Customer Reviews

Zojirushi PAMTC14 Ultra Slim Air Purifier

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

 

 

[UPDATE: I've now had this air filter for one year. It's still in good condition, and I've figured out how to use it. Basically, if you are a sensitive allergy sufferer like me, you need to keep it on its very highest setting while you are in the room (I was leaving it on "auto" when I wrote this review.) Luckily even the loudest setting is not much different from my friend's Honeywell filter on "quiet." When the setting is left on high, I can smell that the air inside my tiny room is noticeably cleaner and fresher, and my allergies are noticeably better. I wish I could upgrade the star level to "4". My original review follows:]

I'm not sure this filter is really doing anything; it certainly hasn't helped my allergies. I have it in my bedroom, which is a closet-sized room very high ceilings, about 98 square feet/1000 cubic feet in size. The filter itself is very narrow and tall, about the size of two flat screen computer monitors, so it fits really well against a wall despite the very limited space.

One thing that makes me less confident in this purifier is that its air quality detector's readings seem completely random. For example, it'll switch from the green "Everything looks great" indicator to a bright red "High particle concentration" alert within seconds, without going through any of the intermediate levels. So you're lying there asleep with the fan going at a gentle whisper, and vroom, it's like someone plugged in the vacuum cleaner all of a sudden. I don't understand how the air quality in my room can get that bad in a matter of seconds when nothing visible has changed.

We purchased one 3 years ago when we had our first baby. It served us well. Quite, automated and looks great. Now we got a second one for another room in our house. Replacement filters can be a bit costly at ~$45, but they do last long. It's worth the money.

We alway like stuff from Zojirushi. Great products and well built.

I agree with everything Patrica had to say in the previous review. There are two speeds: high or low, and two modes: always on or automatic. In the automatic mode is senses the air quality and turns on as needed. In the manual mode, it's the same speed all the time. It does seem to be completely random and I don't have a lot of faith in the algorithm - but who knows - these are supposed to be very small particles anyway. The low mode is ultra quiet, as promised, but the high mode is ultra noisy, so loud that it wakes me when sleeping. So, I use low mode. I've had it for around a year or so, and, the filters are not dirty at all. This makes me wonder if it's doing anything useful. If it were cleaning the air, I'd expect to see buildup of materials in the filters. It's probably doing no harm, and doing some good, just not sure how much good ...

My wife and I moved to Philadelphia for medical school. Within a few months she was experiencing problems breathing due to the bad air quality. At night she would continually sniff. She could not sleep at night due to the discomfort and I had to find refuge in the guest room if I wanted to sleep undisturbed at night.

A Japanese friend of mine recommended this air cleaner. We tried it and within a week the sniffing and allergies decreased.

I can't possible rate this product high enough for what it did for me, her and our sanity. There was a noticeable difference. I would gladly pay thousands for this benefit. It's great!

Works like a champ! Definitely less dust around the house and my families allergies have improved! Very quiet! I own several Zojirushi products and all of them are outstanding! Zojirushi products might cost a bit more than other manufactures products but you get what pay for!

No longer made, but the reviews are instructive. (Look at a site which reviews some of the reviews here! [...])

I've owned a number of these, and am about to go buy one in a store that still has one in stock. I do not have asthema, just allergies, and this seems to work nearly as well as the noisier HEPA air purifiers.

Pros:

Low noise, especially if the front plastic hood is removed.

Small profile and light, allowing it to be placed almost anywhere.

Changes speed according to pollutants. The link above says the sensor has a design mistake, but I've found the unit responds reliably, for example, if I'm shaking the dust out in the room.

Can be used far beyond its rated lifespan for particle filtering (years), although the odor filter has a limited life.

The unit is very well built. I've had other air purifiers come and go, on account of breakdown, filters becoming unavailable. (Filters are still available for this.)

Cons:

There are situations where you don't want the higher speeds coming on, and especially if unit is in a room that's much larger than the rated capacity, it cycles up and down, as the clean air nearest the unit goes elsewhere. When that bothers me, I just set it to a constant speed.

This has been a tremendous help w. my husband's allergies. It was great in the spring, summer, and fall. Has actually cut down on his snoring - he sleeps much better. The "white noise" we get from using it on the 2nd setting has been a wonderful plus also. We use it nightly in the bedroom, but I have used it on occasion in the kitchen area to cut down on some of those more lingering cooking odors. I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone. It is extremely portable, and fits almost anywhere.

I turned this on high when I first got it. After a day, the air felt and smelled noticeably better. Then, I left it on auto, and you can't even hear it. One morning I woke up to the feeling of colonic pressure, and subsequent equalizing of the pressure resulted in the sudden introduction of hydrogen sulfide and methane pollutants to the room. The sensor detected the emission and immediately cranked into high mode. By the time I got back from the bathroom to get dressed, the air was fresh and odorless, not ozone, and the device switched back to the silent background mode.

The remote is so strong that it works even when the device is hidden behind a dresser.