Humidifier/Air Purifier Recommendations Please!

i second the animal humidifier at target. the vicks one is just too noisy, and it's basically a fan blowing on a soaked paper filter. this crane brand uses ultrasound to vaporize the water, hence very quiet.

Hi M.,

Now this is where I have done some research and ended up going to Walmart and buying a simple Vicks vaporizer. It's inexpensive, easy to clean and works great. I am a firm believer in learning from other's mistakes and followed their advice. I am very happy and not out a lot of money.
All the Best,
Doula M. in West Hills

well i'll just pass this info on..our pedi said to use a vaporizer b/c you have to clean a humidifier every day..a vaporizer you clean once a week w/ white vinegar..but it is summer soon..and a vaporizer is hot..
so you'll probably need a humidifier for summer but clean it every day or bacteria will spread..

we have always been told to get cool mist humidifiers - which we have and they have been great. as for air purifiers...

a group of mommy friends of mine were just talking about this about a week ago. from everything i have learned hepa air filters are the best way to go. here are a couple links to interesing articles as well as a few of my friends' comments. hope this helps. hepa really is the way to go according to the dr's and friends i know.
J.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/realestate/11home.html

http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/o3g-list.htm
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air purifiers/ionizers are not good to use in your home. as one friend says below - they are great for ridding smells but not for acual air purification. Hepa filters are THE ONLY AIR FILTERS TO USE FOR ALLERGIES. They highly reduce dust, mold, etc. in your home. Forget the ozone and ion purifiers. I highly recommend the Honeywell brand, btw. Bed Bath and Beyond has decent prices -- be sure to use the 20% coupons that comes in the mail all the time. I suggest buying a small one for each bedroom, and a bigger (or taller) one for the livingroom. Run them on low for most of the day, and on high at night.
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Yep -- this includes those Living Air and Fresh Air purifiers that "cleaned the Pentagon" (as advertised everywhere by the company EcoQuest. If you have one, TOSS IT. I did.)

Hepa filter are the only way to go for allergies, asthma, dust- reduction, cleaner air, etc.
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I'm not sure which kind of air cleaner you got, but ozone-generating ones should be avoided. They don't work very well on the right kind of particle, and they themselves are dangerous, especially for small children or people with asthma. HEPA air purifiers would be better.
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I own the Living Air purifier and have pretty much stopped using it. California is in the process of trying to ban ozone-releasing purifiers for the reasons mentioned above.

I actually became a dealer for Living Air, but chose not to sell their units because of how dishonest their company is -- and this was BEFORE the ozone stuff became a hot issue in the last year (FYI -- the company, which is essentially a marketing pyramid, is scrambling to come up with new products to sell to replace their top seller that is now getting poo-poo'd by everyone)

That said -- I will admit that the Living Air is great for zapping smells from cooking, pets, smoking, paint, construction, etc. I would not rely on it for actual "air purification" though. For that. I turn to a good Hepa air filter.

Hey there!

I'm looking for one too. I'll give you my recommendations from my allergist. One is the brand Blueair. It's a HEPA air filter available at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Haven't gone over to check it out yet. Price and such. I've found some of them are just so expensive. I was just looking in a magazine of my husband's called The Sportsman's Guide and found one that is called IonizAir Air Purifer. It says you don't have to change filters ever. It's for under $30. Now I don't know anything about it, but there is a part of me that wants to try it for that much and see what happens. Instead of spending over $200 and finding out that it doesn't work. I want to check with this company and see if they will take it back if it doesn't work. So, there are mine. If you come up with anything, let me know. Good luck! ;) R.

Target carries a great one. I do not know the name but they are shaped like animals. There are no filters and my daughter loves them.

I have been using the Ecoquest Living Air (old Alpine Industries) the best on the market, purifiers for the past 10 years and have been very happy with them. I have loaned them to others for free trials before you buy. Some have ozone and some do not. All need to have the filters cleaned, there is no other way to keep the machine working well. I do provide a cleaning service and maintanance for the machines. Please contact me or read my website for more information. I am happy to provide you a free trial. www.healthy-communications.com/airandwater.html, www.healthy-communications.com. ____@____.com, ###-###-####