Customer Reviews

Panasonic F-P20HU1 Air Purifier

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

 

 

I purchased this model for my living room and the smaller-sized model for my bedroom, both from J&R. I'd guess the majority of consumers purchase a purifier for some peace of mind if you have a lot of pets or a lot of smoke and to tweak the body towards better health - these purifiers have done just that for me and my roommate.

The devices are relatively silent at the lowest settings [best comparison: think of two humans blowing air lightly through their lips]; the low setting is all you will need for daily operation. At full blast, the models sound like modern hair dryers, but we only use these settings for a few minutes when we are getting ready to have company or if we are chain smoking.

The air quality monitor [on the F-P20HU1] is actually fun. Feedback on appliances is great...we like to joke about the "impurity" of our apartment when we have a full red reading and become encouraged as the purifier brings it back to the green reading of "purity." A silly thing, but something you get from products you like.

The controls are intuitive and the design is non-invasive, with a small footprint. The purifiers are cat-cornered to our white-painted walls, blending easily into the apartment landscape.

Maintenance [vacuuming the filter monthly] is a non-issue and I am encouraged by the fact that the manual recommends a HEPA filter change and a deodorizing filter change at one year and three years, respectively. The models have alerts for the filter changes - smart.

Since their purchase three months ago, the difference in bedroom and living room air quality was immediate and tangible: we are less prone to fits of coughing or allergic episodes.

These models are not high-end, but cost-effective and "pro-sumer" enough to get the job done consistently and to neatly fit into our living space.

One of my family members purchased one of these for her apartment about four years ago. She was extremely satisfied, and reocmmended it to me. I purchased two for my home about three years ago. They have worked flawlessly. I particularly like the way that they 'ramp up' when they detect the need to do so, and the way they graphically indicate the quality of the air in the room. Based upon my recommendation, another of my family members bought two of these two years ago. They have since bought three more units as gifts for other family members. I'm not quite sure about the experience suffered by the author of the other review that is posted here. Whenever I light a match near the unit, it detects and shows the pollution in the air and goes ballistic (ramps-up) until it cleans the air.

I purchased one and in one night, my daughter was breathing better (she has asthma), but to test it I then moved it into my bedroom for the following night and my allergies were vastly improved.
In addition, we were remodeling our kitchen, tearing out walls and this unit cleaned up the construction dust very well. Very effective in clearing out dust and allergens.

I bought a second unit.

4 stars instead of 5 because the LED display is very bright. I used a narrrow strip of 95% window tint to cover up the LED display so my daughter could sleep at night.

I have owned both this unit (F-P20HU1) and its little brother, the F-P15HU2 for over three years and I think they are the best air cleaners on the market, for the price. The cost of a replacement HEPA filter is very reasonable and will last 3 years. The Air Quality monitor is a great feature! At a glance you can view the quality of the air in the room. From the display one can learn what activities create the most dust. I never realized how much "dust" the dishwasher created until I bought these units. Some powder detergent actually escapes as dust before it can be completely dissolved! Switched to a liquid detergent. It is a good way to find out if your vacuum cleaner spews dust into the air too! If while vacuuming the indicator goes red, then think about replacing your vacuum (or changing the bag).

Works really well with catching dust, has a good choice of speeds... id keep it on medium to effectively catch and hold dust...actually moves air unlike useless ion filters

I have owned this unit for more than 3 1/2 years.

It does a good job removing dust, pollen, and smells. It is very quiet and can be set to work automatically, based on a sensitive sensor which ramps up speed as needed.

This is a quality built device that fits nicely in any room. The P20 is built for a larger room (up to 300 square feet)and works well if you want some "overcapacity" to clean air in a smaller room.

There is some confusion about filter replacement. The HEPA filter can be vacuumed out (I do so once a quarter) and it will last about 3 years. The charcoal filter only maintains effectiveness, it seems, for about 1 year. It does work that first year, but if you try to stretch efficiency to change both filters every 3 years, the charcoal filter loses its punch over 1 to 1 1/2 years. Up until that time, it will even help control an occasional kitchen odor (though the directions say not to use it this way).

If you need to clean a room quickly there is even a "super high" setting that can be set manually.

Filters are expensive and somewhat hard to get (about $90-$100 total for both HEPA and charcoal combined currently) and you do need to take time to clean the filters to keep them effective, probably the more the better.

Have used this air purifier for over a year now -- LOVE the variable speed motor, and the auto on/off option which empowers this machine to automatically come-on when it detects polutants in the air. Strong motor, can quickly pull in air when on High. Very quiet when operating in the low-speed setting. I am very satisfied with the product. I highly recommend! Also, the filter is rated to last over 1 year, versus many on the market with an "up to 90 day" life.

I have used this product over a year and this only worked for odor. This will try to remove any odor except one, which was not convenient for me. If I take a shower and enter the room, it will even try to remove my soap smell. However, it does not work for cigarette odor or smoke.

In addition,it will dry up your room and your eyes will get dried and even turn red. It did not work, when my room was dusty. I bought this because I was allergic to mite and dust but it did not work for me at all. I recommend Sharper Image Ionic Breeze, if you want better air quality.

The worst part. I submitted $40 rebate to Panasonic over a year ago and still have not received the rebate. I tried to resolve this problem both by email and by phone for several months. Their excuse was that they closed down the rebate center and they could not cut me the check, although I have all the necessary rebate proofs.

After they transferred me to same wrong departments many times and did not return my calls, I even talked to 2 people at the management team in Customer Lead Dept and they sent me to wrong department again. Now, they won't even return my phone calls, when I wasted 2-3 hours A DAY to talk to them about it. (You have to wait AT LEAST 15 mintues to over an hour, if you call them.You have to expalin to representatives all over again to talk to Management because they do not keep all the records.) One of them told me that there's no department that resolves problem, when I asked them to give me another contact information because they were not willing to resolve the problem. Run away from the bad service. I am not just talking about representatives. They call themselves as management team and do not even return phone calls. This might happen to you, if you ever buy Panasonic product and there is problem with it. I am disappointed not because I could not receive the rebate but because their service was so horrible.