Austin Air - HealthMate

Austin air health mate. I’ve tried so many, they’re all too loud to run on a setting that makes a difference. The Austin air can be run on low and it’s barely noticeable and the air smells like nothing. It’s wonderful. Filter lasts 5 years, reliable company, and comes in white black and blue. The black is nice because if it has to be by itself in room, it doesn’t really draw attention to it like a bit white machine does. Really happy with mine. Also it’s just one dial on it, which idk about your mom but if I think about my mom, the less “tech” the better.

Absolutely. The 15 lbs (!!) of carbon in the Austin air makes a world of a difference. Everything else is laughable

Austin Air Healthmate. More up front, but you only replace the filter insert once every 5 years or so. Just vacuum dust off the outside now and then. Friends have one still going strong some 20 years later. It is absolutely astonishing at removing things like smoke and odors from the air. Nothing else compares. One unit would likely cover most of your apartment. They are also on casters, so you can easily move it between rooms. [https://austinair.com/](https://austinair.com/)

**Look at the Medify MA-112** 1. Austin Air HealthMate over the newer IQAir ***GC series***, because the Austin has lengthier and affordable filter replacement timeframes and cost. And the Austin also adds zeolite to aid in gas/odor filtration. See this comparison video between the two: [https://youtu.be/oKlkgxHbA\_o?f](https://youtu.be/oKlkgxHbA_o?f) Contrarian comparison (and decent channel): [https://youtu.be/YbsvedBljlY?feature=shared](https://youtu.be/YbsvedBljlY?feature=shared) There's the newer Austin Air HealthMate Plus, but I don't know how much activated carbon this newer version contains. Customer service for IQAir in the U.S. seems non-existent. Note that the air flow, referred to as clean air delivery rate (CADR) isn't great for either the Austins or IQAirs--they range from 250 to 300. Great filtration, but air flow is key. 2. Also look at the new IQAir - Atem X, which is AHAM-certified at 415 --much higher than the other IQAirs and the HealthMate. [https://www.ahamdir.com/room-air-cleaners/](https://www.ahamdir.com/room-air-cleaners/) 3. I highly recommend looking at the Medify MA-112, which has one of the highest (if not the highest) CADRs (\~600) on the market--twice that of the Austins and the IQAirs--and is known to be quiet for its size. It's also on the AHAM certification list.

I use the Austin Air HealthMate, which is great but a little expensive. It's also useful when cleaning since a lot of allergens can get released into the air. https://austinair.com/shop/healthmate/ Dust mites are by far the worst allergen and a root cause of all the others, but it sounds like you may already be aware of this :) If you're interested, I wrote a guide about how to get rid of them (basically completely) in your space ( https://dustmiteguide.com ) I cured my own asthma using this approach, life is so much better now.

Austin Air Healthmate. Not cheap (starts over $500, multiple sizes) but it’s made of metal, doesn’t have unnecessary features that can break, and the filter lasts for years. They make filters that can also filter VOCs and gasses. Made in USA too if you care about that. My family has used them for years and they’re fantastic.

Thanks for the resource! I just checked for my purifier, the [Austin Air HealthMate](https://housefresh.com/austin-air-healthmate/), which I've been running for 14 months in a small city apartment. It's interesting to see their verdict. I'd agree the price point is a bit high and I guess it could be quieter, but I like the results for the space I have. I don't do any testing, but the air smells very fresh and I feel it has helped me.

Have you looked into used medical grade units (the ones listed in the pinned post as containing sorbent media)? I was able to get an Austin Air Healthmate off Marketplace for under $200 USD. There are some on ebay too. The replacement filter is $315 USD but it lasts 5 yrs so it might actually be less expensive in the long run compared to others.

