Pure 411
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Top Pros
Top Cons
Reddit Reviews
I also have two blue air 411 for each bedroom. Can't recommend them enough. They just do the job and filters are pretty cheap.
Plus one for this. I have two blue air 411s in bedrooms and they are very good and new filters aren’t too expensive either.
I second the Blueair purifiers. I have the 211+ non auto in my living room and the smaller versions in my bedrooms. I've had the 211+ running for about ten years and still going strong. The smaller ones I had to replace recently. I got the table top Mini Max through Costco in a 2-pack and I regret that size. I'll get the smaller standing 411 ones again next time.
Unfortunatly, i had at Blueair 411 formabout 5 years in the bedroom. It just stopped working. So I replaced it with the newer 511
Ah, that's too bad. We've got a bunch of 411s and they're all still going strong. They're fairly simple, which is I suspect also why they're relatively reliable. I wonder if it's repairable honestly. Like maybe something just came loose inside there. I actually couldn't remember exactly when I bought all of ours so I looked it up in my Amazon history. We have three 411s that are all 8 years old now and still going. We have two 211+ models and they're 7 years old. And then 3 411 Autos that are now 3 years old. So far no problems with any of them running all day every day.
I have horrible sinuses. Over the years, I've used a bunch of different kinds of air purifiers. The ones that I've used for the past 8 or 9 years have been BlueAir. I've used their 211 and 411 models 24/7. They're both quiet, don't use a lot of energy, and have lasted with no problems over that time. The main reason that I like them is that they're easy to clean. A dirty air purifier doesn't do anybody any good. All high quality air purifiers have a pre-filter that collects the larger dust particles. The HEPA filter collects the microscopic stuff. To clean the pre-filter on most of them requires disassembling the unit and struggling with a mesh or fabric filter that's usually glued onto a plastic frame. It's not quick and it's not easy. The BlueAir models have what looks like an ornamental fabric cover on the lower part of the outside. That's actually the pre-filter. To clean it, you slide it off exactly the way that you slide off a sock, and then throw it in the wash. It goes back on the same way that you slide on a sock. It's a brilliant, extremely effective design.
I have TERRIBLE allergies. My nose drips continuously. I have 3 BlueAir 211 (2800 sqft townhome; Bedroom, living room, kitchen) and one 411 (by my cat’s litter box) When I’m at home, I experienced zero allergy symptoms. As soon as I get my car and drive out of my garage , my nose starts running. Can’t speak highly enough about the BlueAir 211. I have to replace the filters ($74 each) every 4–5 months. Worth every penny.
I also have always coveted the coway airmega, which has remained high in rankings (though can’t fully ‘trust’ any of them) but also above $200. How much are replacement filters? I bought my blueair 411 (not auto) 2019 for $100 and it remained high in all the rankings until 2022 when other stuff creeped up. My model remains less than $150 and Manufacturer’s replacement filters are $25 a piece but external prefilter cleaning by vacuuming and/or washing makes them last way longer. And they have prettier pre filters than the standard bright spandex ones that come w it. Does airmega have a ‘prefilter’?
Yeah you’ve REALLY drank the kool-aid haven’t you? My master suite is 400sqft. And I run a Coway 250 on medium. Keeps the place pristine. Not loud at all. Filters last a year. Kids bedrooms at my house have Blueair 411’s on low all the time. Air is great. Spare room winix 5500-2, quiet. Guests sleep great. Main floor has an IQ Air, runs on speed 2-3, quiet and efficient. My air is pristine. All these solutions work as advertised. All cheap solutions. All work as advertised. I didn’t have to duct tape, program, or do ANYTHING other than turn them on at speed 2 and wait for the air to be clean. No arduino. No apps on my phone. Nothing. The users you are quoting are confused. Smart plugs have no place in purification, neither do apps, sensors, or anything else. Get a unit - any unit. Purifier, CR box, fan with a filter duct taped to it, whatever. Turn it on. Run it 24/7/365. That’s it. That’s the way to clean air. Period. No apps. No smart plugs. No automatic modes. Just put it at whatever noise level you’re ok with and wait for the air to clear.
1. You don’t really want an app. It is t useful in any way. Why? Because the sensor on the unit isn’t accurate, so the app won’t really tell you if your air is clean. Also because the only way to clean air is to run the unit on a constant speed 24/7. So unless your use case is very specific (vacation home, away for long periods, etc.) then an app isn’t helpful. 2. Shark is junk. Levoit cleans air just fine but is not HEPA, if that matters. Blue air is the best of the three, also isn’t HEPA but has a static generator which bothers some people. 3. Consider winix or Coway. They’re better in every way.
I’ve literally never had this problem. I know some people have it all the time. But I have winix, Coway, blueair, and iq air running in my house and have never had a filter that smelled bad. The IQ air filters give off a sweet smell sometimes but it passed quickly. I suggest you run the purifier outdoors on high until the smell fades. It is transient. The actual materials don’t continue to emit an odor.
You’re looking at this all wrong. I don’t want to cast aspersions on the website you were looking at but let me talk about a couple things. 1. No unit under $700 has much carbon so don’t worry about that. If you’d like a LITTLE carbon then Winix 5510, Coway 150/250 and Levoit Vital 100/200 are great options. 2. The Winix 5510 being “worse” than the 5500-2 is absolutely true. But the 5500-2 was the ABSOLUTE BEST in its class and price point, so that’s a high bar. The 5510 is a fine unit. 3. Blue Air units (except their pro line) generally aren’t HEPA, in fact almost zero round units are, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t great units. I recommend BlueAir highly. My kids all use them exclusively. Just size it accordingly and keep the sock pre-filter clean. 4. Reddit sentiment analysis includes many subreddits and is … skewed. I mod r/airpurifiers and over there we have a recommendation list and it’s pretty consistent.
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