Customer Reviews

Austin Air HealthMate - Sandstone

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I searched through a large selection of air filters trying to optimize price, utility, reputation, and ease of use (I don't have time to replace some components every 6 months and other components every 3 months, etc). I decided on the Austin Air Healthmate Air Purifier. From there, it was a search for a reasonable retailer. Due to price (along with free shipping) and Amazon backing, I chose All Seasons Health.

The product arrived quickly and in perfect condition--I would definitely order other products through this retailer.

I pulled the Healthmate out of the box and after reading the instructions, I plugged it in and away it went (yep, that was it). I was having a problem with new carpet installation (an abundance of VOC's causing watering eyes, sore throat, and dizziness); the difference in just two days was remarkable and noticed by others. The Healthmate has three settings, low, medium, and high. The output on high is amazing and has an added benefit of dramatically increasing airflow in the room. The low setting is quiet enough to sit next to the machine and watch a movie without difficulty.

According to the instructions, in about four to five years I will have to replace the filter inside and from a cursory review of the instructions, it should be much simpler than replacing my water filter.

I will add further comments closer to allergy season.

4 stars for the air cleaner, 1 star for out-of-warranty repairs. I have owned 2 Austin units since 1996, the full size HM400 and the 'Jr' HM200. They do a pretty fair job of filtration, although there are better units that have come on the market since these came out. The filters do not last 5 years, more like 3 before they start to lose effectivness. That was still pretty good, until some of the better competition started to arrive. (I bought 2 competitors units, and they work better at filtering the air, and are about the same in filter costs, but I kept the Austins for use in other rooms.)

Overall, I was satisfied with these, until they needed out-of-warranty repair. The Austin HM 200 needed shipment to the factory just before the 5 year warranty was up, and was repaired under warranty, so I wasn't aware of potential out-of-warranty problems. I recently replaced the filter on the larger Austin HM400, when I noticed the blower started running more slowly, and varying the speed a lot while running, even almost coming to a stop. I called Austin, and they said I would have to use the "... repair and return service for units that are outside of the five year warranty. It would be $45 for parts, $45 for labor and the shipping to and from our Buffalo offices would also be the customers expense." I could not see wasting the energy resources or money to ship this back to Buffalo from California, so I had a local HVAC service diagnose the problem. (tough diagnosis - their is a metal case, a filter, a 3 speed switch, and electric motor, and a small black box on the motor called a run capacitor.) It turned out to be a $6.00 motor control capacitor, ("usual point of failure on fans and blowers - last 5-10 years on average" according to the shop) which they suggested I order from Austin as being the 'easiest route'. I was surprised to get the same response from Austin:

"Unfortunately we do not sell the individual mechanical components of our units. We do offer a repair and return service for units that are outside of the five year warranty. It would be $45 for parts, $45 for labor and the shipping to and from our Buffalo offices would also be the customers expense." This would mean about $150 to replace a $6 part on a 15 year old unit wich is basically only a fan/motor/switch and a filter in a metal box. If they replaced the motor, wires, switch and provided a new warranty for that price, it would be worth it.

I will find the part elsewhere. As I said, this is a very reasonable air purifier, but there are better at the same or slightly higher price points. The biggest downside for potential purchasers, however, is that about the time you are due for the first filter (allegedly 5 years), your warranty will be up. This means a cost of ~$200 for a filter replacement, and $150+ shipping round trip when something goes wrong - 70% of the cost of a new unit with a warranty. Something to keep in mind before purchase or ordering replacement filters on an older unit.

UPDATE 2/6/2011

After more research on the suspected broken part, I found it on-line, as well as from a local supplier that would sell retail (CarbonBrush.com) and ordered an exact replacement for the suspected damaged part, a small black box with 2 wires, bolted on the motor called a 'motor run capacitor'. I ordered the exact part from the numbers on the side of the black box "6uf +/- 5%,350vAC CBB61, UL number E183963". Available with a long wait for $6 on line from various overseas suppliers, ordering it locally was $10 - $18 after California tax and shipping (prompt shipping by the company - ordered late Thursday night, delivered prioritymail Saturday morning).