Virtual hug. I love cats, my wife is a Veterinarian, we have cats, and I’m allergic. May I ask where the litter box is? Is it in the primary bedroom or a common area? How big is the room that it is in? Is the concern mostly from urine smell or poop smell? My wife may have some suggestions beyond air purifiers for you. Real talk from someone who has spent over $50k on air purifiers (not because of cats, because of my wife’s health problems) and performed my own CADR and VOC/odor reduction testing using very expensive equipment…. Do you know how many of those brands publish [Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR)](https://itsairborne.com/clean-air-delivery-rate-is-all-that-matters-5a5a064c211e) numbers or have ever been independently tested for performance? None (to my knowledge). Try searching for CADR. And read this: https://www.reddit.com/r/AirPurifiers/comments/107z9e3/austin_air_purifiers/ That being said, if odors are your primary or only concern, you may have to forgo knowing the CADR rating and purchase based on cost, noise level, ease of maintenance, and quantity (pounds) of carbon/charcoal, as all of the units with lots of carbon don’t publish CADR numbers because the Carbon lowers the CADR. Unfortunately all of these are very legacy designs, built out of welded sheet metal in small workshops, and maintenance is a pain and a half. Usually requiring flipping the heavy beasts upside down and removing screws. My wife and I have cut ourselves on the sheet metal before. They are all loud on high and not as effective on low. CleanAirStars.com lists the CADR and noise for one of the units you mentioned, the AustinAir HealthMate Plus. As expected, the CADR drops dramatically as you lower the fan speed (and doesn’t start very high to begin with). Austin Air HealthMate HM400 - High Setting 154 CFM @ 62 dB Austin Air HealthMate HM400 - Medium Setting 77 CFM @ 52 dB Austin Air HealthMate HM400 - Low Setting 36 CFM @ 40 dB Only the last noise level is considered quiet enough for bedrooms, but 36 CFM is only two air changes per hour in a 12’x12’x8’ bedroom. Whatever unit you choose, don’t get H14 (Super HEPA) or U15 (Ultra HEPA/ULPA). They reduce airflow ever more and are counter-productive in a residential setting even for extreme allergy sufferers. Stick with H13 (or even lower, although units with high carbon mass rarely use E10 through E12 filters because their customers tend to buy based on marketing claims, not objective metrics). If you don’t mind the size (mostly height, not footprint) a great option is the SmarterHEPA Smart Air Blast. I own two. https://www.smarterhepa.com/collections/air-purifiers/products/smart-air-blast?variant=41124916592824 https://www.smarterhepa.com/collections/air-filters/products/blast-carbon-filter The charcoal filter is easy to replace, no mess, and can be replaced independently of the H13 filter. Yes, it has less charcoal (50 oz, or 3 lbs 2 oz) but the surface area of the carbon filter is nearly 1,000 square inches and the noise level on high is only 43 dB and this unit maxes out what official CADR testing can measure. Independent testing using a modified CADR protocol shows it’s likely over 1,000 CFM CADR on high. My own testing corroborates this. But the manufacturer is transparent and explains why they don’t publish those unofficial numbers: https://smartairfilters.com/learn/smart-air-knowledge-base/purifier-cadr-800m3-450cfm-measure-reliable/

I think it was something inherent to what they put in their Plus filters. I ended up replacing it with a regular Healthmate filter as Austin advised it would last longer

The age of the home means zero. Same with pets. Same with kids. Same with allergies. Same with runny nose. The only metric that matters is square footage. You should look into 4 Austin Air HealthMate HM400 units though you might be able to squeeze by with 3 of them. These have a 5 year warranty, are made in 'Merica and only need filters every 5 years.

The very best one is a PM1 unit. You will have to have a commercial contractor come out and give you a personalized quotation. And once you find out the price, you will likely back off your price doesn't matter bravado as the unit will cost as much as your car. You are not asking a BIFL question, so quit trying to shoehorn it as such. An air purifier is purchased based on sq ft of use and since we don't know if you want a room or whole house done, zero people here can give you advice worth a damn. Austin Air is the hive mind BIFL unit and is a PM 2.5 AKA HEPA unit. A HEPA unit is a HEPA unit, but Austin's killer warranty and filter period puts it in the top spot.

