frequency. Or, maybe I’m learning I live in an air quality nightmare? At any rate, I fixed the button issue I was having by taking off the front, and putting it back on again.
Did everyone get just 1 carbon filter? Or just some of us?
@speaker184 I have had mine in my office with me for the last couple of days and it really only seems to cycle to orange once or twice during that 8-10 hours.
Like you, I also only got 1 carbon filter.
I am beginning to think that the air quality monitor does work at least to a small degree though. If someone in the family farts in the same room as it, usually within a few minutes it will kick into high gear. I’m sure my son is more than willing to fully test that hypothesis.
One year (give or take) later and it’s still running well. When I first got it, only 1 replacement charcoal filter was in the box(accompanying literature said there were 2), so I contacted the company. A few days later, I had received 10 charcoal filters in the mail. Decent customer service is rare these days and much appreciated.
So how many filters were we supposed to get? I’ve been out of town for 2 weeks and just opened mine. The description now says 1x pre, carbon and hepa filter, but I don’t remember if that was the original text. Regardless, I got a thick white hepa filter and thin foam like black (carbon?) filter. Did anyone get more that?
Also the “Front” arrow and label on the hepa filter points to the back of the unit. If I put it in according to the arrow, then the pull tabs and carbon filter end up on the inside.
Although it’s nothing I want or need, at least it’s something slightly unique for Meh.
Man I was hoping for a Bluetooth speaker
@RickyMW Squint your eyes and it looks like a big-ass Bluetooth speaker.
/image vapelord
@awk so much accuracy.
@Thumperchick I was hoping it would pull up this guy:
Why only 90 days if the product has been refurbished all the way up to “Condition: New”?
/giphy (edit: it’s Refurbished)
@ellett If you don’t yet have it, this refurbished item is new to you…
It exists in both states, and not just because it both sucks and blows… air.
@ellett Oops, thanks for that. I’ve added a coupon for a $1 off to your account, code: THANKSFORTHAT
@GeckoD Schrödinger’s air filter.
Finally something worth buying.
Deal so good I almost mossed my pants.
@mfladd Wait… what?
I thought this one was a good thing?
@2many2no I just want more blame coming your way. Not even product related.
@mfladd
/giphy thank you, thank you very much
I bought one of these a few years ago, and they’re indeed pretty “great.” The reason for this, in my opinion, is the design of the unit: it draws air from the front, and ejects it from the top, at an angle. This means that you can put it relatively close to a wall, while still getting good efficiency. Many other purifiers draw air from the back (or even from all around, like those cylindrical Honeywell units; good for a centerpiece, but not so great is you want to place it in a corner.
Now I will teach you guys a trick (that you can find in many Amazon reviews anyway): prolong the life of your filters by buying cheap air conditioning carbon filters, cutting them to size, and putting them over the carbon pre-filter (they fit just fine, and in fact will make the seal around the edges of the filters even more leak-proof). This will buy your expensive pre-filters a lot of extra lifetime. Just keep in mind that the whole odor/smoke elimination works as an effect of the activated carbon/charcoal doing its magic, and that stuff does get used up over time. The filtration system is essentially just a fan drawing air through a mesh, and that in itself isn’t enough to trap tiny particles.
The PlasmaWave thing is more or less just a gimmick, and produces a noise that can get annoying if it’s otherwise quiet enough to draw attention to it. It’s almost like a dog whistle, but for humans. I tend to turn it off.
@ShotgunX How often do you recommend replacing the cheaper carbon pre-filter?
@SBouren As soon as it gets dusty enough that it might start to restrict airflow. This will depend on how dusty your environment is, so I can’t give you an exact time range.
Damn, I could use an air filter. Too bad I spent all my money at the veterinarian.
I think you’ll get a better ROI with the vet bill, @Oneroundrobb. [At least I hope so.]
@Oneroundrobb you and me both
Are replacement filters available? Can filters be cleaned and reused?
@iwilsker I just answered my own question. It is not recommended to clean the charcoal filters, but to replace them every 3 months (unit comes wit 4 carbon filters good for a year). The HEPA filter cannot be cleaned but must be replaced annually.
Sets of 4 carbon and 1 HEPA filter are on Amazon for about $65. HEPA filters alone are about $35.
