I recently purchased this air purifier from my local Target store and I couldn't be happier with my purchase! I have been waking up with terrible headaches and stuffy noses due to allergies (the pollen count has been outrageous where I live due to very little rainfall in the past few months). My doctor recommended that I look into air purifiers and that could easily solve my allergy problems without having to pop pills everyday.
The very FIRST night I used the machine, I noticed waking up without any problems. No stuffy nose...no headache! I leave it on all day in my bedroom on the LOW setting, and I find that the noise is nothing like other reviewers are saying. It really is whisper quiet. Of course, there is a slight hum of the fan, but it is in no way bothersome.
If you are looking for an air purifier that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, look no further. This thing WORKS, it is AFFORDABLE, permanent HEPA filter, and QUIET. All pros in my book!

This is a good basic HEPA air filter. We bought it for our son's room. The air smells cleaner. It is a bit louder than I thought it would be on the low setting.

To call this unit 'Quietcaire' is simply [...] in my opinion. It is as loud or louder than any air filter I've ever owned. Anyone who thinks it is quiet quite possibly has significant hearing loss and/or a high level of ambient noise in their house. I can hear it three rooms away on the low setting.

Had they not advertized it as quiet, I would have given it more stars (although I probably wouldn't have bought it then). I measured the noise level in the middle of the night with everything in my house turned off. My sound pressure meter jumped from about 20dB to over 54dB when I turned this thing on 'low' at a distance of 1 meter on the side AWAY from the exhaust vent. It exceeds 65dB on high. I chose this model over others based on their claims of quiet operation. Don't buy into it folks. If quiet operation is your main criteria, then look elsewhere. If a noise generator is what you want, then this might be the unit for you. My wife asked me if it was getting ready to take off.

I have four Honeywell 17000 air purifiers. One is noisier than the others -- it rattles a bit -- so it goes into the spare bedroom, and I rarely run it. The other three units rotate between my living room, my office, and my bedroom.

I run the living-room machine 24/7; the office unit about nine hours a day; the bedroom purifier when I'm in bed, as you might expect.

My Honeywell 17000s get the job done. However, they're a pain in the butt because they require frequent changes of the pre-filters. I have a dog who sheds constantly; through experimentation I've learned I need to change the pre-filter on the living-room unit after three weeks of 24/7 duty.

After changing the pre-filter, I rotate the units between the bedroom, office, and living-room in such a way that the unit with the newest pre-filter is in the bedroom. I keep the door closed in the bedroom throughout the day, and start the air purifier before I go to bed. As a result, the air in the bedroom is always sweet-smelling and delightful; my allergies rarely bother me at night.

To keep three or four units supplied with HEPA filters and pre-filters costs me about $200/year, which is ridiculous. But it's just about worth it because the filters do a good job of keeping the air clean. The one exception is the performance of the machine in the living room, hangout for the aforementioned perpetually-shedding dog. The Honeywell 17000 can barely keep up in that dusty, hairy room, and it helps to run that unit on "high" for a short time each day.

Still, the condition of the air in my living room is much better now, compared to the sneezy times I endured and barely survived, before buying the air purifiers.

The unit probably deserves only three-and-a-half stars out of a possible five. But I'll be a little generous and give it four stars, because I have no regrets.

Forget all those *Ion Stick* air cleaners. This is the real deal. Moves a lot of air, and gets the room clean and dust free in just an hour or two. The filters are easy to change. The prefilter goes for about 7 bucks each and the main HEPA for about 20, but the latter only has to be changed every couple of years. About as noisy as a fan.

After just a month with this critter in my house, I can't imagine apartment living, allergy season, or owning pets without it. It works like magic to clear out even the most noxious of pollutants, such as when our neighbors decided to smoke right under our kitchen window, which we had unwittingly left open. It staved the constant tide of cat and dog dander collected in this apartment's nylon carpets. It even makes breathing and sleeping easier now that it's pollen season. Best of all: on the "low" setting, you barely even notice it. Other filters I have owned you can either have it on OR the radio, or forget conversation. Not this one! It's VERY quiet on low, reasonable on medium, and not all that bad on high, even. A great buy!

