Customer Reviews

Bionaire LC1060 HEPA Air Cleaner

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The reviews here sealed the deal for me, though I'd been considering an air filter for some time. At last I have one. I don't have any regrets about this Bionaire unit. Not only is the sound of the internal cylindrical fan very quiet, it even becomes rather soothing after awhile. Is there any downside to this very inexpensive unit? Only one: the unit has no timer (though even some more expensive units lack a timer), so if you'd like to cycle it on and off through the day (to conserve electricity, for example) then you may want to pick up one of those inexpensive electrical outlet timers to cycle the unit off and on. But the manual says you can leave the unit on its lowest setting forever if you'd like.

I have this Bionaire air filter running in a small room in which I share my bed with my computer and various stereo componants (actually, they're not in the bed with me, but nearby). With the use of the Bionaire, I've seen a reduction in the amount of dust these electronics tended to attract, though it has not - as one review implied it might - entirely alleviated the need to vacuum...but that was more of a dream than a real expectation anyhow. I am very pleased with this unit and have suggested it to friends. I also want to mention the aesthetics of the unit: It has nice pillow-like curves, a soft appearance that suits a bedroom just fine. It is a neutral color that further helps it vanish from your attention.

Having read the reviews carefully, I ordered the Bionaire LC1060 and find that it does indeed do a good, quick job of making the air in my office much more pleasant to breathe. But it's not quiet: it's not bad when the fan is turned low, but it's not particularly quiet.

Caveat emptor: The Bionaire was shipped in its thin cardboard, store-shelf box -- label stuck on the outside. The box arrived broken, but the machine itself was fine. It carries a warning label -- !Call this 800 number before using! It appeared to be a safety warning, so I called before plugging the Bionaire in, and got a computer which asked me to state which model number I'd bought. LC 1060, I said carefully. Sorry, please repeat. LC 1060, I said again -- several more times until I slammed down the phone. I found a customer service number in the manual, and after 8 or 10 minutes on hold, was greeted by a live voice. It turns out the purpose of the warning label is simply to allow them to try to sell you other Bionaire products. Ignore the red-yellow warning label!

At Amazon's price, this is a pretty good buy. But there is an element of sleaze in the shipping and labelling. Some day there will be a medium size air cleaner at a good price which is also truly quiet!

I enjoy the occasional cigar and, as my wife will tell you, cigars are best appreciated outdoors (especially the golf course!). However as a Chicagoland resident this is only an option about 7 months out of the year. Since the Bionaire LC1060 was rated to remove air pollutants such as dust, pet dander (we have a dog), pollen (wife has allegies) and smoke, I thought I would give it a try.

Here's how it went. The unit arrived as scheduled. It came in its own box, which was fairly beaten up. The plastic case was cracked about 2" near one of the intake grill release buttons. A little super glue easily fixed it. Since the ionization feature was important to me, I paid particular attention to the instruction manual section on ion emmitter pin maintenance. Maintenance is simple, but I had a lot of trouble locating the pins within the unit. The instructions are not very clear and there is no diagram. Maybe it was just me, but it took a couple of calls to customer service (who were very easy to reach and helpful) to determine their location. If your interested, they look like the tip of a sewing needle and stick straight up about 1/4" out of two small holes in the top of the gray plastic box located between the fan cylinders as you look down through the top of the air exhaust grill.

The unit functions as advertised quite well. Access to both the HEPA and carbon filters is easy. The fan noise is acceptable - low speed is hardly heard and high is loud but not annoying. The unit imparts a clean, fresh smell to the room air with the ion emmiters on and it even captured about 99% of the cigar smoke I generated watching Monday Night Football. There was a slight stale smell in the room Tuesday morning, but that might be my fault for not running the unit long enough to completely clean the air. I am operating the unit at the limit of the recommended room size.

All in all, a pretty good product.

This product is very well constructed. It has three speeds, low and high. The low speed is pretty much quiet enough to sleep with. The Bionaire LC-1060 is a good choice to remove any small particles that are very annoying. The extra [money] is defintely worth it for the medium speed which is the speed of choice when I'm not in the room as high takes up too much power.

Although I'm not totally knowledgable on air purifiers and the technology behind it (ionization, etc.) but I'm certainly happy with this one. It removed almost all of the dust in the room it was placed. I was sick and tired of having to dust all the furniture in the room so I got an air purifier. After getting one and I dusted for the last time. There are two computers in the room and the computer cases are modded with many fans around the side so I have to watch out for dust more than normal computer users have to as dust damages your expensive hardware. However, with this air purifier, I didn't have to worry about dust getting into my system at all. It's a great investment.

I suffer from hay fever and have always slept with a window open. Ceiling fan is installed in my bedroom and runs at night in low mode. Since I have bought this unit, I can now sleep at night. This unit does filter out the dust and well worth purchasing for a small/medium room. Installation of the HEPA/carbon filter in the manual is confusing and after consultation with Bionaire I reversed the installation of the two filters and noticed a significant improvement. "Great Unit"

The Bionaire is the most quiet air cleaner I have ever purchased. I have allergies and asthma. This product has made my home air light and fresh, and my breathing much easier! It also has an ionizer on a separate dial. The air cleaner itself is lightweight and unobtrusive. I like the way it sucks air from the front and releases clean air out the top. My only disappointment is the filter is rather high priced, and doesn't last longer than about a year. The filter is a cardboard box style.

Definately recommend the cleaner.

I have really noticed a diference, much less dust! My hubby has allergies and it helps him.. One qualm I have is their prefilter is actually a post filter? The air goes through the hepa first then through the other filter.
What I did was cut a piece of airconditioner filter (the cheap thin kind) and put that in front of the hepa filter. The large particles won't clog the hepa so quick.

I have asthma and allergies and when I set this machine up and turned it on, within about 15 minutes I noticed the big difference it was making. My nose unstopped and I could breathe easier. I am buying another one for another room. Good idea.

Update June 2003: Since January I bought two more units, another for me and one for my mother who also has asthma. I have one of those big round Honeywell air cleaners too, bought years ago, and this Bionaire model is much more effective. A necessity for asthma sufferers.

I took the time to write this review cause this product was worth every penny.

After one week of using this Air Filter, I decided to clean the filter of dust and was shocked to see how much dust it collect.

I have a computer, t.v., 2 vcrs, xbox, and a nintendo in my bedroom. This air filter keeps my room and everything thing in it 100% dust free, no need for me to pick up a brush no more.

Get It !!! This product is one of the best investments you are going to make in your life.

Thank you.
Navindra B.

At the lowest setting, it sounds like a window air conditioner. At the highest setting, it sounds like a jet engine. I ran it at the lowest setting while I slept and I really could not be certain if the unit really cleaned the air or not. I woke up with a stuffy nose, I assumed that that meant that the air still had considerable amount of allergens.