Honeywell HHT-081 Tower Air Purifier with Permanent HEPA Filter

One thing I learned about filters is that you definitely get what you pay for. When you drop big coin on a pricey, hospital quality filter you can expect perfection in performance and air quality. When you spend $75-$125 like I did on this air filter then you get what you pay for. This medium room purifier with “HEPA Type” filters is said to be about 95% effective at removing air born allergens. The two HEPA type filters are permanent along with the secondary outer carbon filter for bigger air particles. The ionizer is also fairly effective at changing the overall smell of the room. If you choose not to have the ion smell you can simply ignore the button that turns that feature on. I’ve owned this filter for about 3 months now and it will occasionally buzz a little at high speeds. However, with mine it is easily fixed by tapping the top or by adjusting the tightness of the back plate. Low and medium speeds are pretty quite though. It has great dimensions as well making it possible to easily fit in to any small room without making the place look cluttered.

For the money I feel like I got everything I paid for. I gave 4 stars because of the occasional soft buzzing noise and the fact that the purifier is designed in such a way that it does not push as much air through as it could. Aside from those minor complaints, this filter is the way to go if you’re looking for a cheap and effective solution to cleaner air.

*UPDATE – After about 6 months of using this thing all night almost nightly, it still works very well. I’ve only had to clean off the outer dust filter once or twice. I have noticed one thing that I found particularly annoying and that is that this filter emits some sort of magnetic field when turned on. I know it sounds like a stupid complaint, but when you have a smaller room and the only place you can put this is next to your television you’ll see why that’s bad thing. Lots of screen discoloration from the magnetic field, I’m just happy it wasn’t there long enough to do permanent damage. However I’m not sure an LCD or plasma tv would be affected by this.

*UPDATE 2 – I was bored and decided to update this review. My original unit is still running well. The permanent filters that came with it are still in and doing fine. However, a few newer reviewers are saying that the unit is now saying you have to change the filters out and that the outter pre-filter is optional. I don’t know anything about that, although, I guess it is possible that over the years Honeywell has cut back a little on this model to save money which would then make the Amazon description false. If that is the case, then yeah make sure you are getting what you ordered and if not send it back. This unit originally came with two permanent HEPA-Type inner filters and one pre-filter. Also my box said “HEPA-Type” on it…not just “HEPA” or “True HEPA” or anything like that. Just a heads up.

Let me begin by saying that I purchased this air purifier for my mom who, (like myself) suffers from horrible allergies. Dust, moisture, etc – it virtually all sends her into a sneezing fit. Congestion, stuffy nose, and other annoyances frequent her days.

So anything to give some relief is a God-sent. However, I found myself extremely skeptical as to the actual effectiveness of these “air filtration devices”. That is – until I spoke to my uncle who owns this same model. He said that it really helped to remove the dusty, musty smell from his living room.

This was a gift for her for Christmas 2008, but I had considered one of these last year.

I helped her set it up today, and here are the (admittedly) early findings.

Pros;
1) VERY easy to set up out of the box. Just take it out of the box, remove plastic bag from machine, and open the plastic bags containing the filter cartridges, and place them back into the machine. Then just plug it in and turn it on. It’s really that simple.
2) 2) Price – If you have done your shopping/research on these machines, you know that you can pay hundreds, and even thousands for an air purifier. For what I paid on Amazon – I feel like I got a deal, plus free shipping.
3) Filters for this machine are REUSABLE. This means that the device SHOULD be less expensive to use over time.
4) Air flow – An air purifier is obviously a fan (or series of small fans) which pull air through a filtration system that removes smells, dust, and hopefully allergens as advertised. So it is obviously a plus for the device to circulate a large volume of the air in a given area. This one does move A LOT of air.
5) Relatively quiet when in use. (though a bit loud on High)
6) Size – Many of the medium-room air purifiers that I looked at had a large foot print. But this one does not take up a lot of floor space, (about a square foot).

Cons;
1) Slightly noisy (especially on high)
2) Cool air – As I stated earlier, this device obviously has a fan to move the air through the filters. The air that it blows back into the room feels quite a bit cooler than the room temperature. This is primarily a cool weather annoyance.

Overall – I would have to recommend this device quite highly based on early impressions. The price is good for the volume of air which it seems to move through the filters.

One note of caution before buying; If you want an air purifier for your bedroom – I would suggest that this unit may be a bit noisy unless you like ambient (fan type) noises while sleeping. I would suggest this model for living rooms, dining rooms, and other day-use areas.

The description says HEPA filter, but the box said HEPA-type filter. I am not sure what this will mean for the life of the filter, as I have vaccumed it several times and it still looks dirty. However there seems to be less dust in the room and my son says he has less allergy issues at night, so – so far so good.

I origninally rated this 4 stars, but would downgrade to 2 stars.
I have owned this for almost a year now, the fan now makes an annoying rattling sound that lessens somewhat on the high setting. The ‘clean filter’ light has come on and stayed on even though I vacuum it weekly. For what I paid I am disappointed in the performance.

I bought this product in hopes that using it in my bedroom would clear up some of my alergies. I have only had this product for a week now and ao far so good. My alergies have cleared up a noticeable amount when I am home. However this is a permanent hepa-type filter NOT AN ACTUAL HEPA FILTER but this still does the trick. It says right on the box that it still filters up to particals 2 microns in size or 99% of alergins. The motor I usually keep on medium which is decently quiet and low is a light wisper however high is a little loud but is good to change the air in the room quickly. This unit has a built in ionizer which can be turned on or off but I havent really noticed the diffrence in opperetion with it on or orr. This unit is not energy star certified so like the one of the other reviewers stated that this unit might be pulling a little bit of wattage but that dosent bother me as long as it works. Plus this unit comes with a 5 year garentee which means that honeywell and kaz stand behind their product which means a lot. As for the smell some people report in the first 24 hours.. I havnt noticed anything at all. The big perk to this unit is there is no replacing prefilters or filters. Both last forever just wash out the prefilter and let air dry, and vacuum the regular filter the way it says in the included instructions. Over all this was a great buy and it works well. Thanks for a quality product honeywell!

I have owned this 11 months.
Came here today to purchase another one to use in our now newly remodeled computer room.
After a remodel of the 14′ x 12′ music room in our house,
I purchased this to keep the room smelling good.
And almost a year later, it still is running the same as brand new.
Have only dusted the main filter twice, neither time even seeing anything on it.
The pre-filter gets cleaned once a month, a quick 1 minute job rinsing it off with water.

I am an energy miser, can’t speak about the one poor review on cost to run, but all I can say is mine runs 24/7 on medium fan speed and with the ionizer on 24/7 and there is no perceivable difference in my electric usage.
My B+D power monitor shows no real increase when this is in use.

This is the best air cleaner I have ever used.
Noise level is quiet on medium, noticeable on high, very quiet on low.
Easy to clean. Looks good.
Throws quite a bit of air, even on medium speed.
The room SMELLS GREAT every day. Like after a spring shower.
You won’t regret buying this.

I have had several different kinds of air filtration and purification systems. The most effective have been the ionizer type. This Honeywell with prefilter, Hepa filter , and ionization seems to be the best of all. Last night was the first time in years that I have slept without snoring or gasping for air. I’m well rested today and looking forward to many more peaceful night’s sleep. AND my wife is happy!

Ralph

I have to say this is the best cleaner I have ever owned. I recieved it about a wk before I had to stop taking all my allergy meds so I could be tested again. After cleaning out a room thoroughly and exiling the pets, I have had this running 24/7 and I havent had any problems with sniffling or sneezing. Having a dog and 4 cats and a smoker in the home, I find this miraculous!