Bedroom Machine

I have two Coway Airmegas (300 and 400) and one Austin Air Bedroom Machine. They've all been running for 24 hours a day for over 5 years and have held up great. They are all easy to move around. The Coways are light and the Austin Air is heavier but has wheels. If you don't want to clean the outer filter at least monthly, don't get a Coway. If you can't deal with something that's pretty loud on the highest setting, don't get an Austin Air.

I love my Austin Air bedroom machine. It works great and is pretty low maintenance since you only change the big filter every five years.

I have the Coway Airmega and an Austin bedroom machine, and they seem to be equally good. The Austin cost significantly more.

I have an Austin bedroom machine, a Coway airmega, and a gigantic Midea dehumidifier. Austin takes up a lot of space and I wouldn't say for sure that it works better than the Coway, which was less than a fifth of the price and has a small footprint. One issue with the Coway is that it has lights on top that can't be turned off, so it's unsuitable for a bedroom.

I recommend Austin Air Systems. They are excellent, although somewhat expensive. We bought one for my mother who had COPD, and it worked great. I recommend either the Healthmate Plus or the Bedroom Machine. They have a 5 year filter and there is also a pre-filter. This system was recommended by my mother’s pulmonologist. It has been in use for almost 5 years. These systems have been used in schools and hospitals in California when they had to purify the air because of the wildfires. Go to their website to learn more. Even though rather expensive, it is worth it to get a good system that actually works. There are different machines and levels of purification, depending on one’s needs.

- US - 12x15 - 8 ft ceiling - Need dust filtration mostly. Live in an old home that has some lead we are trying to mitigate so I NEED it to be able to filter tiny lead particles. - No budget. I have a Coway air mega 400 and Austin air bedroom machine. Looking for one for my kids room. I prefer not to buy another coway because of the green filters. I’d rather not have chemical additives. The Austin air is fine and great for odors but it’s a little too loud for my toddlers room. I don’t want an ionizer either. Preferably not a smart/wifi connected device either. Please help!

I have a couple of models: Immunity Machine, Healthmate Plus, bedroom machine. There have been some reviews stating that Austins are slower at clearing a room of particulates. My main concern is VOCs and since I run 3-4 filters in each room that isn't a concern for me. Am now testing the immunity machine. Seems to do a much better job with VOCs, although final results will take a while. What is your concern with IQAair?

For VOC removal the generally recommended manufacturers are Airpura, Allerair, Austin, IQAir all of which have filters with 10 or more pounds of carbon. The AirDoctor 1000 has a relatively small Carbon filter which would have to be replaced more frequently than the others. This is reflected in the cost of the replacement filters which run \~$72 where replacements for the others run in the 100's. Doubt that it is as effective due to its small size. I use Austin and IQAir GC Multigas units. Just replaced the Austin filters with Immunity machine filters and saw significant improvement, but at the cost of \~$700 per filter. They are supposed to last 5 years. If you have to replace before that they reduce the cost. Consumer Reports (subscription required) has extensive discussions about air filters and reviews for filters without Carbon.

Austin filters for the full sized machines are interchangeable. I had a couple of healthmate Plus and bedroom machines whose filters had reached the end of their lifetimes. Replaced the old filters with immunity filters.

I have had my Austin, IQAir, Honeywell and Whirlpool machines for as much as \~20 years and have had no problems with filter replacements.