Need recommendations on air purifiers

[Cristiancjb]

Hi all!

I recently became a dad and being here in Chiang Mai last year at this season, made me a bit concerned now since last year the air pollution was horrible. It was ok then anyway since I didn't have a kid but now with a baby, I feel that it cannot be good to expose it to such. 

Don't really have the money to just move south during the burning season and I well, I read that some people use air purifiers and it works good. 

 

Thus my question, do you recommend this solution and what purifiers do you recommend? 

Best regards

[brommers]

I have a number of purifiers around the house and they reduce the pollutants, particularly pm 2,5 by up to 80%. And this is achieved without adopting a hermit-like lifestyle during the worst of the season. All of my machines have a humidifying function which is needed during the drier months and they keep the humidity levels above 50% which is advisable to minimise drying out of your airways. This will be especially relevant with a new baby. And don't forget that air conditioners have a drying effect when cooling which compounds the naturally dry air during March, April and May.

 

I have both Sharp and Hitachi machines, with the Sharp having the greatest variety of fan speeds and functions, and have not had any breakdowns in over 5 years of continuous use. They were bought at Homepro and Saha Panich but there are numerous other stockists.

 

Matching machine capacity to room size is essential, erring on the side of slightly greater capacity than your square metre calculations. Good luck finding your ideal solution.

[cerox]

Since you asked for a cheap solution, I bought a Xiamoi/Mi purifier - this Chinese brand, most of them are around 4-5k THB for the device with one filter.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/mi-air-purifier-3h-1-i505690786-s896298152.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.3.4f3366c14utO3f&search=1

 

The filters cost around 500-800 THB depending on the model and last around 5 months if I understand it correctly. I guess that means 24/7 running. So very cheap considering the monthly costs, it is even less than buying that 3M Filtrete for the Aircon which restricts airflow too much for me and too much effort to change it all the time.

 

I am curious what other people think of these cheaper purifiers because many of you use more expensive brands. I use it only in December/January or other polluted months out of the smoky season. Smoky season (Feb till May) I am not here.

In December it worked fine when there were a few days with 220 AQI outside, comparable to 2019 smoky season most days.

I have a portable device for measuring pm2.5 and it confirms that the purifier works.

Curious about your opinions.

[elektrified]

We built our own last year for a fraction of what the store models cost. We used Xiaomi HEPA filters and high-quality fans we purchased from Global House. They work just as well as the others. So easy to build, my wife built all 3 of them herself. There are many youtube videos, etc.

 

I just looked and as predicted, resellers have increased the price of the filters as the burning season approaches by as much as 70%. Buy now before they price gouge even further.

[elektrified]

18 minutes ago, cerox said:

Since you asked for a cheap solution, I bought a Xiamoi/Mi purifier - this Chinese brand, most of them are around 4-5k THB for the device with one filter.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/mi-air-purifier-3h-1-i505690786-s896298152.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.3.4f3366c14utO3f&search=1

 

The filters cost around 500-800 THB depending on the model and last around 5 months if I understand it correctly. I guess that means 24/7 running. So very cheap considering the monthly costs, it is even less than buying that 3M Filtrete for the Aircon which restricts airflow too much for me and too much effort to change it all the time.

 

I am curious what other people think of these cheaper purifiers because many of you use more expensive brands. I use it only in December/January or other polluted months out of the smoky season. Smoky season (Feb till May) I am not here.

In December it worked fine when there were a few days with 220 AQI outside, comparable to 2019 smoky season most days.

I have a portable device for measuring pm2.5 and it confirms that the purifier works.

Curious about your opinions.

My wife built comparable filters for around 1500 each. In non-smoky season the Xiaomi HEPA filters drop in price by 50%.

[Cristiancjb]

Ok, cool, thanks for the recommendations. Since I know nothing about air purifiers...how big of a surface does one purifier cover? I ask because some people say they have three in their home etc, so I want to know if one is enough for my place ?

Thanks in advance

[CGW]

4 hours ago, Cristiancjb said:

so I want to know if one is enough for my place ?

Probably not? the model cerox linked to, which I also have is supposed to be good for 126M2 per hour, also depends on how bad the AQ is, I have two, though the house is fairly large.

[cerox]

The one I have worked fine for 40m² - like today when I come home I close the windows and use this health mode or however it is called (device getting loud) - takes about 20 min in that mode for me to have pm2.5 below 9 which is a green AQI (below 50).

[Tayaout]

I have a xiaomi air purifier pro. Does a good job and is silent. 

 

[trevoromgh]

I like the Xiaomi purifiers as well and they used to work well until I returned from UK and now they won't communicate with my phone so I can't control them remotely so cannot recommend them anymore.

 

[CNXexpat]

The good thing is, that you can buy the filters for the Xiaomi air purifiers at many places and they are always in stock. Beside Lazada. 

[1FinickyOne]

I have the Xiaomi also and in a 2 bedroom 88 sq m. condo.. it takes about 15 minutes to bring the AQI down to neglible levels in a bedroom and then I just move it into the next room if I am going to be there... seems to do a good job.. cost abt 10,000 baht,

[Cristiancjb]

Thanks for the recommendations everyone. Another question...I have a newborn (or 1 month old) and feel that I don't want to expose him to such bad air when I have to go outside with him...are there any "masks" for babies too that you could recommend or know of?

Best regards

[vivid]

16 hours ago, Cristiancjb said:

Thanks for the recommendations everyone. Another question...I have a newborn (or 1 month old) and feel that I don't want to expose him to such bad air when I have to go outside with him...are there any "masks" for babies too that you could recommend or know of?