It may be more cost effective to purchase multiple units from MEH (that include all 5 filters) than to buy replacement filters alone on Amazon.
UPDATE: Third party charcoal and HEPA filter bundles containing 4 to 6 charcoal filters and a HEPA filter are available on Amazon for between $30 and $40, and an EOM filter set is available for about $43. Look at the “Customers who viewed this item also viewed” section on the Amazon page.
Seriously? A month after I buy this from
Ritz off eBay? I would have much preferred buying this here even if it had been the same price (it wasn’t. Close, but still cheaper here.)
Good news is we like it I guess…
Why is Colorado buying so many
Hmmmmm.
Cleaner air huh…
@CrossIT So they can smoke their legal weed without mom being able to smell it in the next room.
@warpedrotors I wish our former next door neighbor had had that courtesy. (Former because we moved, not because he’s dead or anything.) He was a pot dealer (and had a small grow op in his apt.) and it stank through the walls like we were living next door to a dead skunk.
I think the pet owners meant piss not moss and were autocorrect ed
Going to moss me off if this thing breaks after 90 days.
Different kevin
@Kevin Hi!!!
/youtube fuck you kevin
That never gets old!
No way, man, I’ll pass. I only look for the six-stage filter systems. The extra two stages filter out the smell of ennui and despair. Which, if you’ve seen my in-laws, are hard things to get out, especially if they’ve spent a week with you.
/giphy shitter’s full Clark
What the hell is that thing?
/giphy gone wrong
Will this clean air from the particles produced from a 3d printer?
@rileyper My guess is yes, because I estimate those particles to be larger than various allergens.
/giphy refurbished
wew! intense!
I was looking into buying one of these! Now I don’t gotta.
In for one, I feel like I could smoke some jerky in my driveway in spokane right now.
The air sensor on these is powerful enough to pick up a fart from half a room away. They work really well.
but it was not refurbished to condition new…and plasmic!
Same as @speaker184, I got one carbon filter (which is also the prefilter?) and not 4. Haven’t tried the remote because
Meh hasn’t sold batteries recentlyI was too lazy to go get the batteries yet.The difference between each fan speed is very noticeable, from basically silent to HOLY SHIT TORNADO in just a few button presses. Even the difference from 1 to 2 is substantial. I do feel like this thing will clean some air. This purchase is a win. I kind of wish I’d bought more than one.
Two days of refurbished deals. Did I type Woot.com by accident?
In for 1. Hope it works.
I don’t like being monitored so I’ll take a (hall) pass.
But I’m fully in the #NoFilter camp. If I think it I say it when I know I shouldn’t but can’t help it - no filter.
So when Air Quality is Low, the meter is Green (universally understood to be OK-ish) and when the Air Quality is High, the lights will be on the Red. Hmmmm.
@tinsami1 It’s counterintuitive, but it’s actually the other way around. High/Low is in relation to the amount of air junk that the sensor is detecting.
I’m in for one. Already have the high end dyson which works well but I believe this one is better. Going in the weight room. Good to breath some cleans airs when huffin and a puffin, right?
Can this also work as a fan, or is it just low speed?
I’d be interested if I didn’t already have several of these I found on clearance for around $50 each. One of my better finds in the last few years.
In for one. I have a…few…animals. I have one medium Honeywell air purifier near one batch of litter boxes, but I’ve been putting off getting more because they tend to be pricey as hell. Let’s see how this one does.
So I have to set my clock for middle of the night to see what goes up for sale??? Yeah west coaster here. It is now 7:00 am and this was put up for sale 9 hours ago
@joebarnes 9pm is the middle of the night? It’s at midnight here. Only east coasters get to whine.
/giphy no whining
@joebarnes You’re a VMP, so come back at 4pm EST and snag ya one!
I don’t even want it, but I’m going to try to buy just so he doesn’t get one. Hope you’re fast, Joe Joe.
@troy @joebarnes INCORRECT this is a high demand item, you should come back at 3:58pm and prepare to write /buy in the comments as soon as 4:00:01pm hits
@communist Incorrect! You want to have this URL open at 3:58:
Linky
Then refresh at exactly 4:00 and purchase once the item info pops up as available!
mediocrebot gets overwhelmed on high demand items, so safer to do it manually when it counts.