LOL, there's nothing quiet about this thing but man o man i works wonders for my allergies! I just one day of having it on in my room i notice a drastic difference. I no longer have a stuffy nose and scratchy eyes when i wake up in the morning!!!! Thank God!!!! Worth every penny IMO

The machine looks like it would be wonderful at cleaning and purifying. Too bad I cant turn it on. I have to 'Locate pre-filter in the box and install before initial operation'.
There is no pre-filter in the box.
Amazon recommends you try to settle things with the manufacturer first.
The manufacturer has not responded to phone calls and emails.
And here I sit.. with a rather large fancy paperweight.

This is the best air purifier I have ever used! My kids all have mild allergies and this purifier virtually eliminates all of their symptoms. It's also very quiet, which makes it wonderful for the bedrooms! The amount of dust it removes from your home is unbelievable. After seeing the prefilter after 3 months of use, I would never go without it on 24/7!

I bought a Honeywell Enviracaire HEPA following a large brush fire in our area, it worked very well to clean our indoor air. It's just about silent. I replace the prefilter once every three months, and the big HEPA filter about every other year. It's amazing to see how much dust and crud collects on the prefilters. I'm happier having the Honeywell Enviracaire take the dust out of the air instead of our lungs!

The Honeywell seems quite well made. The pre-filter and filter are easy to change. The carry handle on top is useful when you want to move it from room to room. The HEPA filter seems to work fine, as any other True HEPA model will, but my real concern is the noise level.

If all HEPA purifiers were like this, I would accept it, but I recently purchased the "Kenmore 295 CADR True HEPA Air Cleaner" from Sears. It is described as "America's quietest true HEPA high-efficiency air cleaner technology". The Kenmore is _quieter_ on its _highest_ setting, than the honeywell is on its _lowest_ setting, and if you put the Kenmore on its lowest setting, you can barely hear it. You'll have no problem sleeping or watching TV with it running. Note that even though the Kenmore is much quieter, it has a CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) twice that of the Honeywell, and it handles a room twice the size. I paid $199 for the Kenmore, so yes, a little more expensive than the honeywell, but absolutely worth it.

So, the honeywell is fine, but you won't want to run it continuously or run it while you sleep because of the noise. There are better models out there. Look into the Kenmore.

They call it QuietCare... It's not all that quiet. I mean, it's throwing out a serious amount of air, and like any fan, it makes noise. Don't expect this to be silent, because it's not. Otherwise though, I find it to be quite nice as an air cleaner. Ultimately, it is easy to replace the filter. You simply twist a knob, remove the filter, add the new one, and tighten the knob. Even my grandma could do it.

You can also program the unit to operate at different speeds at different times. Not exactly revolutionary, but it's nice to know that you can set the thing and leave it alone, and it'll shut off, or switch to low speed when you aren't at home.

Overall, if you want a decent HEPA air filter, this is pretty cherry. This isn't some cheap air filter with a weak fan. You could dry your hair to this thing. Safe around kids and pets, easy to move from room to room, and the set and forget system makes it worth the money. The only reason I'd of bought something else is if I had a bigger room and needed even more power.

This air cleaner does its job! The white noise doesn't bother me one bit. It doesn't do its job if you have your windows open, however. I can definitely smell the difference when it is not turned on and the smoker is there compared to it being on. We have it on 24x7 and clean out the outer filter (just run the vacuum over it) every 3 months (we've only replaced it once). All in all, it was worth the purchase!

I bought this machine and was very disappointed. It is loud, bulky and does not do a good job filtering the air. I would recommend getting a really good vacuum (we have the yellow Dyson and it does a wonderful job) and just going over your floors and surfaces everyday if you want to cut down on dust and pet hair.

I've had this product for about 3 years and am very pleased. The noise level is fine for me. We keep it on low and have no trouble listening to the TV. It also provides some nice white noise for sleeping.I change the carbon prefilter every 2 months and it is amazing how much dust is on it. I buy cheap replacement carbon filters at Lowes. The HEPA filter I changed once (after 2 years). These are pricey, but with the amount of dust this thing takes out of the air, I knew it was a good investment.Filters are easy to change, machine itself is easy to clean, and it does a great job.