Best regards

Nope, it would be a bad idea even if there was one.  Same goes for pax with serious pulmonary issues like COPD, respirators not only make breathing more difficult but also increase the CO2 level......so even for regular pax it's not for long-term wearing (eg headache risk).

 

Just plan the journey so that it takes as little time as possible, if he has any medications then bring this along with the baby always be on standby.  If he has stuffed nose or cough or what.....do not move him out of the filtered air room unless absolutely necessary esp if it's > AQI 300 (even if it's 1hr levels).

 

There are kids sized N95 type masks, for ages 2 or 3 and above in my country though.  

3 sizes.  So even ladies with small faces are covered.

https://www.guardian.com.sg/air-smart-mask-n95-micro-ventilator/p/175066

 

I have seen similar kids sized masks in China (Taobao) as well, but not sure if someone has brought them over and sell them on Lazada th or something.

 

Edited January 13, 2020 by vivid

[toast1]

There are those who make their own air purifiers, with a fan, a tube and cotton wool

Has anyone tried this? 

Its cheap and pulls a lot of air through a tube of cotton wool, which looks like it'll filter quite a lot.

 

Thank you

 

[Mapguy]

Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier Pro models work well and BETTER with Filtrete added to your air conditioners.  As suggested before, overestimate your room size.

 

 

 

[spidermike007]

The larger the filter the better. And a low cost replacement filter is essential. Most of the major brands have over priced replacement filters. The Xiaomi Mi Pro is a good one. And filters are relatively cheap and easy to find. I also have a Samsung which I love, but the filters are hard to get and are expensive. 

[vivid]

13 hours ago, toast1 said:

There are those who make their own air purifiers, with a fan, a tube and cotton wool

Has anyone tried this? 

Its cheap and pulls a lot of air through a tube of cotton wool, which looks like it'll filter quite a lot.

 

Thank you

 

 

It probably works "somewhat ok" only, in a dire emergency situation due to masks and APs being sold out.   Still, it's "better than nothing" if that's the only stuff that you can rely on.

 

Check under facial pads, that should be basically cotton wool.

https://totobobo.com/blog/2010/01/6-filter-test/

 

 

[cerox]

vivid,

could you please explain what that cosmetical facial pad is? Are we talking about the surgical / fashion mask, that people wear here in traffic?

 

edit:

sorry I saw it now in the linked article. They talked about the surgical mask being sealed to get a small effect. But people here do wear it the normal way so that air enters from all sides.

Thanks for the link. Interesting stuff.

Edited January 14, 2020 by cerox

[Cheesekraft]

Does anyone know where to get the best price on a xiaomi air purifier pro, one that is legit? I am worried about overpaying for a copy on lazada. What should it cost?

[crazygreg44]

i have a laser-meter to measure the AQI 2.5 fine dust particles in our living room or in the bedroom.  I set up a XiaoMi 2S air purifier, and the results were measurable !

[sikishrory]

My experience with Xiaomi purifier.

Got it home.

After a lot of messing around got it going and switched it on.

Realised from the reading that the air was great already but gave it a few days.

Still great.

Sold it.

Chiang mai and size of space and other factors probably a bit different.

 

[Cristiancjb]

What do you guys think of this one? Sharp FP-J30TA-B?

Any experience with this one?

Where I live now is around 50 sqm and well, I need the purifier for maximum 6 months since I will later move to Sweden. 

[Trujillo]

Looking at this comparison of Xiaomi air purifiers, it says that the "Pro" model doesn't have a "true HEPA" filter. 

 

Any idea what his actually has? 

 

[ThaiBrian]

I just bought a cheap Chinese knock off on Lazada for 1k baht. I used it for about 3 months, so the filter that came with it is probably almost done. Instead of buying a new filter that will probably only last a week during the peak of burning season, I instead bought 3 large rolls of 3M Filtrete for 1k baht. I just tape a sheet in front of the old filter and also tape a sheet on One half of the A/C unit. Seems to work, and I probably have enough to last me the entire seasons and then some.

 

As for mask filters, I won't trust any mask with Chinese writing on it. Yes, some of the masks that are sold in the U.S. are made in China, but I'm pretty certain the company that sell these masks take QA / QC seriously. The mask set (N95) I bought and brought from the U.S. is made in the U.S. 

[DaRoadrunner]

When it comes to the point of needing air purifiers, it is time to leave.

[kekalot]

normally the Xiaomi filters are not HEPA, however recently they have released this one

 

there is the normal blue (EPA), green (formaldehyde/enhanced version), purple (antibacterial version) and then there is this one:

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/-i575772066-s1062786913.html

 

it was in stock for like 2 days and 880 baht but they upped the price now and it's also out of stock

 

also, there were a lot of fake Xiaomi filters, they began installing NFC chips under the filters and the machine will tell you if its a fake 

one or two of the models don't have the chip to check the filters, can't remember which ones.

 

 

[mike787]

Amazon is also a great place to read reviews....try there.  Possibly compare prices also.

[Trujillo]

For those lauding the Xiaomi purifiers, what do you say about this review, which basically says they are <deleted>: 

xiaomi-auto-mode-leaves-air-unsafe-86-hours

[thedemon]

59 minutes ago, Trujillo said:

For those lauding the Xiaomi purifiers, what do you say about this review, which basically says they are <deleted>: 

xiaomi-auto-mode-leaves-air-unsafe-86-hours

 

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