My daughter sometimes wheezes while sleeping and has mild asthma so I started looking for an air purifier to put in her room. Just head to Wal-Mart and pick one up right? Well when I started looking into which one to pick I found that there is a very large variety of brands, types, and range of prices. They started around $50 and went well over a $1000 dollars! Knowing there must be something to such a huge disparity in price I started researching to find the best combination of price and effectiveness. Eventually I decided on the Oreck ProShield Plus Air Purifier.
Types of Air Purifier
The single most important feature of an air purifier is the how it cleans the air. Each type has positives and negatives to it. The main types are HEPA filters, electrostatic precipitators, UV purifiers, and ozone generators. HEPA uses a simple filter to catch particles which is effective, but those filters require replacement and can get expensive. Also the fans on these type of air purifiers are generally louder than the other types. Electrostatic precipitators change the charge of particles in the air and cause them to cling to collection plates. They are not effective at destroying microbes such as bacteria, dust mites, and mold spores. UV purifiers focus on destroying microbes but are not that effective collecting particles such as dust, pollen, and pet dander. Ozone generators simply generate ozone and do not remove contaminants from the air. They only attempt to make the room smell better by neutralizing odors in the air. Recently it has been found that ozone in large enough amounts is hazardous to your health! So those are definitely out.
The Oreck ProShield Plus Air Purifier combines an electrostatic precipitator with a UV purifier for the benefits of both. In addition it never requires buying new filters; you simply wash the filter with water and soap. Also it has a quiet mode which is truly almost undetectable to the ear.
How Big of a Room Will It “Purify”?
The Oreck ProShield Plus will clean the air in a 12 X 18 ft room twice in 2 hours on high. I felt this was more than enough for my daughter’s 11 X 11 ft room.
Is It Loud?
It is loud enough on high that it is distracting if you are watching TV. My daughter usually leaves it on “Silence” mode during the day and at night likes it on medium or high for some white noise. It is very quiet on silence mode. Sometimes when you first start it and there are large particles in the air you will hear a popping noise, it was loud enough that it surprised me the first time I heard it. It is actually the UV zapping the larger particles. Fortunately this rarely happens.
What Does It Come With?
- The purifier itself which measures 10.5” X 4.5” X 18”
- A 3-year limited warranty
- A stand for using the ProShield Plus in vertical position
- A remote that controls the power, fan speed, night light, and UV.
What Do Other People Think?
The ProShield Plus has received top ratings from most consumers at Amazon and from the Oreck website itself. Of the reviews I read here are some comments that stuck out:
- “This is the best air purifier I’ve ever owned.”
- “within the first 2 days of installing this air purifier in the family room the stuffy noses went away”
- “Easy to clean”
- “it smells good in here!”
- “my neighbors all tell me what a difference!! And I am a heavy smoker.”
Best Places to Buy the Oreck ProShield Plus Air Purifier
I like to hunt around for the best deal, although it seems I end up going to Amazon more often than not. Still the same in this case Amazon’s price in combination with free shipping make it hard to beat. Click here to view on Amazon.
Want to See More Reviews?
I like to see reviews of people who have actually used the product. Amazon is the single best place for unbiased reviews of owners of the product. Click here to read more.
