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List Price: $210.99
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In this review, I will first summarize the major points and focus the details afterward. This way you can stop reading when you get the level of details you need. The definitions of "HEPA" and "CADR" are placed at the end of this review. Please vote for this review if you like it :) I appreciate it.
**Kimmer (another reviewer) has kindly uploaded a wonderful youtube video to demonstrate the noise level, title: "Honeywell Enviracare 50250 air purifier". Since your computer speaker will affect the demonstrated noise level, make sure you gauge the noise to Kimmer's voice.**
Pros: Powerful, inexpensive, permanent HEPA filter, easy to maintain, 360 degree air intake and output, portable, accessible replacement parts, good support from Kaz, a 5 year limited warranty.
Cons: Noisy, high power consumption, not stylish.
Previously I owned the Honeywell HFD-130 Germicidal Tower HEPA Air Purifier with Permanent IFD Filter, but due to its ozone emission and my respiratory problem, I returned it back to HomeDepot. I got fully refunded and bought this Honeywell 50250N on the same day and loved it. I have a mild allergy. I sneeze and experience itchy eyes when I am outdoor, but stop when I am at home (where my purifier is). I recommend two important points when shopping for a purifier: (1) always examines the CADR number. It is a decent performance indicator, (2) always buys an air purifier adequate for your need. A 100 sq ft purifier will not work for a 1000 sq ft living space.
Honeywell 50250N is a true HEPA filter purifier with a 250 CADR, which translates into a recommended 375 square feet usage space. Currently, this purifier is being sold at ~$160. It has been quoted as the only purifier $100 and quits working after 2 months. By the way, even though this is branded as a Honeywell, the manufacturer is a company called Kaz, according to the instruction manual.
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Ever since moving to a new home just over a year ago, my husband and I have had an increase in our allergies and sinus problems. We decided on an air purifier for the bedroom since our symptoms were worse in the mornings, and we researched air purifiers for several weeks before deciding on this one. It was the least expensive model recommended by Consumer Reports, and the most conveniently sized for our very small bedroom. As a reference, our bedroom is 14 x 15.
Good points first: this baby moves a lot of air! On the high setting, you'll notice a difference in the smell and quality of air within just a few minutes. When it's on high, we can leave it in the bedroom but still tell that it's working in other rooms that are 30 feet away.
This purifier really does work well at removing smells. That's my favorite part of the purifier. It also seems to help with the allergies. It hasn't cured us, but my symptoms have reduced significantly, and I credit the purifier with that.
Now the not-quite-so-good: This purifier is loud. Believe what everyone says, if you have trouble getting to sleep with noise, you won't want this unit on at night. We like white noise so after just 1-2 nights, we were able to sleep just fine. On high, we can hear it through the whole house, and if it's in your living room you'll have to turn up your radio or TV to hear properly. While it's much quieter on low, it's still a bit louder than what I would choose for white noise. The blue light on the switch is pretty bright, too, and we had to cover ours so it wouldn't light up our whole room.
The air it puts out is warm, so in the summers, we have to turn the a/c down to compensate since it warms up our whole bedroom.
The fan is a bit off-balance, especially on low. It doesn't cause noise or affect the air output so we haven't returned the unit, but it's noticeable. The unit is kind of ugly and quite large. Before buying, I recommend deciding on where you'll put the unit and then carefully measuring a spot the size of the unit, just to see how much room it needs, especially if you have space issues like we do.
All in all, the concerns I had (noise, aesthetics, size) before buying it ended up being valid, but for the price and the good it's doing, I think it's worth it. I'd give this 3.5 stars but since we can't, I'll round up to 4.
Edit 8-7-07: My original review is from May 22, 2007, but I wanted to add a brief update. A few weeks ago we decided to get a second purifier for the other end of the house. This purifier is in our living room which is part of a large kitchen-dining-living room. The best thing about this second Honeywell is that it really gets rid of cooking smells quickly. The whole house smells fresher. As for allergies and sinus problems, last year at this time I'd already had 4 solid months of sinus problems. This year I've just had one episode and it was much milder than what I experienced last year.
This second unit doesn't have the wobbly fan problem our first unit did. The only problems were what I mentioned before: hard to find the room for the unit, and the sound is loud enough I have to turn it off to hear the TV or radio. I'm glad we have two of these purifiers and I definitely think it's worth the 4 stars.
