I've had an Alen 75i, their largest model, for a year & a half and have run it continuously since day one. We like to have our windows open in mild weather, but when the smoke from the distant fires in neighboring areas moves in, we close up the house and the air purifier does its job quickly. The difference is greatly noticeable. It's also very quiet, especially on the lower settings.
Alen recommends changing the filter regularly, but I haven’t done that (they're about $100 USD). There's a pre-filter screen that traps most of the dust and pet hair, and I've managed by just vacuuming that and the paper filter. I was just looking into ordering a new filter, which is what brought me here. Hope this is helpful. Good luck in your quest!
We use an Alen 75i downstairs in main living space area and two 45i's upstairs, one in the nursery with odor filter that is surprisingly effective and the other in the master bedroom.
Not cheap upfront and filters are pricey, but they've worked well for us for about two years now and it's nice to be able to schedule them in app so they don't run at the same time as humidifiers in the winter etc.
1) Ask r/airpurifiers
2) Alen is really the only true BIFL brand because they offer a lifetime warranty for as long as you buy genuine Alen filters. Plus the filters last a long time too and they are incredibly quiet. Coway and Winix are good too just not at the level Alen is. **Avoid Dyson, blueair and Levoit. They’re junk.**
3) As for sizing, this part is important: most manufacturers advertise crazy sqft numbers (1,000sqft+ for a tiny tabletop unit) just know that most of the time this is disclaimed by stating it can filter all the air in a 1ksqft room ONE TIME per hour. If you actually want to filter your air, industry standard is FOUR times per hour.
So in reality, that 1ksqft unit is really only good for a 250sqft room **on full blast** which is usually loud.
What kind of space are you trying to purify? An Alen 45i or 75i is great for living rooms and open spaces, then A flex or 25i bedrooms would work well.
If you want to buy off the shelf: Alen 75i (or two) with their VOC filter. Should be right on budget.
Although I do believe they have commercial units as well. Check their website for commercial pricing.
I’m not going to sugar coat it. But Shark and blueair are absolute garbage. Take all CGBT product recs with a large grain of salt. And you’re going to need some serious filtration if you want to get near the ideal air changes per hour.
Living/dining: 2 Alen 75i
Loft: 1 Alen 75i
Rest of the rooms: 1 Alen 75 each
This will likely be way over your initial budget, but the filters are only $100ea and they last a year. So your running costs will be lower than anticipated.
If you’re serious about filtration target 4 ACH. The other nice things about Alen - 1) quiet as heck for the amount of air they move. 2) lifetime warranty as long as you buy genuine Alen filters.
You could also dip your toe in, focus on her bedroom and main areas she spends most of her time in. If symptoms don’t improve, expand.
Absolutely ignore the furnace filter rec too. The goal of a furnace filter is to protect the fan itself. Not to filter the air. It simply doesn’t have the CADR to do so. You’ll kill your furnace prematurely if you get anything over MERV 11 and even that’s pushing it.
Dyson in general is not known for high quality especially for the price they charge. Also their customer service is shit.
The other 3 I listed are much better options. You’ll want as much carbon in the filter as possible. Alen VOC for example.
Skip Levoit they’re Amazon junk owned by etekcity and a bunch of other Amazon-only no names.
Air doctor is great, so is Alen. IMO Alen is the only actual BIFL purifier because you get a lifetime warranty for as long as you purchase authentic Alen filters (direct or retailers - just keep the receipt). My Alen 45i and 75i are excellent and insanely quiet for the amount of air they move. I highly recommend them.
I have 6 Alens. 2 x BreatheSmart 75i, 2 x BreatheSmart, a T500, and a Paralda. I like them. They are quiet, the sensors (on the 4 bigger ones) seem to be accurate and ramp up cfm when air quality calls for it. I live in the lightning capital of the world... God's Lightning Rod, FL. I had 2 older ones that got hit and the LEDs went out. It still worked fine, it was just the little LED bulbs that didnt work. They sent me 2 new units with no hassle.
The filters are not cheap, but I am happy with how long they last and how they perform. I'd 1000% buy from them again.
I have 6 Alens. 2 x BreatheSmart 75i, 2 x BreatheSmart, a T500, and a Paralda. I like them. They are quiet, the sensors (on the 4 bigger ones) seem to be accurate and ramp up cfm when air quality calls for it. I live in the lightning capital of the world... God's Lightning Rod, FL. I had 2 older ones that got hit and the LEDs went out. It still worked fine, it was just the little LED bulbs that didnt work. They sent me 2 new units with no hassle.
The filters are not cheap, but I am happy with how long they last and how they perform. I'd 1000% buy from them again.
I have two Alen Air i75s and i35s running in my house from 10 am to 10 pm. I used to run them 24 hours a day on high, but my electric bill was too high. The air in our house was always fresh and I found the woosh noise from the air scrubbers soothing.
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