Austin Air - Healthmate Plus

I use Austin Air. I did a lot of research and went with the Healthmate Plus. (I have the full size for my main floor and a junior one for each bedroom.) It’s got two kinds of filters: medical grade HEPA and it’s got like 15lbs of carbon… the most carbon of any filter on the market. I wanted something with a good carbon filter because that’s what traps VOCs. (If you’ve painted or done work on your house, have new furniture, use your fireplace, or have neighbors that have a ton of outdoor fires like I do, or are affected by wildfires, you want more than HEPA.) It also is made of steel and powder coated for coloring, so no plastics and paints to off-gas and make more VOCs. And made in the US. They’re not cheap, but totally worth the money. The filter can be good up to 5 years, depending on how much it’s filtering. Cheaper brands usually have to have frequent filter changes, which adds up quickly. I’d rather pay the money up front for a good machine and not have to worry about it. Oh and they don’t produce ozone, which some others do. Definitely check to make sure whatever you get doesn’t use electronic or ionizing technology to filter. Edit to add… I reread your post again after I commented. How I know it works? It can last up to five years in normal conditions… Mine saturated in about 9-12 months. I do not fault the air purifier at all, that just tells me it did its job. We had just moved into an older house that had some updating, and new furniture, and our neighbors light a lot of fires. This was also during the Canada fires when it was coming down the US coast and making our air quality over 400. It was kind of a bummer to buy a new filter for it (they give discounts if you need to get one before 5 years) but it was nice knowing it did its job and kept us from all of those toxins.

😂 I totally understand! I did the same thing. I spent so much time looking and kept going back to Austin. I ended up ordering the main one directly from them. At the time they had a discount code and I think I got $100 off (Healthmate Plus is $800, I think.), but not sure how often they do sales. When I got the juniors I did some shopping around because they didn’t have a code then, ended up finding a site called Natural Linens that is a distributor and was having a 20% off site sale, so I got them for $488, originally $610.

I have the Austin Air Healthmate plus amd I will swear by it. Definitely one of the (very) expensive options, but they guarantee the filter for 5 years. Plus it moves a massive amount of air!

I have both the Coway Mighty and Austin Air Health Mate Plus.  The HMP was pricy but I haven't needed to replace the filter yet, despite a couple of years with pretty bad wildfire smoke. We run all of our air purifiers 24/7.

I have an Austin and really love it, and the filter hasn't needed replacement yet despite running nonstop for over five years, including two with wildfires in the region. It's not sleek or particularly stylish but it's very effective, and it's very sturdy. I love that it's made in the USA (Buffalo) too. 

Austin Air. Spendy, but the filters last five years and have more active charcoal than any other out there. The company is an offshoot of Smokeeaterz, the companh that builds filters for cigar bars. Great warranty. Good customer service. Dead simple machine. No lights. Has a fan speed control and that is it.

HealthMate Plus is great, for cleaning the air. However, for a very effective approah, an ozone generator treatment would do the trick. BE AWARE OF THE DANGERS . Ozone Generators are a powerful tool that can be very dangerous to your heath as well as pets.

I have 2 Austin Air HEGA units and they’re fantastic. I bought the first one in 2008 and it’s still running at this very moment. I generally find that filtration media needs to be replaced every year or so (more like 16 months in our case). When you receive a replacement filter, you can register it with their website. If it needs to be replaced in less than one year, they will give you a pro-rated refund. I had to replace mine ater 4 months one year because we enclosed one of our old porches to add a bedroom and there was a lot of extra dust and VOCs, and it was cool to get that refund!

I’ve got an irrational number of purifiers for wildfire smoke. Coway AirMega 400, Medify MA-112, Austin Air Healthmate Plus, and a handful of Blue Airs. Austin Air means business but it’s ugly and expensive. Medify is great, Coway pretty close behind. Blue all pretty much suck for Wildfire. Fine for general use.

Not that I can notice. The one I have has a metal exterior: https://theairpurifierstore.com/products/austin-air-healthmate-plus-air-purifier?pr_prod_strat=jac&pr_rec_id=04e813129&pr_rec_pid=6002480773&pr_ref_pid=7915664009&pr_seq=uniform

We have two health mate, a junior and I just bought a plus. Bedroom machine was new to me when I looked at the website. Btw I’ve brought the machines and filters through a reseller and it’s much cheaper - https://www.airpurifiersandcleaners.com I priced it in a few of them and this was least expensive.

I bought the plus filters for my existing machines. I like that you can swap the filter in any of the machines. I sound like I’m shilling for them, it’s just a buy one cry once kind of thing and I like that.

Austin is a waste of money sadly. I bought it to reduce VOCs, however according to my sensor it loses effectiveness in under a month, then you are on the hook for a new $300 filter. I continued to use my Healthmate Plus for about 8 months as just a HEPA filter and it started to smell like vinegar. Didn’t even get a year out of it as a normal filter either. A replacement filter lasted a similar amount of time for VOC effectiveness. The unit itself is quite low quality and expensive for what you get, once you take it apart to do the filter change. Talk about zero investment in improving your product.

Years ago I moved into a new construction apartment and the cabinets gave off a resin smell that I assumed contained formaldehyde. I was having terrible allergy symptoms that I suspected was related to this. I bought an Austin air healthmate plus and was shocked at how much it helped. I’ve had several different HEPA purifiers over the years, and experienced with others with high amounts of activated carbon but Austin is by far the best. Can’t say that it’s worth the cost for everyone, but in my situation it really was.