So 360 sq ft for living room and 180 sq ft for bedroom. Austin Air HealthMate for living room. Austin Air HealthMate Jr for bedroom.

Austin is what my doctor recommended for mold allergies.

Replacing filters is the expensive part.  If you dont mind the white noise of a fan running i suggest you buy Austin healthmate.  Or 2 juniors… The main filter lasts 5 years. Outer filter is cheap and can be vacuumed Other brands keep you shelling out constantly 

Pricey but Austin Air are amazing. I have a regular size and a Jr

Austin Healthmate - anything by them really

I'd you want high activite carbon filters I like the Austin Air HealthMate. It's expensive and loud but it does a good job from what I can tell. The reality is that the vast majority of what you want to filter is particulates (PM). That can be done with much smaller/cheeper filters. For that I like Coway filters.

I don't know what "medical grade" filtration is even supposed to mean. For cigarette smoke and doors you need a HEPA filter that also has a lot of active carbon. That means pounds of action carbon not the thin filters you normally see. The only consumer filter I am aware of that has that is the Austin Air HealthMate. It's bigger, louder, and uses more power than some of the options you list, but it should make an actual dent in VOCs unlike many of the ones you listed. As for your list, the Coway is excellent, I have several - but it focuses on particulates (like all of the filters I recognize from your list) not VOCs and odors.

So here's the thing - Austin sells a purifier with 15lbs. of carbon. They estimate that will last 5 years of "moderate use". This means that the amount of carbon needed to remove VOC/odor from the air part-time is 3lbs. per year by Austin's estimation. Many people think that isn't enough. Airpura has 26lbs. and Allerair also has more than 20. IQAir has 5-6lbs. and expects that to last 2 years - again of moderate use not continuous. So if you have a moderate smell and run the purifier a couple hours a day... you might get the 5 years from an Austin. But without 15lbs. of carbon, you don't get the airflow-over-volume that you would need, that's the other problem. Adsorption requires slow air flow over a large volume of carbon, the opposite of what budget air purifiers provide.

Austin Air - it’s a tank and made in USA. No fancy controls . Heavy metal frame big fan. Filters last 5 years. Some of their filters can filter chemicals.

I ended up getting an expensive Austin air purifier appropriate for medical use because all the cheaper brands i looked at intentionally or accidentally produce ozone, which is not healthy to breathe.

I personally use Austin Air. I like the chunk filters they use that last a very long time. Think like 5 years between replacements. I also have a 5 inch thick HVAC filter that I run MERV 13 filters on. The pressure drop on a 5 inch filter is minimal as long as you replace them every 6 months to a year.

I have 3 of these because I have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome & they have helped so much.

Austin Air makes good ones.

[Austin Air, Coway, and Dyson](https://www.august.build/collections/purifiers) are all solid. Some on here might argue with Dyson, but I have had great experiences with mine for years.

Austin Air is what I use in my home now. I own a. Filtration business, and I've tried about 9 different types in my own home over the past 3 years - this is far and away my favorite. The second best would be the BlueAir systems.

Austin air. You won’t find a better air purifier. They make surgical room purifiers. This is their consumer versions. Even removes Covid from the air.

I really recommend checking out Facebook marketplace if you live in a big city. Many air purifiers are just metal fans with a filter on them, so you can buy the shell for cheap and then splurge on the filter. I recently did just that with an airaustin air purifier!