@medz “so safer to do it manually when it counts”
indeed
@troy @shawn @dave how many seconds did it take for the VMP 17 to sell out?
Came back at 4pm for VMP stock, tried to buy, already sold out. Boo
@aliby Whew! Good! I was on the fence, now I can save my $74 for something else.
Got mine and I like it (for the most part) but I feel like it is lying to me about the current air quality. When you first turn it on, it does an air quality check, and then tells me that my air quality is in the orange range. After running it for a while, it seems to think everything is better and it goes to green. But if you turn it off (and unplug it) and then turn it on again, we are back to the orange range for a while.
@cainunable Got mine yesterday, and it did the orange light thing too, just like yours. Mine goes orange again though, after about 15 minutes or so. And the buttons on the front don’t work - only the remote can turn it on, adjust fan speed, etc. And I only got one carbon filter, not 4x. Neither one of those is a killer, but together, it’s kind of annoying, because as far as I can tell, the machine is doing it’s job - the air in the living room does smell and feel cleaner, like a nice hotel room lol. Gonna be calling that warranty number to see what all is involved with unit repair/replacement.
@cainunable From a Winix manual:
It’s my thought from that excerpt that it runs in “air might be dirty” mode for 4 minutes in order to actually get a true gauge of the air quality.
(Note - that manual might not be from exactly the same model of Winix, but I think they’re similar.)
@dave This occurs after the 4 minute cycle. I turn it on, it does whatever it is doing for 4 minutes and then it goes orange and the fan comes on at a higher speed than it usually runs at.
@cainunable Right! it just seems to cycle into orange light territory every 15-20 minutes or so, regardless of what is going on in the room. Might need to put it into a closed, small room over the weekend and spy on it to see if the light still goes orange at the same frequency. Or, maybe I’m learning I live in an air quality nightmare? At any rate, I fixed the button issue I was having by taking off the front, and putting it back on again.
Did everyone get just 1 carbon filter? Or just some of us?
@speaker184 I have had mine in my office with me for the last couple of days and it really only seems to cycle to orange once or twice during that 8-10 hours.
Like you, I also only got 1 carbon filter.
I am beginning to think that the air quality monitor does work at least to a small degree though. If someone in the family farts in the same room as it, usually within a few minutes it will kick into high gear. I’m sure my son is more than willing to fully test that hypothesis.
One year (give or take) later and it’s still running well. When I first got it, only 1 replacement charcoal filter was in the box(accompanying literature said there were 2), so I contacted the company. A few days later, I had received 10 charcoal filters in the mail. Decent customer service is rare these days and much appreciated.
Specs
What’s in the Box?
1x Air Purifier
1x Pre-filter
1x Carbon Filters
1x True HEPA filter
Pictures
Filter
Filter
Filter
Filter?
Filter
Price Comparison
$239.99 List, $178.95 at Amazon
Warranty
90 Day Refurbisher (call 847 845 6797 for assistance)
Estimated Delivery
Monday, July 13th - Thursday, July 16th
/buy
@SkyyPunk We’re sold out except for a small amount we set aside for existing VMP members to be released at 4pm ET.
Tried to filter but cootie not
So how many filters were we supposed to get? I’ve been out of town for 2 weeks and just opened mine. The description now says 1x pre, carbon and hepa filter, but I don’t remember if that was the original text. Regardless, I got a thick white hepa filter and thin foam like black (carbon?) filter. Did anyone get more that?
Also the “Front” arrow and label on the hepa filter points to the back of the unit. If I put it in according to the arrow, then the pull tabs and carbon filter end up on the inside.
KuoH
@kuoh The specs did say 4x carbon filters (now it says 1x carbon filters, actually… The S stuck around). I believe the carbon filter is the prefilter.
I found the same thing. It says front but the arrow indicates the direction of airflow. It’d be much clearer if the label said flow.
Did it say 4 prior? I could sworn it did, but I don’t have a picture or anything to corroborate that.
I’ve been running it for 2 weeks and the change-filter light has already come on, which is kind of annoying.
Anyone know where to get replacement filters for this?