Honeywell HHT-011 Compact Air Purifier with Permanent HEPA Filter
by Honeywell
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Honeywell HHT-011 Compact Air Purifier with Permanent HEPA Filter
Customer Review: Worked Well For Six Months, Then Became A Detriment, Contaminating My Air
Summary: 3 Stars
Edit: Review appended at bottom with purchase of a second unit.
When I first purchased the "Honeywell HHT-011 Tabletop Air Purifier with Permanent HEPA Filter" I was ecstatic at the thought that allergens, dust and other air contaminants would be filtered, especially for the price. My room is extremely dusty so I needed some sort of solution and I hoped that this was it.
For the first six months the purifier worked efficiently, or seemingly so. I ran the it, as recommended, 24 hours a day nonstop. When I'm not home I ran it on the high setting (there are three settings), medium when I was around and low when I slept. I cleaned both the outer filter and inner HEPA filter regularly as a lot of contaminants were being filtered. I noticed a somewhat significant difference in the air quality of my room (11.5 x 8 ft) during this span.
After sixth months the purifier was rendered useless and actually made the air quality worse. The contaminant intake became less and less, the dust in my room begun accumulating faster (I still dust frequently) and the purifier's fan was blowing out unclean air - air that reeked heavily of dust.
I highly doubt that the HEPA filter is efficient forever and needs no replacement. It is charcoal grey and transmits little light when held to a light source (not sure if this is significant as compared to a car air filter test). I do as the manual suggests and vacuum it (more frequently than recommended) and I vacuum/wash the outer filter regularly. Another review mentioned that the purifier became filled with dust and grime over time; the same thing happened to mine, as evidenced when looking down the air vent. I tried to clean it out by blasting 180+ PSI of air with my air compressor, but it did nothing to help. The dust was very thick, almost lint like, and would not budge at all.
To make matters worse the purifier is fastened together by hexagonal security screws (I'm sure the average household does not have the required screwdriver). I recently bought the screwdriver and opened the purifier to clean it out, and found that the inside was a horrendous mess. Every surface and mechanism was layered with dust. The insides of the tubular fans were coated with dust as well. The task of carefully removing components to access all compartments for dusting was tedious and took some time. I've cleaned almost all of the contaminants from inside the purifier, but I am still very skeptical about using it again in fear that I will have the same problem again, perhaps in less time than before.
To sum it all up, this product was good for about six months until the inside of the purifier became festered with dust, and it was extremely tedious to remove it all. I'm not sure when this accumulation of dust began, or for how long the HEPA filter has been ineffective. The purifier does not filter all contaminants, instead sucking some into the interior and spitting it back into the air in my room.
With all of that being said, there are numerous positive reviews on this product; perhaps I am an unfortunate rare case. For the price I'd say it is definitely worth a try, but be cautiously optimistic if you decide to make the purchase.
Edit (March 3, 2011):
I bought another one several months ago to give it a second round. This second one is now in the same condition as the first. The fanned air again smells faintly of dust.
This time I unscrewed every piece and wiped the entire unit down. Everything inside has definitely penetrated the HEPA filter as I cover the top of the unit with a cloth when it is turned off to ensure no particles fall into the unit. I am disappointed that I again had the same problem.
If you decide to purchase this product I suggest you vacuum the HEPA filter weekly, and the outer filter every few days. I do not know if this will prevent you from having the same problem as me but it definitely could not hurt.
Customer Review: Low price, poor performance, bad design AND SOME TIPS TO INCREASE YOUR SATISFACTION with it
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this unit to help clean the air of my bedroon which is in the habit of getting too dirty of small dirt, organic and moth particles brought by one's cloth with everyday use and cleaning (small, tiny particles of our clothes do tend to come away by normal wear). This unit is cheap and is barely able to do the cleaning of a REALLY SMALL sized room. In over a year of having this unit cleaning the air in a daily basis, I've noticed that the air flux coming out of one of the openings of the unit was getting smaller and smaller (and eventually the unit was acting if as it was sucking the air in from one of the exhausts), until one day, the unit stopped working. Either the fans where misplaced from the fabric as one of them (there are two) seemed to suck the air as opposed to throw it away, or the motor was dead: all the unit did was a buzzing noise when turned on and the fans stopped rotating.
I thought either a replacement motor or a correct placement of one of the rotors was due, and I didn't want to buy another unit for a year's service only.I tried to open it myself but soon found out that there where strange screws I couldn't work on, so I took it to a home appliance technician to take a closer look... when we opened the unit the problem was obvious: there where TONS of dirt accumulated over all the interior! dirt... moth.. you name it, everything was there. No motor replacement needed, no changing the fan's rotors... the fix: to clean and re-lube all the interior. The dirt accumulatted over a year to efectively stalled the motor and prevent it from rotating the fans. How did all the dirt ended in there? It is supposed to clean the air after passing the 2 filters and before reaching the inside! The fact is this unit is so cheaply designed that it has small openings all around it, efectivelly letting dirty air inside in a way it was not intended to. THE FIX:
a) If your unit is old (6-12 months), clean it first from all the dirt on the inside (depending of how dirty your air is)
1) Remove the plastic grid that holds the 1st filter.
2) remove the 2nd (HEPA) filter
3) I used kids plasticine to seal the openings all around the exterior of the base of the HEPA (2nd) filter: this is where 2 separate moldings "snap" together, but leaving lines of "openings" that let air pass unchecked.
4) Return the filters and the grid
5) Use any kind of adhesive-tape (masking tape would be good) to seal the "line-opening" that goes all around the exterior of the unit from the "right" side of the grid all the way to the "left" side of the grid. This line is the snap juncture between the base of the unit and the molded top where the controls are.
In this way, MOST of the air will now have to pass thru BOTH filters and the air leacking to the inside would be minimized. Happy air.