An Austin Air and a Coway Airmega 400 are designed for somewhat different uses. Do you want to filter particulates (dander, pollen, PM2.5, smoke particles, etc.), gases/vapors (VOCs, odors, etc.), or both? If you have high levels of both particulates *and* gases/vapors, you really need *two* different types of air purifiers. While there's some particulates filtration, an **Austin Air**—alongside other sorbent media purifier brands like Airpura, AllerAir, or something from IQAir's GC/GCX series—runs at lower airflows and CADRs because of the amount of activated carbon or zeolite. You need to design for ["dwell time" or "residence time"](https://www.emcelfilters.co.uk/carbon-filters-frequently-asked-questions/) for better gaseous removal efficiencies. Sorbent media purifiers are also loud, expensive, and require relative humidity below 60% to present water vapor from being adsorbed. The Austin Air isn't the best choice for reducing particulates in a large room. An FYI up front: air purifiers aren't very good for reducing pet hair or visible dust. Both of these particulates are relatively large and heavy compared to something like PM2.5. Therefore unless either visible dust or hair is very close to the air purifier, both will fall and collect on surfaces. A [DIY Corsi-Rosenthal box](https://engineering.ucdavis.edu/news/science-action-how-build-corsi-rosenthal-box) could give you improved CADR for larger particulates, but some people don't like the homemade look, the noise, or the required floorspace needed. Vacuuming and dusting are still the best methods for controlling pet hair. # Some Calculations The rule of thumb for CADRs is that they should be *at minimum* 2/3 of your room's area. This assumes an 8 feet high ceiling. To figure out CADRs using volume, you need to do a little more arithmetic. Calculate your room's volume. 12 ft. width × 15 ft. length × 18 ft. ceiling = 3,240 cubic feet Then... 3,240 cubic feet ÷ 8 ft. = 405 sq. ft. Finally, 405 sq. ft. ÷ 1.5 = 270 CFM (CADR) **270 CFM is the absolute minimum needed for CADRs.** The **Coway Airmega 400** will be underpowered if you have to filter wildfire smoke. The [Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) recommend a smoke CADR equal to your room's area for wildfire smoke](https://ahamverifide.org/ahams-air-filtration-standards/). Again, room area in this instance assumes a 8 feet high ceiling. In your case, you would need a **smoke CADR of 405 CFM**. 3,240 cubic feet of room's volume ÷ 8 ft. = 405 sq. ft. 405 sq. ft. = 405 smoke CADR for wildfires # Other Considerations In this subreddit, we generally recommend oversizing an air purifier or using multiple air purifiers in a given space. This means you get more clean air faster. With multiple air purifiers, you can increase air circulation. Oversizing is also recommended where higher levels of pollution are persistent. Another issue is sound or noise levels. Despite the specifications, many air purifiers tend to be quite loud on high. Many people don't like the highest setting, but lower settings have lower cleaning performance. Most CADRs are given only on the highest setting. Therefore, oversizing a quiet purifier can make more sense. Or you can buy multiple and run them on the quieter, lower settings. If you do buy one larger or multiple purifiers, be sure to check the power consumption values. Some units are more efficient than others. If your budget allows and you have the floorspace for a dual intake unit, the **Coway Airmega ProX** has high CADRs and would be great for wildfire smoke events. Its sound rating is 23 - 46 dB(A); I don't know how closely sound performance matches the specs. While it's expensive, I've seen prices as low as $619.00 during special Coway sales events. Link: [https://cowaymega.com/products/airmega-prox](https://cowaymega.com/products/airmega-prox)

Austin Air air and other similar air cleaners that are made of metal, not plastic, is an indication that these companies are designed for the most discerning customer. Plastic and glues off-gas VOCs so they are counter productive to removing VOCs. The Austin Air and other serious air cleaners have multiple pounds of activated carbon in their filter, not several ounces that last for a few weeks if the VOC off-gas from the plastic filter housing didn't use up half of it while it sat on a boat from China. The Austin Air has a HEPA filter integrated into the filter cartridge that also includes the activated carbon. Austin Air, E.L. Foust and a few others are next level air cleaners. Did you ever wonder why that HEPA air cleaner didn't take out those fumes or odors? It's because it had a tiny pre-filter impregnated with a few ounces of activated carbon that got used up in a couple weeks.