Hoover Air Purifier 500 - HEPA Air Purifier with Diffuser, Removes 99.97% of Allergy Particles, Pollen, with Fast-Acting H-TRIFILTER Filtration System, Bluetooth Connectivity

Product Information

Otherwise, this has the same advantages as the smaller version: effective three-stage filtering, a built-in humidifying function and Sharp’s Plasmacluster ion technology, which – while it sounds like a weapon from a Halo game – works to kill odours, bacteria and mould. While the Vax PureAir 300 gives you even more airflow and covers larger rooms for less, the Sharp hits a sweet spot for price, performance and features, making it a great mid-range purifier for mid-sized rooms. However, the air purifier does more than just pull in smoke, it will draw in dust, pollens, bacteria and other harmful particles at the same time.

If it reaches optimal levels for over 30 minutes then the Hoover H-Purifier 500 switches to stand-by, which helps save energy and avoids the machine running when it doesn't have to. The unit still monitors air quality and will switch on again if it sniffs out any pollutants in the atmosphere. In addition, many will include active carbon filters to remove traffic fumes, cigarette smoke and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from people, animals, plants and products in our house. The carbon is treated to have an extremely high surface area – it’s ultra-porous – attracting small particles to it and trapping them. Active carbon filters are known for removing bad smells. Where to place an air purifier In terms of what to expect on the noise front then, if you’re running it at the standard mode, then Hoover’s official figures are 50dBA. Move it into the Sleep mode though and this goes down to 21dBA, which isn’t bad at all if you’re going to need to keep the unit running at night. My allergies started around age seven from what I can remember. They came on seemingly out of nowhere. It started when I realised that being around animals made me poorly. If I went to someone’s house and they had a cat or a dog, my throat would get really sore, my eyes would start streaming and get unbearably itchy until they would swell up and I could barely see. I would sneeze incessantly and after a while, my windpipe would get tight, I would start wheezing and I would have real trouble breathing. Key specs – CADR: 280m³/h; Max room size: 35m²; Power settings: 4; Dimensions (WDH): 25 x 25 x 45cm; Weight: 3.8kg; Filter replacement indicator: Yes; Warranty: 2 years

Resolution

At just 18dB on its lowest setting, the Blue 3210 is technically quieter than a whisper. It’s certainly the quietest we tested as well as one of the most efficient, using about as much energy as an LED lightbulb. As you can see from the accompanying pics, it’s a cylindrical design with the emphasis on keeping things clean and simple. The white and silver/grey plastic casing looks premium enough and, once you’ve manhandled it out of the box, the feel is one of quality too. Dimensions-wise this unit is reasonably sizeable at 31.7 x 28 x 57.5 cm, but not so much that it’s intrusive in the average-sized room. It weighs 6.9kg so can also be repositioned easily enough too, especially thanks to the built-in handles. Noise is another factor – you don’t want to replace one irritation (allergies) with another (the sound of a jet plane in your room). For many, the hum is something that doesn’t bother them, but some purifiers can get very noisy. It’s also worth remembering that, while some machines are quiet on their lowest setting (where they’re often at their least effective), they might be loud on the fastest (where they’re working at their best). Here’s a list of the most common pollens in the UK which are more prevalent in the spring and summer and the most likely to cause allergies.

The humidifier can be handy for those who suffer from breathing problems in addition to pollen allergies which is aggravated by dry air. It increases the humidity in your home to create a comfortable environment by diffusing a light mist that will improve the air quality. An air purifier works best when it is on all-day long in pollen mode. However, the air purifier will have to work harder if new pollen is being brought into the house constantly. Therefore, to make best use of your new air purifier follow these tips:

While pollen, dust mites and bacteria can all be handled as a given, the active carbon filter promises to filter out more pollutants, such as cigarette smoke, fumes and odours. Depending on who you live with the latter pair might be more useful than you think. We found the Hoover H-Purifier 500 was more than capable of taking on the foul air produced by a Sunday roast-sized portion of Brussels Sprouts, so it’s essentially game for anything. Air purifiers use different kinds of filters to do their job – usually, a large, washable, reusable pre-filter to collect bigger particles, plus a finer filter, which is usually a disposable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. The length of time this lasts varies, but on average expect it to need replacing every six months (or fewer if you use the machine less). It’s the HEPA filter that catches all the tiny airborne nasties, and these are capable of catching particles as small as 0.3 microns, which is more than three times smaller than a cigarette smoke particle. As I was growing up, I noticed other things that would trigger my allergies. I realised that feather pillows would affect my breathing and that dust was also a trigger. A Swiss manufacturer we’d not come across before, Stadler Form launched their first product, the odd-looking Fred humidifier, in 1998 and now produce high-quality fans, heaters, dehumidifiers and air purifiers. Our favourite is this one, Roger Little (there’s also a Roger Big for 104m 2 rooms and plain old Roger for 66m 2 rooms).

So I guess the question is, is this air purifier worth it? I was extremely pleased with just how much it alleviated my allergies. I honestly wasn’t expecting the outcome to be so good. We’ve been using it for just over two weeks now and haven’t suffered from any allergy symptoms at all in that time. And I haven’t had to take antihistamines or my inhaler at all.Bring the air purifier into the room in advance for when there will be planned smoke – cigarettes, cooking etc It’s a bit of a surprise when the system starts informing you that it’s detecting VOC (volatile organic compounds) or GAS mind you, but the real-time monitoring is effective and very responsive. The machine can not only keep tabs on those gasses or VOCs - handy if you live next to a busy road for example - but also the temperature and humidity.