Customer Review: Up and running....
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this air purifier based on the recommendations here. Didn't want to spring for a larger unit due to cost and space considerations.
Pros: Small....can be arranged to blow air UP in winter or used as a cooling fan in summer and blow air horizontally....HEPA filter is CLEANABLE...lower power use.
Cons: Does make some noise, both air noise and a hum or whine on all speeds-get used to it?....front cover clips are a poor design...difficult to remove and when I put it back on one side wouldn't hold-so I used some putty to hold it closed on that side....it does leak air around the part that holds the HEPA filter on the "front" under the cover, I used some silicone caulk to seal these areas...and some vinyl tape on the other gap between the top and bottom (using info posted by another reviewer).
I'm using it placed pretty much in the middle of a 700 square foot area...I wouldn't place it in the middle of a floor...but up against any furniture near the center of the area you want to clean.
Is it working? Can't really say...can't tell much difference when the ionizer is running...but I do believe it is cleaning the air some.
I have initiated a War on Dust Bunnies...so I'm stirring up dust all over the place...and in the "fog of war"...it's hard to say what's going on. I run it full speed when vacuuming and dusting...then on low otherwise.
With a dog and a lack of discipline as far as running my vacuum...I needed to improve air quality...a lot....tending to suffer from allergies more and more. But this air purifier won't take the place of regular vacuuming...should help some though.
* After about a months use...I've more or less concluded that the most effective way to reduce air pollution inside would be to buy a good vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter or at least disposable bags and run it 1 or 2 times a week. To understand why I would make this conclusion consider this: when I run my present vacuum with cleanable filters...I get the same "stuff" from the vacuum filters as I got from this air cleaner when I recently cleaned it (dog hair...dander...misc dirt/fibers)...but over 1 month something like maybe 500Xs as much vs what was cleared by the air cleaner over the same period.
I'll still use this air cleaner...but I don't expect miracles. It should use about $2 worth of electricity per month running 24/7 at 24 watts on low.
Customer Review: Effective, God Send!
Summary: 5 Stars
Every fall I get a terrible sinus infection. I live in a high rise in downtown Chicago. My friend suggested I buy an air purifier, which I have previously thought were for sissies and people whose mothers pampered them. (I know I'll be dodging eggs for this). However, within about an hour of plugging this little wonder in and putting it on high I stopped sneezing. I've revised my opinions of those of you with air purifiers, and I now know you were all just smarter than me.
The other reviews mentioned the size and the noise. I'm not sure if the noise would be unbearable if I lived in suburbia, but as I live in downtown Chicago, the noise is fairly comparable to having my patio doors open on 20th floor (in other words, I don't think its too bad). I can definitely watch TV over it. (one reviewer said the noise was so bad they couldn't watch TV, to which I say, you are a big old whiner).
As for size. I was pleasantly surprised by how light and compact it is. You can operate it both horizontally and vertically, and I've found the vertical arrangement to be much nicer as it blows the fresh air towards me (depending on how its positioned).
Aesthetically, its not the best or worst looking appliance. I don't think I'll leave it out for dinner parties or house tours, but other than that, given the dramatic change in my health, I'm willing to treat it like a new family pet: regardless of looks its here to stay and has earned a place in my heart.
I am purchasing a second unit so that I have one in my living room and one in my bedroom. I have followed the advice of other reviewers and am only using the ion setting to boost cleaning for a short time then turning it off so as not to add ozone to my home.
***Further Review 4 months in***
I still love these air purifiers. Whenever I travel for more than a week I start yearning for home and am tempted to send one to my sister's home in advance of my next visit.
My only change to this review is that these MUST be cleaned once a month. I start getting stuffy/sneezing right away after a month. I don't have a very good vacuum cleaner and have been tempted to buy a new one just to clean my filters more thoroughly.
Finally, after 4 months, I have started to notice the noise level. However, given the radical change in my health, they are here to stay.
Customer Review: After a month use, Well worth the cost
Summary: 5 Stars
We own a house down in Florida and i could see the dust flooting in the air until they put a 3M filter in the centeral AC air exchanger and no more dust. It got me thinking since our NY house has always been dusty so i bought this unit for my bedroom. Really didn't pay attation to the room size so this is cleaning the air in a room which is little bigger than the size it's supposed to be cleaning. So far after 5 days i don't see any build up on the filters yet but i guess it's early. As for the noise it's the same as any fan would be, louder when it's on high and lower when it's on low but not a big deal either way. Another point that this web site doesn't explain is that this can be used effectively in bigger rooms. 80 sq foot room will have it's air changed 5 times, 149 sq foot, 2.8 times. 300 sq foot 1 time, These are listed right on the front of the box. One concern was the cost of running this thing 365 days a year so i wrote Kaz Consumer Relations Department and they sent a formula to figure what the oost of running the unit would be. It goes like this;
Determine the "Cost to Operate" this item you will need to know the wattage and your `cost per Kilowatt Hour' for your electricity. Once you have this information you should take the wattage of your unit (The wattage of this unit is 102 on the highest setting) and multiply it by .001. Next, multiply the answer by the `cost per KwH'. That answer will give you the cost per hour to run this item.
Example:
Space heater uses 1500 watts. 1500*.001 = 1.5
Average cost per KwH in MA is 14.62 cents.
1.5*14.62=21.93 cents per hour.
If you run this heater 4 hours per day for 30 days it will cost $26.32
Update: Been a month with this unit running on high-medium when I'm home and low at night. My bedroom is around 15x12 and I do leave the door open. This unit working very well, filter is starting to show signs of trapping things from the air. The dust build up is much less on the furniture and I can see the air isn't clogged with dust when light shines through the windows. I'm also finding it much easier to breath so for the money this is worth the investment I made.