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I was about to actually purchase this, then, after reading everyone's reviews (good and bad) and researching on the Honeywell site and writing emails to Amazon support, Honeywell, and Kaz for product clarification, experienced the following:
Amazon support wrote me to tell me they were researching and would get back to me in a week. Then a week later they wrote back to apologize, they were researching still, and it was taking longer than normal. Then I didn't hear back from them. In the meantime, I wrote them to tell them what I'd learned. I have yet to hear back.
Honeywell's website DOES NOT LIST THIS MODEL 50250-S doesn't exist on their site. They list 50250-N and 50250. As mentioned by another reviewer 50250 has a different filter from the 50250-N he bought. The 50250-N he bought and described in happy supportive detail, however, is not the 50250-S you are looking at when you look at this product on Amazon for which I am writing this review. I wrote Honeywell asking about 50250-S and they told me immediately to contact Kaz Support, so I did.
Kaz support wrote me back fairly quickly, and told me this:
"We did make different versions of the 50250 series air cleaners. The original 50250 came with a HEPA filter that could not be cleaned of vacuumed, and this filter needs to be replaced every 1-3 years, depending on air quality and use. The HEPA filter that comes with the 50250-S is easy to maintain and can be vacuumed to extend its life. It is not considered a permanent filter, and should be replaced within approximately 3 years depending on air quality and usage. The 50250-N is the only version of this series that came with a lifetime, vacuumable HEPA filter."
There you have it. If you buy this item, you will need to replace the filter every 3 years, but you can vacuum its filter to extend its life. If you want the 50250-N you can't get it here. Just realize what you're buying. This detail is what convinced me to not buy this item, as I want a permanent filter for the price of this item to realize the full value of cost. It isn't worth it to me to pay this much then have to try and replace the filter in 3 years when Honeywell/Kaz are unlikely to even be producing this unit any more, let alone filters for it. By then, there will be an entirely new option at a better price with permanent filters.
Honest reviews on Honeywell Enviracaire HEPA Air Purifier
I have purchased several Honeywell air cleaners recently for my family (children, parents and brother's household) and have been very pleased with their performance and and engineering. I was looking for an air cleaner for my daughter's room and was given an older model by friends who had used it briefly before buying an Ionic Breeze instead due to the noise levelthe only reason I didn't rate it 5 stars. While that machine is a Sears labelled appliance, it is identical to a small Honeywell. It has effectively reduced her symptoms, and the noise hasbn't been disagreeable on lower settings with any of the machines. Using the higher settings an hour or so before bedtime and reducing the fan speed to low during the night produces a 'white nboise" that I find soothing.
Replacement filters (permanent) arte readily availabvle and economical (under $15.00 at Amazon). Other Honeywell air cleaners we have purchased differ in that they have no ionizer (not recommended by medical authoritiesi am myself a family physician) and in their capacity. All of the machines I have bought are the round hassock-shaped ones and this is an imiportant design feature in that these models use either og two sizes of replacement permanent filters as above. Larger models may use up to three stacked filters in place of the original and expensive non-permanent filter. All use a cut-to charcoal-containing pre-filter which may be vacuumed periodically and used for substantially longer than the packaging indicated (at least 6 months). The HEPA filters may be vacuumed as well, a simple maintenance task.
The filter that comes with a filter that is NOT permanent but is instead a "long-life" singlre filter with a recommended replacement interval of five years. It does not have a "permanent filter".
one of the big pluses for these machines is the excellent 5-year warranty. No machine in this price range except a few Hunter models offer a 5-year warranty, and Hunter permanent filters are far more expensive and hard-to find. I have noted some complaints about warranty service in other reviews of Honeywell products, but nonetheless it is still a very good value.
I ofund some of my machines in the local Goodwill for $10 or socheck it out!. On new machines, I really couldn't beat the Amazon deals substantially and ordered one of these and another odel for family. My brother was so impressed he went out and bought 2 other machines (regrettably, not Honeywell) for his fairly severe allergy problems. t wouldn't count on these machines to eliminate strong odors vcompletely but they do make a difference.
