Customer Reviews

Friedrich Pre-Filter for C-90B Air Purifier

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

There are two types of filtering systems; whole house hookups which are installed professionally or self-installed, and individual room units. Consumer Reports says "The most effective type of air cleaner is a professionally installed whole-house system; but it's also expensive and feasible only in houses with forced-air heating or cooling. Simple replacement furnace filters are inexpensive and easy to maintain, but generally better suited to clearing large particles from the air. Room air cleaners are your only option if you don't have a forced-air system."

Of the room units, there are two basic technologies HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air)filters, in which a fan draws air through a paper or fine-mesh filter, and electrostatic precipitators which draw air through an electrical field. Charged particles are then trapped on oppositely charged collector plates.

All precipitators generate small amounts of ozone, which has an odor that may be objectionable. They may also make a crackling sound as they accumulate dirt.

The best precipitators use a fan. I know everybody loves the The Sharper Image and the Hoover one but they have no fan; the Honeywell Environizer has a weak one. The Friedrich C-90 has a fan.

ConsumerReports.org rated this one ten times better over the Sharper Image ones, which are basically over rated and you're paying for the marketing and packaging. The Friedrich C-90 topped all of Consumer Reports tests on filters hands down.

It's not as sleek as the Ionic Breezes, but it gets the job done, and keeps your home as clean as any machine on the market will.

I bought this item with high hopes after reading a positive review. My daughter has bad allergies and my husband and I were hoping that this might help. Since she has been using the air cleaner her symptoms are significantly improved. The unit is easy to use and I like the idea of not having to spend a lot of money later for big filters.

I used to own a cheaper unit that I bought at a local store. After reading that Consumer Reports gave this a best buy ranking, I decided to give it a try. Although more money than I wanted to spend - so far I love it! My air is definitely cleaner, I don't wake up with sinus headaches anymore, and it has made a big impact.

I got two units for my apartment after reviewing several consumer websites, Consumer Reports, and reviewing government sites. I had them for less than a month...thank goodness Sylvane, Inc., was good about taking them back.

I honestly gave them a chance. I sent one unit back thinking that it was a fluke, the other started misbehaving within a week, and the replacement sounded like it was going to fall apart straight out of the box. Three out of three units had the same problem...hello, McFly? McFly...

Here's the problem: the units, when on high, make a lot of noise. I'm intelligent, so I expect that when a fan is on high, it'll make a lot of WHITE noise. This wasn't white noise, though...it was the sound of the fan hitting the housing inside the unit. It wasn't the "snapping" noise of the electrostatic plates collecting particles, either. That was an entirely different sound.

When I returned them, I told Sylvane that I was not confident that, if I left them on high, that the unit would last long. How much of that fan hitting its housing would it take to burn out a motor? I also explained that, at $450+ each, there shouldn't be problems like that.

Additionally, even though it's reported that the units put off well under the EPA's threshold for indoor ozone, there is a distinctive odor of ozone that emanates from the unit. It probably is below the threshold, but...how much poison is OK with you to put in your lungs?

Finally, the corona wires got very dirty very quickly when I was using the units. Crusty white dust accumulated on the wires, lowering their ability to remove particulates from the air. In two weeks of having the units, I washed one's plates in the dishwasher three times.

One of the features that the company touts about the units is that they are cheaper due to its lack of HEPA filters that need to be changed. Instead, there are two filters, a "prefilter" and a carbon filter. Both are very thin, and both seem very cheap. The prefilter can be vacuumed clean. The other is supposed to last three to six months or until it stops removing odors. But, if you need a replacement...a prefilter is $20 from the Friedrich site and the carbon is $19.95. These are both so thin as to be able to be seen through...certainly not worth those costs.

Count $19.95+shipping every three months plus a weekly dish-washing (has to be alone in the dishwasher, too...) and your "savings" evaporate.

Stick with the tried and true HEPA filters appropriate for the size of room you're trying to get clean.

I'm a smoker and I hate cigarette smoke. I live in a mid-sized apartment and bought the Friedrich C90A because my Kenmore air cleaner was killing me in replacement filters ($120 a year) and wasn't doing the job of removing the smoke smell from the room.
Well, I've had the C90A for a year now, and I'm buying a second one for my bedroom because the Honeywell air cleaner in the bedroom is constantly getting clogged with little cotton fibers, and I have to buy replacement filters for it. The Friedrich filter is easy to clean, esp. if you have a dishwasher, and the placement electrostatic cell costs on $160! The fan inside is large, so when on full power it may be noisy, but I plan to use timers to have it work while I'm at work.
By the way, since running the C90A, people come to my place and are unaware I'm a smoker! It works that well!!!!

We bought this review based primarily upon the Consumer Reports review. We've had no problems at all with the unit and we're very happy with this purchase.

We have 3 cats and several friends allergic to cats. We also had the odor associated with a litter box for 3 cats... This thing has done a fantastic job of cleaning the air - removing odor and dander so well that our friends can actually spend time in our house. The pre-filter is easy to clean - I usually use the vacuum on it regularly. One reviewer complained about the costs to own this - which are lower than most other brands, incidentally. Their complaint included the $20 filter (~ 3 months depending upon usage). Well... buy them in bulk from the company to save a bit, but keep in mind that $20 is much cheaper than most brands.

I cannot understand how the Friedrich C-90 can be so highly rated. Consumer Reports ranks it number one.

The Friedrich C-90 has three settings -- low, medium and high. On low, it runs fine, and I will say even on low, it cleans the air beautifully. The trouble begins when you set it on medium or high. An ungodly racket commences. It is the fan blade, inside, hitting the inside of the case. It sounded that way to me, and I was able to confirm it by looking inside the unit with the filter out....the black plastic from the fan blade had made black marks on the beige interior of the unit where it was hitting. Maybe if I ran it for a month the fan blade would wear down and not hit anymore. But I expect more from ANY air purifier I buy -- and especially one in this price range. Well we sent it back, and got a 2nd replacement Friedrich C-90 in exchange. It had the exact same problem. We sent that one back too, and now are living happily, quietly, and allergen free with a BlueAir 501.

This purifier receive an excellent review from Consumer Reports, which motivated me to buy it. It is quiet, simple to use an makes little noise. I have cleaned the filters on several occasions and the process is straight forward and easy to do. I highly recommend this model.

It's pretty good at removing heavy cigarette smoke, not very noisy on low or even medium. Mine has been running 24/7 for two years on low with no problem. Forget replacing the charcoal filter; it's so flimsy as to be non-functional. The electrostatic core (made by Honeywell) requires cleaning about every three months. A dishwasher session cleans the core but leaves the dishwasher gunked up with tobacco tar (if you smoke). It's quite easy to clean in the bathtub, and doesn't require long drying time. I turn it on after 15-30 minutes.

Expensive HEPA filters exposed to tobacco smoke will clog in 1-2 weeks. Electrostatic removes much smaller particles than HEPA.

Devices generating high levels of ozone, some of which use ionization, are used to sanitize and deodorize uninhabited buildings, rooms, ductwork, woodsheds, and boats and other vehicles. According to the FDA, it is "amending the food additive regulations to provide for the safe use of ozone in gaseous and aqueous phases as an antimicrobial agent on food, including meat and poultry." Ozone can be used to remove pesticide residues from fruits and vegetables.

If you are afraid of health effects of inhaling ozone, Run the air purifier when you are not in the room or area- It will dissappate quickly when you shut the unit off.