Price: USA: price ranges between $129 - $179 USD
Canada: price ranges between $150 - $200 CAD
Background: I am extremely sensitive to dust. I moved into an apartment that had tiling instead of carpet through out the entire place - and unlike carpet, where the dust is caught by the carpet fibers, in a tiled home dust flies in the air far more. As a result, every morning I woke with terribly itchy eyes, a blocked nose and phlegm in my throat. And if you've ever had allergies you will know how draining they are - you become fatigued, sleep less and this of course can make you feel rather depressed.
I've had experience using an air cleaner in the past so I knew that with the right one, my symptoms should be alleviated. However, I didn't want to spend a tonne of money on a high end air cleaner, my previous one cost about $800 and this time I was hoping to find something much more affordable. I have also used a much cheaper air cleaner - one that was about $30 - which did not have a
True HEPA filter, and basically this air cleaner proved to be inefficient for my needs. After researching and reading positive reviews, the Honeywell 17000 seemed like a good cost effective choice.
Works very well: Practically within a day of running the air cleaner, my symptoms dissipated. It's kind of unbelievable even when you're the one experiencing it, because you go from being extremely irritated to being just fine - and it's all because suddenly the air you're breathing is no longer dirty. The reason True HEPA air filters work so well is because they are designed to capture 99.97% of airborne allergens and household particles - my old cheaper air cleaner had a Hepa filter that only captured 99% of airborne particles and somehow going from 99% to 99.97% seems to make a huge difference if you suffer from allergies.
Permanent True HEPA Filter / Easy to clean: Certain air cleaners require filters to be changed routinely and replacing filters can be costly. With this unit you don't ever have to change the True Hepa fillter - you just clean the filter by vacuuming it when the little check filter light turns red. The black pre-filter that wraps around the Hepa filter also has a check filter light signal, and this too is cleaned easily by vacuuming. I use my hand help vacuum cleaner to clean the filters and it's very easy. I bought my Honeywell air cleaner 9 months ago, it runs all the time and the pre-filter still looks pretty good. I think you only need to change this once it looks thin and deteriorated. Replacing the pre-filter is pretty cheap - I've seen the exact Honeywell 17000 pre-filter online for $15 and generic universal ones for $7 (just do a search for carbon pre filter). Also, after you clean each of the filters you press the reset buttons so that the red filter check lights are turned off and the filter check timer is reset.
Speed Settings / Sound: The air cleaner can be run on three settings - Low, Medium, High. The higher the setting the faster the air is circulated through the filter. Overall the unit is pretty quiet - the low setting is a very soft gentle air blowing sound. I run mine on medium all the time and whilst that is louder than the Low setting, it is still pretty quiet and pleasant sounding. High setting increases the air blowing sound reasonably more and I wouldn't prefer to have it set on High while I'm sleeping.
Unobtrusive design / Good size: The design, shape and look of the unit is ideal - it's not too bulky and the integrated handle at the top makes it easy to move around. I actually like the round shape that it has - just looks gentle to me which is fitting to the fact that it's a quiet unit. Air is sucked in from vents on the front and back of air cleaner's barrel shape and blown out from vents near the top.
Drawbacks? Not really: This is not really a con towards the efficacy of the air cleaner - but there is a little blue light next to each speed setting that lights up to indicate which speed the purifier is set at. It's a nice blue light and looks fine aesthetically, but when going to sleep at night it's a little too bright for me so I keep the light covered up with a small piece of electric tape. Not a big deal - definitely not a reason to deter me from buying this air cleaner.
Final Thoughts: I think for the price range of this air cleaner, the Honeywell 17000 is very ideal for a one bedroom home. If I had a larger place I would probably invest in two of these - the size, price and effectiveness of the unit makes it an excellent solution to allergy problems. I think if you have any allergy issues, you should definitely try out this air cleaner before resorting to medication to solve your allergy issues.
Specs: MFG Brand Name : Honeywell
MFG Model # : 17000
AHAM Certified Recommended Room Size: 14'x 14' (200 sq. ft.)
Size (LxWxH): 15.82 x 13.14 x 17.08 inches
Weight: 11.8 lb
Voltage: 120 V
Circulates air up to 5 times an hour covering 200 sq. ft.
HEPA filter captures 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns for cleaner air
Removes dust, mold, odors, pollen, viruses and particulates for easier breathing
Where to Purchase: I bought mine from a local Home Depot store in Canada. I have also seen them available online at Newegg and Amazon.
If you thought this review was helpful and wish to buy this product, you can support this review by purchasing from Amazon through the following link. A percentage of your sale will then go towards supporting Captain Cynic Forums:
Honeywell 17000 True Hepa at Amazon Otherwise here is the non-referral link:
Honeywell 17000 True Hepa at Amazon
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42yrs • F • 