I also needed a 2 pack of crimp style spade connectors - "22-18 Insulated female 0.25". At this point I could have taken the parts and Austin to any HVAV or sewing/vacuum cleaner repair shop for installation, but it was so simple a job that I felt I had enough basic wiring skill to do it myself. If you don't know anything about electricity, just take everything to a shop like above. But if you have ever changed out a wall switch at your house, then you probably have enough knowledge and skill to do this at home.

I did it myself, and the Austin again runs just fine, no noise or motor speed changes. It took 15 minutes, and total cost under $20, not counting about 8 hours of my time researching the possible problem, and identifying a part source. (Incidently, in my research I found that this is the same part that fails on ceiling fans, with the same symptoms, and replacement parts and procedures are the same.)

The Austin Air Healthmate is the best I've ever owned. One large unit is enough for our entire house. It reduces (or even eliminates) odors from our cat's litter box and makes the stale air in our home fresher when we return from a couple of days away. We run it in the bedroom at night and wake up feeling healthier than we did before we got one of these. It's quiet on the lowest setting, and a little loud but very powerful on the highest setting. There's easy maintenance (just vacuum the outside once a month). Replacement filters are a little on the expensive side (around $200), but well worth it. The salesperson that sold us ours said we'd have to replace the filter every five years. We run ours constantly and had to replace it after three years. I think the expense is still worth it, as the quality of this product cannot be matched by less expensive purifiers.

I bought this unit to help with my wife's breathing issues. Last fall, we found out that she was allergic to a very common mold - Aspergillus - that is found in decomposing leaves and vegetation. So, she is basically allergic to the fall season. Wonderful. This year, we wanted to be as proactive as possible in eliminating the symptoms she was experiencing if at all possible. We knew that, at worst, we wanted to create a sanctuary of clean air in our home. Enter the Austin Air HealthMate.


Why I bought it
After a good deal of research, I landed on this unit for a few reasons. First, it is very well made. I didn't want a unit that our 2 year old son or our large puppy would be able to break. This thing is solid. It weights in at about 45 pounds, so it won't be picked up without some effort, but the wheels on the bottom make it a breeze to move around the house.

The second reason I chose this unit was because of the cost of filters. Many of the cheaper units have multiple filters that need to be changed at varying frequency. I don't want to change a filter monthly, quarterly, and yearly. Not only is the maintenance just another thing to add to the list, but each filter costs more money. With the company not only claiming this unit's filter lasts for 5 years, but also providing a warranty on the filter, I was sold. I haven't done the exact math, but I bet you could buy a new unit every 5 years instead of replacing the filter and still come out ahead when compared to many of the units with lower upfront costs.

The final reason I chose this reason is because of the maintenance required. It is almost nothing. Every month or so, it is helpful to vacuum the outside of the unit to make sure nothing is blocking the air intake which would result in lower efficiency. That is. I can handle that.


Why would I recommend it?
The first night we used the unit in our bedroom, I woke up in the middle of the night. I took a breath through my nose, and realized why I had woken up. I had been congested for about 4 months. I just wrote it all off to allergies or seasonal changes. I didn't realized that the air I was breathing in the house could be perpetuating the problem.

Over time, my wife made several comments about being able to breath easier. I couldn't believe that an air filter could make that big of an impact. As her lungs seemed to be less of an issue, we got lazy with using it and often left it in the bedroom instead of rolling it into the living room. One day, my wife went out back for literally a few minutes, and came back in coughing hard. I wheeled the unit out into the living room, and turned it on high. Within a minute or so, the coughing stopped. We exchanged glances of disbelief. This thing was really working!