Dyson might not be the best choice, although I could be a bit out of date. The Healthmate Plus is a solid option, but do VOCs concern you a lot? I agree that HEPA filtration isn’t always necessary, and a higher HEPA rating doesn’t automatically mean better performance. H13 might be the sweet spot. You might find [this](https://www.cleanairkits.com/) and [this](https://www.etsy.com/shop/The3DHandyman) helpful. Instead of investing in one large unit, several smaller, cheaper machines could work better. You could look for affordable MA-112 units on eBay and place them throughout your home.

I did, and I also got an Austin Air Healthmate Plus. The AllerAir is very loud. I would recommend the Austin.

The loudness mostly and I also have more confidence in the Austin’s carbon treatment. The Austin also looks better visually.

I prefer the Austin Air Healthmate Plus. I purchased both, and prefer the Austin.

[Austin Air Healthmate Plus](https://austinair.com/shop/healthmate-plus/)

I actually just ordered a second Healthmate Plus. I called Austin and they gave me a $50 off discount code: “RedCross5050”

Pricey, but Austin Air Healthmate Plus. I have asthma and it helps me sleep better at night literally. It's HSA/FSA eligible too Edit: changed 'Pro' to 'Plus'

Yeah I paid around $850. Comes with a 5 year warranty

What you’ll find is a lot of the air purifiers have an air quality rating that is only obtainable at max speeds. That said my IQ Air at level 2 is damn near silent. 3-4 is noticeable. 5-6 is quite loud but there’s no reason to run it at this speed for long periods. I’ve got a Levoit in the living room that I have to keep on level 3 for it to lower PM. On level 1 it’s silent. On level 2 it’s noticeable. On level 3-4 it drowns out the room with noise. Then I’ve got an Austin on the kitchen counter. Even on its lowest of three settings, it has an audible sound. The IQ Air is the only one that really cleanses the air to my likes.

Depends. I got the smaller counter top / desktop version for my kitchen. It’s nice. It has a tiny footprint but supposedly has up to a 5 year filter life that is pro rated.

We have an Austin Air HealthMate PLUS air purifier. It’s what people use for air purification from forest fires, as far as I remember when researching it before purchase. It can actually remove VOCs and smells from the air. It’s a charcoal/carbon based unit and the filter lasts 5 years before needing to be replaced. Editing to add: definitely do your research on this one to find out what exactly you want from an air filter and don’t blindly buy one because someone here likes the one they have! I believe a carbon filter is what you need for fire related issues, but I’m no expert!

+1 on the point that if you are dealing with smoke, I unfortunately do recommend you shell out. I live in wildfire country and it lasts for a major part of summer and fall. I’ve stuck it out for years with quantity over quality, swirling in my own buzzing vortex. The final kicker is that it’s baking heat in the summer and I have no AC.Sadly I’m unable to open the windows at all because of the smoke and the purifiers were ineffective even with them closed. So.. I FINALLY sold my first child and shelled out for an Austin Air Healthmate Plus. Wish I had done it sooner. People now comment that my house smells crisply clean. It’s insanely expensive, but if I hadn’t spent all the money on the other cheap ones in the first place it would have been a bit more affordable. But this is just specific to my situation!

IQAir is the best. Austin is #2. I got an Austin air healthmate plus. I wish I got an IQAir. If you only have allergies and don’t need VOC’s filtered you probably don’t need Austin or IQAir. I typically tell my friends get something like a Conway and make sure it circulates enough air for their space. I got a Blueair years ago and it still runs like a champ.

These are not cheap but the filters last for \*5 years\* before needing replacement and we've put them through a LOT (like wildfire smoke & mold) and they clean everything [https://austinair.com/](https://austinair.com/)

I have an Austin Air Healthmate plus, 2 different Honeywell, and a smaller Levoit. The Honeywell units are the oldest. The big round one with ring shaped filter is out of commission because it started making a really high pitched squeaking sound. I'm assuming I can take it apart and lubricate and it will keep working fine but I haven't had a chance to do it yet. The Honeywells are nice because it is easy to find non-oem filters in Amazon for much cheaper that seem to perform well, and OEM filters are easy to find in person. The Austin Air is by far the most expensive, but also turns over way more air per hour than any of the others and is suitable for larger spaces. It has a 3 stage filter that lasts up to 5 years and filters VOCs. I just ordered my first replacement filter which cost $405. That seems crazy but it works really well and I like not having to change it every few months and throw away a bunch of used filters. You just need to periodically vacuum the outside of the unit to get any dust buildup out of the intake grates. I keep the smaller Levoit in the laundry room to deal with lint and dust and I take it with me when I travel for overnight trips via car. It is small enough to carry into hotel rooms in a canvas tote bag. It doubles as white noise and helps whenever I end up in a room that has a strong cleaning product smell or just doesn't smell great. If you have an FSA account you can get your Dr. To write a letter that will serve as a letter of medical necessity to allow you to use FSA $ to purchase certain HEPA purifiers and replacement filters. Mine was literally like 2 sentences and said I have allergies and would benefit from an air purifier.

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.

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.

[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.