Healthmate Jr Air Purifier

You can't really compare the two. The Austin HealthMate Plus Jr. CADR isn't published, but it's believed to be about 120 CFM, lower than the Levoit 300. But it has at least 6.5 lbs of Activated Carbon, Potassium Iodide Impregnated Carbon and Zeolite. It's much more than a particle filter, it's "designed for the chemically sensitive (MCS), removing the toughest contaminants and broadest spectrum of VOCs" and is "also recommended for allergy and asthma sufferers sensitive to VOCs, or for those in high smoke, particle or gas contamination areas." As with any unit with sorbent media, you want to run it on low to maximize "dwell" time, so the CADR will be a tiny fraction of 120 CFM. The odor reduction is a function of the meaningful amounts of carbon. With the Levoit, even if you upgrade to the Levoit Core 300-P 4-Stage Smoke Remover Replacement Filters, you get a trivial amount of carbon in a mesh. The reduction in allergy symptoms would suggest that you are more allergic do things that are captured by the "Activated Carbon, Potassium Iodide Impregnated Carbon and Zeolite" rather than by the particulate/HEPA filter(s).

I love my Austin air. I have a Jr with HEPA and it’s so quiet.

I have an Austin Air Systems Healthmate and Healthmate Jr. Bought both in 1995 and each is still going strong. Filters are not cheap but they last 5 years.

I have an Austin Air Systems Healthmate and Healthmate Jr. Bought both in 1995 and each is still going strong. Filters are not cheap but they last 5 years.

tough, for odor you want strong carbon but given cats would be a particulate issue, you want strong hepa. super quiet and powerful enough to notice any improvement at under $600 may be challenging, especially with a fan that'll just add to it. I'd avoid Dyson. If you want to stick with Canadian-made, I'd consider the Airpura R414 or Airpura V414, both strong quiet models. We don't have cats but we have a homestead with many quail and chickens and live in a 150 yr old house. We have an Airpura V414 in our bedroom and throughout the years have had bats in our attic, flooding, etc, and Airpura keeps the smell and particulates to a minimum. If expanding beyond Canadian made, I'd consider Austin Healthmate JR. We have that in our nursery room, very quiet. I'd say quieter than Airpura. Austin also gives 5 yr warranty at least when we bought the unit maybe 10 yrs ago. So durable, I have 2 friends that have units from....1997!! Hopefully ours lasts that long. Best of luck mate!

I can name two! The AustinAir HEPAs are basically a big metal box with a motor. The plastic in it is the squirrel cage fan itself and maybe the speed dial cover? Same for the SmarterHEPA (outside the US Smart Air) Blast and Blast Mini models. They again are a big metal box with close to zero plastic outside the fan itself. Of course even the motor will have plastic covering the wires or things like that. And the power cord has a plastic coating so nothing these days will be 100% plastic free but these two models are very close. Also both of them are really great HEPA filters! Basically no ‘features’ to either, just a big box with a fan and a speed dial. I had the AustinAir for like 30 years running 24/7.

Second this - Austin uses minimal plastics. Just the fan blades, knob, and wires.

Austin routinely pays out on prorated filter replacement. They generally last between two and three years, and they weigh 15 pounds and are several inches thick. Unlike the filters in the shark, which are about a half an inch thick and weigh about 6 ounces.

Well, it has to do with media surface area vs. airflow. HVAC filters that are 1" go foul in a couple months in a dusty environment. But the same HVAC, same airflow, and a 6" filter? Yearly replacement. All down to surface area.

We have the Healthate too (for eight years) and have had to replace the filter once while running it 24/7. The filter is expensive, but it’s incredibly effective and obviously long lasting. The machine is also very simple, so it will last. Just a simple fan and a knob to control the speed. 

If you are looking to filter primarily VOCs I would look into the AustinAir Healthmate line. They come with 15 lbs of activated carbon filters. Most regular air purifiers don’t have that much carbon in them that you will have to replace the whole filter much more quickly to work against VOCs.

Austinair healthmate is good.

We have an Austin Air Systems Healthmate that runs 24/7/365, and has done since 1998. No lie. We only switch it off to change the filter (every five years or so).