Customer Reviews

FAP02 Filtrete Ultra Clean Room Air Purifier

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

 

 

I purchased this unit at a significant discount from an aforementioned deal-a-day web site. I think it is worth the price I paid for it (sub-$50), but no more. I'm a cheap-skate, too, so take that into consideration.

I don't know if I would call it a "purifier" as much as I would a "very good filter." I keep my FAP02 in our computer room, which also serves as the litter-box room. The kitty litter we use is very dusty, and this filter really cuts down on dust in the room. (Note: "cuts down," not "elimninates.") It's also very good at picking up cat hair. Our unit sits right next to the litter box, though, and the room is only 120 sq ft.

At low speed, it's quieter than my PC. At medium, it has a hum to it, but it sounds more like air coming through an air duct in a house. High speed is fairly loud. Our unit runs at medium 80% of the time, low 15% of the time, and the other 5% is high when I'm changing/adding kitty litter. With few exceptions, it has been running non-stop for 10 months.

The other thing to consider is the cost of replacement filters. I cannot find them at any of our three area nationwide discount retail-"marts", so I have to order mine online. No big deal because Amazon usually has them in stock, but each filter is about $20 and last for approximately 2-3 months. As stated earlier, I've had my unit for 10 months, and I am about 1 month in on my 4th filter. Doing the math, it's a filter every 3 months and about $7 dollars per month for filters. The unit does display flashing lights that turn red when it's time to change the filter. You may be tempted to change it early because it will look pretty nasty, but keep going until it tells you to change it. To check, you turn the unit on high which causes it to perform a self-check.

The FAP02 is not small either, and the closer to the center of the room, the better it's supposed to work. Mine sits alongside a wall, and the wall will get dusty. Considering that this is supposed to be for small rooms, finding a place to put it may be hard, and if you want it to not be seen, I wish you good luck.

In conclusion, I'm glad I bought this device, but I'm also glad I didn't pay more than I did. It does a good job filtering dust particles and cat hair, but consider the ongoing cost of replacement filters. The size of the unit can make placement in small rooms difficult and it's not necessarily an attractive device, so if you're style-conscious or don't like "gadgets" cluttering your room, you might not like this.

I took off 1.5 stars for suggested price and cost of ownership and a half star for noise and size.

I bought this item based on other reviews stating that it worked for people with allergies. I have allergies and I hoped this item would work as well as it was supposed to. It seems to be doing the job; the filters get dirty, but whether it actually does what it purports to do remains to be seen. Allergies are still are problem despite it being run, though not as bad, so maybe it is working.
Cons:I didn't like the way the price went up after I had placed it in my cart the day before. Overnight, the price went up. Filters are hard to come by, which should be factored in when deciding whether or not to purchase this item. Note, if you take the filters out and vacuum them thoroughly, their life can be extended three times as long. It's a bit noisy for me to sleep with, so I can only run it in the daytime or at night in other rooms. It doesn't rattle or anything like that, I just can't stand the humming it makes.
Pros:It's easy to operate, and the lights tell you when to change the filter. It's light enough to move around from room to room;lighter than a dehumidifier.

I purchased this off woot and got it new. After having used it for 5 days, I've noticed a few things.

This doesn't really clean the air, it mostly helps circulate it and remove larger airborn particles (such as hair).
It doesn't clean air that well, since it pulls it in through the front (broad-side), but it has a plastic cover over the inlet, limiting it to the gap between the cover and base.
The amount of "dirty" air it pulls in is severely limited, since the unit is so low to the air, and it blows it out the top, so if you throw a bunch of dust into the air, the purifier will push it around the room before it cleans it out.

3M did a pretty good job designing a cheap air filter that runs fairly quietly. Low is the only mode that I can call "quiet". mid and high are pretty noisy. Plus the wheel inside that's the fan wobbles, creating an oscillating hum.

This is not what I would call an Air 'Purifier'. Great if all your are concerned about is cutting down on the amount of dusting in your home or you have minor allergies. My requirements for an air 'Purifier' is that 1. It removes harmful particals from the air (this does that if they can get to the filter) 2. It controls odors such as smoke or any other ambient odors that may waft thru your room and cause discomfort (no charcoal or any other odor removal tool onboard so not happening. 3. It clean effectively with a reasonable noice level. (since the CADR on this thing is in the paltry 100s to begin with (these numbers are generally those for high speed operation) silent scares me. Unless you live in an area with a non-attainment air quality rating like I do, you would do better opening a window.

The filter itself is good however for serious air cleaning save your money. This system has found a home in the kitchen just to keep dust levels down even there, a low traffic room, it needs help from a second purifier and does NOT even begin to touch lingering cooking odors. I placed it by the intake exhaust of my A/C to keep the dust down and it still does not keep the dust down by any real noticable degree.

Sooo if you suffer from allergies or asthma or even live in an older house that is subject to microorganisms, plunk down the extra dough for a REAL air purifier and leave this on the shelf.