I would add a final note about my experience with central air conditioner filters. A NMERV of 8-10 is sufficient to remove almost all common allergens. Higher filtration requires larger surface area to prevent excessive air obstruction. We bought a filter some time ago that we couldn't use for that very reason. The most economical is the Lysol brand filter available in Lowes stores.
Removing bacteria from the air is unimportant"air sdanitizer" are a waste of money. Airborne bacteria rarely survive long and DO NOT cause odors in and of themselvesthey must be in a nutrient rich medium and actively growing to cause odors. As for mold, remember that removing moisture is the answer to that problem. A relative humidity of 40 % or less will take care of mold and mildew very nicely. So, use your AC, dehumidifier, or pipe wrench as needed to control moisture problems. As for vacuums, they all workIF YOU USE THEM! A central system that exhausts to the outdoors or a garage area that can be aired is a great option. bagless vacuums, water trap vacuums, etc really don't make much difference in air quality. We find that using simple bedlinens in the children's rooms which can be tossed in the dryer for 10 minutes are useful ways to control dust mites and remove some of their allergens. Stuffed animal toys can also be given a spin for the same reasion.
Sorry if I get carried away, but I have always felt a duty to teach my opatients to take care of themselves. I hope this has been helpful. The Honeywell air cleaners are a great way for allergy sufferers to take control of their symptoms in part.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Honeywell Enviracaire HEPA Air Purifier
Picked it up a few weeks ago from a Home Depot. I did end up paying probably $15 more for it than if I had bought it online. That is the way I wanted it because if it didn't work well I could easily return it with no hassle and maybe pick up another one. So I have 90 days to check it out. I purchased it for my basement rec room that is 16'x30' with an 8' ceiling. So I am looking at 480 sq feet. I think the purifier is rated for 340 sq feet... So I consider that close enough. I live in the southwest where it is dusty all the time. I also have a 16 year old cat that needs a good spanking. After two weeks of using the purifier I LIKE IT A LOT. It filters the room fast and leaves you with a really clean smelling room. When I come down the stairs and turn the corner to the rec room you can smell and feel the difference right away. So up to now (two weeks) everything is great. NOW FOR THE ISSUES: My purifier does indeed wobble at low and slighly at the mid range settings. The purifier is sitting on carpet so the amount of vibration that you see is extremely small. I think it may be more of a visual problem than a real mechanical problem. If it was sitting on a wood floor it might bug me but if I liked it I would put it on a rug or get some felt or rubber pads to put under the feet. The way it is now for me is just fine. I also wonder if you could put a small piece of duct tape on one of the blades to try to offset the wobble. You can do this sort of thing with ceiling fans and it seems to work... Just a thought. The second issue is indeed the NOISE. I have read all the reviews and some people are saying that it isn't loud. To these people I say you need to go to an ear doctor (LOL). It is loud on the high setting (Trust Me). However the way I look at the noise is, That's fine with me because I know it is really pushing the air through the filter and that's what I wanted in the first place. I think very few people could stand to listen to it on the high speed setting for more than a few hours. The medium speed is just barely acceptable and I could probably get used to it if I had to. The low speed, to me, is very acceptable. How you intend to use this purifier is a big factor in whether you should buy it or not. The way I use it is like this: I bought a $5 mechanical plugin timer which has the ability to set two settings per day. I have the filter set to HIGH and the timer is set to start at 11AM-2PM (3 hours on high) and then it shuts off and starts again at 3AM-6AM (3 hours on high). The rest of the day the filter is not running. We have no bad physical conditions where we need to run it 24/7 so the six hours that we run it keeps everything fresh. Unless you need it running 24 hours a day there should be a schedule that you can come up with where the noise is really never an issue. This purifier is really cheap to operate when comparing to the more expensive makes and models And especially if you never have to change the Hepa filter (My purifier says on box that you don't have to change it) but I will probably change it once a year or so. So, in conclusion, this Honeywell is a great purifier if you can work around the sound issue. I think the vibration issue is more a problem in your head than an actual mechanical problem. I do realize that my two weeks of operation is not a great test but if anything goes haywire I will be sure to let you guys know. Also consider buying it somewhere where you can return it if you don't like it.... Worth paying a few extra bucks I would think. Hope this helps.