The final proof to me was when some friends came up for the weekend. Two of them are allergic to cats, and have to take medicine within a few hours of being in the house. With the filter, they asked if things had changed in the house, because their symptoms were greatly reduced.

The other thing I'll add to this is how well it cleans the air for a good sized room. Our great room is where we spend most of our time, and consists of a living room, dining room and kitchen. This unit does a fantastic job of improving the air quality of the entire space. When we go to sleep, we just wheel the unit to the bedroom. I love how flexible it is for us to use where we are. It has also been great when my son gets sick. If his room smells bad, we put the unit in the room on high for a few minutes to clean the air.


What about the sound?
I'll also address the sound of the unit, as it had come up a few times in my research. On 1, the unit blends in with ambient noise without a problem. The TV doesn't have to be any louder, and we don't have to talk differently than normal. On 2, the unit is easy to hear, and the TV needs to be turned up a a bit, but conversations aren't dramatically impacted in our experience. On 3, the unit sounds similar to an AC unit fan - quite noticeable. For us, the sound is no bother at all regardless of the setting. We are not light sleepers, so setting 1 and 2 have been no problem at all for us when it is running in our bedroom. We've never tried it on 3.


Conclusion
On the whole, this unit has been worth every penny for my wife and family's well being. I never realized it would benefit me as much as it has either. The air is noticeably cleaner in our house, my congestion has been almost completely eliminated, and my wife's asthma has been much more manageable. I had a lot of doubts when purchasing this, or any, air filter for our house. My expectations have been surpassed to say the least, which is good when you are spending this kind of money on something.

I looked into this a lot last year after I had my baby.

The major issues that I found were method of purification, noise, reusable vs disposable filter, and power/size.
Method: There was a lot of negative publicity about the Ionic filters because they can release ozone which is poisonous. The new ones use UV, I'm not sure how well they work but I don't think that they are great. The HEPA filters really take the junk out of the air and are pretty much great across the board in terms of air quality.
Noise: I looked at the customer reviews online for the various models and people had different things to say about each model. Check for the noise levels at the high med and low fan speeds.
disposable filters can get expensive quickly, most need to be changed every 3-6 months.
Size: purifiers generally say the size of the room that they can handle. Do not put the purifier in a room bigger than it can handle because it will burn through the filter and won't purify the air well.

I ended up going with Austin Air. They are expensive (between 300-550 depending on the model and where you get it, mine was 450$) and they are relatively large and heavy but they are on wheels so they are easily movable. They were repeatedly rated as the best purifiers below the industrial level. Its filters last for five years (they have a guarantee). Mine is almost silent at the lowest setting and pretty loud on the highest setting (sometimes I turn it on high and use it as a white noise machine to get to sleep). It works incredibly well, it removes smells from the room in seconds, and I sneeze less with it around. It pulls in air from four sides and changes over the air in a room pretty quickly.

All in all its a great purifier and I'm very happy with it.

The primary reason my husband I bought this product was to clean the air in our home from the dog odor that seemed really hard to eliminate with traditional cleaning. We've had this product for a year now and have LOVED it from the beginning. Right away we noticed that the dog smell in the air was practically eliminated when we leave the unit running. When we return from being away from home for a few days or turn the unit off, we really notice a difference in the quality of the air; it does what it advertises it will do. It has also really helped with our allergies. I am giving this product four stars however, because after a year, I'm ready to buy a new filter, though the product advertises that it will last up to five years. When I recently called the company to ask about receiving a replacement filter, they offer a forty percent discount off the price of the filter during the first two years of use. I will be buying a replacement filter because we love this unit so much when it's working at optimum level. I will say we leave it running all the time and have recently done renovations to our home, so that may be the reason we need a new filter already. Below is a breakdown of the pros and cons of this unit:

Pros:
-REALLY cleans the air of smells and allergens. I honestly was surprised by how clean the air smelled when we first bought the unit. It really does the job we wanted it to.
-Though I wouldn't say it's whisper quiet at the lowest level, we leave it running all the time (even when we're out of the house during the day), and we really don't notice the noise(and we have really tall ceilings).
-One unit will really clean a large surface area. I was concerned about the tall ceilings in our living space, but it hasn't been a hindrance at all in the effectiveness of this product.
-Incredibly easy to use with very little maintenance and very easy to use right out of the box
-Though it's not inexpensive, compared with similar high-end products on the market it's priced reasonably. I can't imagine something more expensive being more efficient. We've found this product to be worth the money that was paid for it, and it's much better than having bought something at even half the price that didn't work as well.
-Rolls easily so it can be tucked away or moved simply from room to room

Cons:
-The filter needs replacing after a year of use, but as I mentioned, we leave it running all the time and have done renovations in our home that probably contributed to the lack of longevity in the life of the filter. If you call Austin Air specifically, they will provide you with a new filter at a forty percent discount (during the first two years, but they will offer it at a pro-rated discount for up to five years).

Bottom line:
If you're looking for an air-purifier that will rid your home of smells and allergens, you won't be disappointed by this product (plus it's incredibly low maintenance and easy to use).

My wife and I purchased the Austin Air Healthmate in October after suffering with extreme allergies (worse than usual) for several months. The Austin air purifier arrived quickly and was not damaged. Within one hour after turning it on in our bedroom (which is about 200 square feet) the air seemed much cleaner and very fresh. We have four dogs and despite constantly brushing them and washing their bedding they create a slight dog odor in the room - it was also gone within an hour. We run the air purifier constantly in the bedroom and my allergies seemed to improve but my wife is still as miserable as she was before. After having it for one month, the air quality doesn't seem to be as great as it was in the beginning, however, we've now passed our 30 day money back guarantee and are stuck with it. The filters are not dirty but it's definitely not doing the job it did in the first month. If I still had the chance to return it for a full refund (minus the shipping costs, of course) I would do so because at a price of almost $500, I expected more than one month of clean and fresh air.

We received the Austin 400 in the time promised. The unit is a hefty 45 libs,but easily wheeled around where needed.
The bedroom was our first choice. We turned it on high an hour before bedtime. When we went to bed I turned it on the low setting.
The noise was hardly noticeable. Aside from the air smelling fresh, the proof would be if during the night my wife wouldn't wake up
with a stuffy nose and have irritated eyes in the morning. Well neither happened, even with the room being quite large .(12x15) with
12 foot ceiling sloping down to 8 feet. So like I said " It's a Keeper"

I had this in my bedroom and after a few months having it on at night, mostly on medium or low setting, it started to spew out the smell of wood. I called to complain about this and they told me that I shouldn't have it near unfinished wood or it will fill up with the fumes. What's the point of having a filter then?!

I read many reviews before I decided to purchase this air purifier. I read the favorable reviews and when compared with other machines of the same caliber this was not as expensive. This is an expensive item but when you suffer from asthma you really need something that truly gets to the nitty gritty.

I do question the craftsmanship. When we received this and unpacked it we noticed that we heard something rolling around in it. My husband then proceeded to unscrew the top to see what it was. He found that one of the wires was not screwed on and that the screw was what was rolling around in the fan area. He screwed on the wire in place. We also noticed that it looked like one of the fan blades was broken. We were not sure if it was supposed to be like that or not. Since this is a heavy machine we figured we would try it out since it would be a pain to return. It turns on and appears to work.

We use it in our two bedroom apartment. Our living space is an open area so during the day we put it on high for an hour then switch it to low afterwards. At night we roll it into the bedroom and put it on low since this is a small room and this is a powerful purifier. When I am in my computer room I also bring it with me. I noticed a big difference in air quality when this thing is on. I am a chronic asthmatic and even when I am on medication I would feel the tickle in my throat when the air was not clean. Now I no longer get the feeling when I have this on.

I took one star away for the fact that it came to us not properly assembled.