I believe the air cleaner is working, but it's hard to tell. It gives off a strange chemical odor and has for the several months I've been running it (continuously at first). I no longer use it because of this. I contacted Honeywell, and they suggested I run it outside for about an hour, which I did with no results. It seems like the pre-filter must have been coated with too many chemicals. I'm reluctant to go out and spend good money after bad and try a new pre-filter, but right now the purifier is just taking up room. Anyone else have this problem?

I bought the Honeywell 17000 and after trying it sent it straight back. It is really noisy and kept even my deep sleeper husband awake. On the high setting it sounds about like a hair dryer on high. On the low setting it's still much louder than my portable fan that I use for white noise. After returning it I did more research and discovered that it had received a poor rating on air quality from Consumer Reports. I strongly recommend against this model. There are much better and quieter products out there.

It provides clean air and has improved my allergies tremendously. I've had mine for 3 years and have never had to replace the hepa filter, just the prefilter. It does make some noise, which I like to drown out my neighbors. I wouldn't want one without some type of white noise for this reason.

This reviewer (see above) is ignorant of all facts aboutany air purifier. Read Consumer Reports, October 2003 for allfacts and information prior to buying a unit.

To quote: "It turns O2 into O3 (ozone) which can irritate the lungs."Those of you who are already not getting enough oxygen will understand why reducing the amount of available O2 in the air could be a REALLY bad idea....Hope this helps....

No, I have NOT bought/borrowed/used the Honeywell 17000, yet I call your collective attention to 3 alternatives which merit serious consideration before you commit your cash and health to the innards of this (or other) HEPA devices. Keep in mind that should you count on repayment by Medicare, then hold off on "my" suggestions. OK, first look at Amazon's newly-introduced product, "Hoover SilentAir 4000 Ionizing Air Purifier" (ASIN: B000090WEX); this looks like it means business big-time, and the Amazon page already describes its ability to annihilate the teeny particles that slip under the HEPA 'radar'. Drawback on this first one: "Dielectric Collection Sheet" probably has to be BOUGHT (rather than wiped clean). Will somebody find out for us all? Next two devices are comparable in that they are tower-style, with supposedly small footprints (incompatible with toddlers and roving animals): one is the "Ionic Breeze Quadra Silent Air Purifier" by SharperImage (cheaper via Outlet); the other is the Honeywell Environizer (2 models, both via RadioShack). The Quadra (2 larger sizes) and the Environizer both carry 5-year warranties, and both guts can be wiped clean with a sponge. Since none of the three alternatives have fans, they draw considerably less juice than any HEPA. I do not know and cannot imagine how a whole room's air can be aggressively scrubbed clean by a passive device, namely the ion purifiers. A fringe benefit of having a HEPA purifier make sound/noise is that there might be less marital bickering over random low-level noises that are inevitably generated by human activity or bodily functions. Once the honeymoon wears off, you both might (re-)UNITE in a mutual dislike for the whir and hum of a HEPA. Should the relationship 'troubles' threaten the bonding, then try to ALTERNATE "pick-on-me" days. The disser won't be so eager to vent, knowing that the next day s/he has to hear the mate...

Then it died. I contacted customer care twice via their Web site and got no reply. It was a bit loud, too, but it cleared the air well, even after smoky cooking. I don't know why these HEPA air cleaners use the word "quiet" in their product titles. I bought a DeLonghi FreshZone to replace the Honeywell. While "quiet" isn't a part of its name, it says "quiet, flexible operation" on the box. It's louder than the Honeywell was.

