Air Purifiers

Updated on March 14, 2008
A.K. asks from Laguna Hills, CA
22 answers

We just moved here 6 months ago from a cold state, my children never had allergies there. But recently i am starting to see all 3 of my kids having different kinds of allergies. My daughter gets rashes on her body, my oldest has severe allergies and cant get through his day with out clartin, my little guy is starting to show signs too. We rent a home that is full of carpet, i dont know if this is the cause, or if its just the weather here being so different then the East. I was wondering if anyone knows of a good Air Purifier, cost is not an issue, as long as it helps clean the air and make my kids feel better. Thank you in advance!
A. K.

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

Featured Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.W.

answers from Los Angeles on

A.-
I only have a minute as a busy mom myself, but i'd love to talk to you about helping alleviate all the problems with allergies!!
S.
____@____.com

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.W.

answers from Sacramento on

Hi A.:

When my mom moved to a new area her allergies kicked up too. What worked for her was eating local honey! I know it sounds weird, but eating honey made with local pollen helped her system get used to it. It's worth a try anyway! I hope it helps!!

-K. W.

1 mom found this helpful

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

B.V.

answers from San Diego on

Hello A.,
We have the "Fresh Air" by ecoquest. We borrowed it from a friend because we were expecting company. The company coming had a teenage boy that was allergic to our cat. We turned it on a couple of hours before anyone arrived, and I cleaned out the fridge. We not only could not smell the food I was throwing out, John was at our home for hours that evening and he had no symptoms. I do not remember how much we paid for it. I just told my hubby we needed to keep this machine. We put it on "sanitize" on Sundays when we leave for church and come home to a fresh clean atmosphere each time. If you want further info or the e-mail addy to the man that we bought ours from just let me know. He may even be able to let you test drive one before you purchase it. We have it running 24/7 and just love it.
Have a great day, B.
____@____.com

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

R.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

All the other suggestions sound great! I would do one more thing, and that is do a mold test in each room your home just to make sure. They have at home tests you can buy from home improvement stores, or you can call a hygienest to come do a full scale test. Sometimes that can be an issue, and it's not always something that can be seen.

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

Z.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi A.,

The carpet maybe a real problem. You might have to get it removed or buy a better vacuum. There is a good air cleaner/purifier. It's called the 'Living Air'. Hospitals use it too. We used one for about a week and it did a real good job. It stayed with us for only a week because after the trial period, we figured we couldn't afford it. Hope this helps!

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.O.

answers from Los Angeles on

Living Air Purifier is a good one. This was used at ground zero at the 9-11 clean up. My friend has it and loves it.
I use the Orek Air purifier. This seems to work much better than the Sharper Image Air purifiers.

Dust is also a common factor for allergies. My pediatrician said to purchase the zippered allergy pillow cases and then cover it with another pillow case. I also enclose my mattress. Carpet is a common cause of allergies too. You may want to consider hardwood floors.

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.G.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi A.,
I sympathize with your situation, especially with the little ones. It must break your heart to see them suffering. I know when my friend (who is allergic to cats) would come over to my house, within 30 min. of being their he would have an asthma attack and couldn't breathe. It would scare me.
I just got the "Patriot Home Defense System" Air purifier. I also got with it the "Patriot Cleaning System". These two are so good! I thought that my Kirby vacuum system was good, until I saw this! Dennis Baier from Schoettler Research & Engineering in Huntington Beach came over to my house and did a presentation and measured the particules in the air. I couldn't believe how much stuff I was breathing when I was using my old vacuum! His system has a Hepa filter on it. A big one, so you don't breathe anything bad when you vacuum and the first time I vaccum my house with my new vacuum, I filled a whole bag! I got to see all the stuff in my bed, my couch, this system is so powerful it will suck up weights and he demos this with the vacuum bag full of sand. Unbelievable system. I could go on, on, about how wonderful the 2 products are. The air filtation system does my whole house. My eyes and my throats not bothering me anymore. I sleep better, and Dennis is such a nice guy, no pressure what so ever to buy the system. None. What a great guy. Call Dennis at 800-659-9901 or ###-###-#### and just tell him D. referred you. He'll know who I am. Breathe better, live better it's your birth right. If you have any questions, send me a pm or email.
Good luck,
D. G.

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

T.O.

answers from Los Angeles on

Check out www.ornelas.ltdteam.com and type in health. We have a great air purifier. A little costly but worth it.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.O.

answers from Las Vegas on

Hi A.,

I am originally from New York and had a bit of allergies but they turned really bad when I moved to Northern California and still bad when I moved here to Southern Nevada. What has helped me has been to keep my house clean. Since we live in the desert the house gets more dusty and some allergens that are native to Nevada (olive tree, etc.) will enter your home. On windy days keep your doors and windows closed. Check with a local airconditioning company and see if your a/c system has or can get a hepa filter added to clean out the air. Also, having your air vents cleaned may help. It it recommended every 2 years to keep the air in your home clean and healthy. Also don't forget to change the vent filters every month, especially during summer months. If you want to save a bit of money on filters purchase some good electrostatic ones that have a lifetime warranty and you can hose down once a month.
Having a cool mist humidifier will help also with allergies. It's dry here and there's very little moisture in the air like back east. As for air purifiers, I have purchased in the past the Sharper Image sells one that I have used and it's pretty good if you want to keep individual rooms fresh. Here's a website you can check out if you prefer other options. http://www.airpurifiers.com/

I hope this helps and if you need any more information or tips feel free to contact me via mamasource!

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.H.

answers from Modesto on

the best remedy for allergies in a new area is to have some locally grown HONEY! It looks like your kids are all old enough (over 1 year) to have honey. Go to a local farmer's market and I bet you can find some local honey. a few servings a week on bread... you should see some improvement!

good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi A.,
I know your renting, but if the house has central heating and air conditioning, you can request if the landlord will allow a "Media Filter" and "UV Light" to be installed in the system. They do cost a bit, but the Media Filter removes allergens in the air, plus it help with humidity - to help keep those little noses from drying up and getting bloody, and the UV Light removes any mildew that may build up in the unit. These items are really helpful in the home, especially if you have small children. I don't know what county you are in, but my husband is owner of a heating and air conditioning company in Ventura county, he does some work in LA county as well. We can send you some info if your interested???

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.C.

answers from Honolulu on

This may sound crazy, but you may need to find a new house. Are you living in California?? I lived there for 10 years and had to take nasal steroids the whole time because I got chronic sinus infections. Now I live in Hawaii, no problems here. But it sounds like you guys may need to get out from under the rugs, so to speak. Hard surfaces are SOOOOOO much better - you will be amazed at how much accumulates when you can see it floating around, and you will clean it up more often too. Rugs can hide alot and since you are renting, who knows what was living there before you???? Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.B.

answers from Las Vegas on

My husband works in Heating and AC. They've started with new filters that help take all of that out of the air. A good vacuum is a great start. The filter for your ac is probably the next step. They also sell something in stores that is a powder that you can sprinkle on your carpet to help with allergies. But I can't think of what the name of that is.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.A.

answers from Modesto on

My daughther had bad asthma. My doctor recommended the ionic air purifier from sharper Image. It's quiet, no filter and works great. The other best things is no carperts. We put in hardwood floors and it was the best thing ever. GOOD luck.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

The carpet may be part of the problem but unfortunately it's the air here. Because Ventura is an agricultural community with so many growing seasons, there are a lot of different pollens in the air all the time. My kids get occasional flare ups and have taken Zyrtec, Flonase, and Advair to control it and I use a humidifier at night. I have a girlfriend who bought the Ionic Breeze and was really happy with it. Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.A.

answers from San Francisco on

What really works also is eating local honey.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.F.

answers from Los Angeles on

That's very common for people to get allergies when they move to a new place. I have heard that most air purifiers are worthless. But go on to Consumer Reports to find the best and most efficient ones. That is the best resource for any product you have questions about. Good luck. I'm originally from the midwest and although I didn't get allergies when I moved here, half my family started dealing with new ones and sinus issues.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.R.

answers from Fresno on

I've heard The Sharper Image has an amazing air purifier, but it can be pricey. I would suggest having your landlords do a health inspection, because if something in the house is affecting your and your children's health, then it needs to be taken care of. If they refuse, I would go to the health department with it. They can get into real trouble about things like that. I am going through the same problem. I know there is mold in our rental house somewhere because our allergies only act up when we are at home. My landlords still haven't gotten back to me. The only reason I am being so patient is because my landlord is 95 and it's a possibility she isn't doing well. I usually deal with her son, but he hasn't responded to my letters either. I am only giving it a couple more weeks before I go to the health department myself. Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.Z.

answers from Los Angeles on

Don't know of a good air purifier but one thing you should do is get your air ducts cleaned in your rental home and get an electrostatic filter for your furnace. It will help keep the dust level low. We just moved here a month ago and we are renting a home too. We paid $400 to have the air ducts cleaned and sanitized and boy were they dirty!!!!! My daughter has allergies to dust mites, mold, grass, pollen etc... Get a good vacuum with a HEPA filter and vacuum frequently.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

E.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

I just bought a Holmes True HEPA Allergen Remover for my son's room and after using it just one night, his runny nose and eyes cleared up... at least until we left the house. The only problem is that it only works in medium sized rooms and I can't take it with me everywhere! :) If money isn't an issue (these run about $89 each), buy one for every room... if it's a large room, you might have to spend more money on something else. I know they have even better ones out there, but money is, unfortunately, an issue for me.

Just a piece of advice my doctor gave me about my allergies: He told me to keep my windows closed during the season I'm most susceptible and run the AC instead (try not to run the heater, it always makes my allergies worse). He also told me to stay away from vacuuming and dusting as much as possible. Unless you want to spend $1000 on a true HEPA vacuum cleaner, most vacuum cleaners just stir up the dust in the house more than anything. I try to vacuum only when necessary and it does help. I follow his advice about the windows except I like to air the place out at least once a week to make sure we're getting fresh air too. Nighttime works better than the morning because allergens are heavier in the air in the morning.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

Y.M.

answers from San Diego on

Hi A.. If you are still looking Here is something for you to check out howtoxicisyourair.com and http://www.riseglobalteam.com/airsource
Y.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi A.

I live in Corona Del Mar too. I emailed my mom she knows of a good purifier but in the meantime go and get some "DampRids" get a bunch of them and hang them in your closets or the bucket kind and put them in cabinets. You won't believe how much water is collected. That will help with preventing any mold. Mold can be very dangerous and we have to be careful of it living near the ocean so maybe check your house. I will let you know the purifier brand when I hear back from my mom! I hope the allergies clear up. My baby breaks out too once in a while but i think its the pet hair :(

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions

Related Searches