I have been using a Norelco Clean Air Purifier for probably over 10 years now. I thought it was time to get a new air purifier because now it seems I have to change the filters more frequently. From the reviews I thought that this model would be perfect. After I purchased it I was very disappointed: First, it's TOO LOUD!!! It's supposed to be "QuietCare" and I don't find it quiet even on the lowest level - that's probably because the purifier itself is SO BIG (10.5 x 15.5 x 14). That's the second thing I don't like about it - the size. My Norelco is less than half that size and works much better and is much quieter. {I definitely would have bought another Norelco if they were still making them.} Last, but definitely not least, this air purifier does absolutely nothing to reduce odor (I have a pet). There are TWO filters with this model and still it does not help to reduce odors! Another reason I purchased this model is because I was able to get it on sale (somewhere else). I don't even think it's worth that and I am really considering returning it. The room I am using it in is 11 x 13 and it states that it is preferably for a room up to 12 x 14. The thing is so big you would think it could purify a room twice that size. This is the first time I am writing a review and I am only writing this because I wish there was a review like this when I was shopping around so that I would have looked for another brand of air purifier.

Use this in my son's room. He has allergies and was always out of school with colds and earaches. Still get the occasional cold, but with the air cleaner running all the time they usually go away quickly instead of lingering and turning into infections. The boys sometimes complain about the amount of heat it throws in a closed room, but I haven't really noticed it and think the heat is more a product of the 4-5 teens in the room than the motor running.

Wow! Bought this because a close friend was allergic to my two cats. It doesn't eliminate the allergy entirely, but the difference was evident after just a couple of hours of this baby cleaning the air. Any allergy sufferer will be amazed at how much this helps. It's convenient and easy to move throughout the house. Also works great at controlling odors. Well worth the expense if you need serious allergy or odor control.

I have never had an air cleaner, so I have no basis for comparison. I also have not had it for too long, so i can't advise on it's long term performance. That being said I am very happy so far with it. I recently, and for no aparent reason, developed mild asthma and allergies. I have two cats and, while I am not a pathological neat-freak, don't have small messes around the home, and I vacuum frequently. Both my asthma and allergies have gone away. The air is remarkably more crisp, and my sleep, while it was good to begin with, is better.As for my experience with the noise level, and with deference to other reviews, I have no problems with the cleaner. This thing has moving parts, i.e., the consequences of thermodynamics and mechanics hold sway: there will be heat, friction, viscous drag over surfaces, etc... it sounds like a fan. On the lowest setting, which still filters a large volume of air (per time), sleeping or reading is very comfy in the same room. While the two higher settings may be too much to relax in the same room with, it will be slightly audible in another (close proximity) room.The filters are easily accessed. They are concentric with one HEPA and a carbon prefilter, and are, at first glance, sealed.

I used to have this model but wanted to get an air cleaner with more power and longevity. This model has an extremely attractive design and is quiet but has flaws such as:1) The filters don't last very long2) The carbon pad filter is inadequate for certain strong fumes(both HEPA and the carbon filter must be replaced after using it in an environment filled with fumes like glue, paint thinner, paint, nail polish remover)3) The plastic construction is bad because of offgasing. This unit may be good for a single room, but for larger places you need something stronger.

This product has made all the difference in the world. I highly recommend it to anyone with allergy problems.

I don't have another air cleaner to compare this to so my words may not be of much help. I bought this air cleaner used and I'm very happy with it. It's not too loud, I can sleep with it on even on medium. It definitely works, especially when I've blown out a bunch of scented candles and the room is filled with smoke. The smoke hangs in the room until I turn the air cleaner on then it's gone in what seems like minutes. I have asthma, cats, dogs and birds, and my alergies don't seem to bother me much at all since I have had this air cleaner.

As someone who is highly allergic to cigarette smoke and other air pollutants and irritants, I purchased a round Honeywell HEPA air filter when it first came on the market several years ago. It still works well in the living room, but it is quite noisy even on its lowest setting.This year I purchased another Honeywell air cleaner with a HEPA filter (Model 17400) for my bedroom because I had contacted bacterial pneumonia last year and wanted to make sure I did not get it again. Next, I purchased this Honeywell 17000 Air Cleaner (with HEPA filter) for use in a smaller bedroom which has been turned into a home office and library. These air cleaners really work! This winter I have not had a cold or flu. Also, this Honeywell Air Cleaner with HEPA filter is whisper soft, and I have had no problems with sleeping, working, reading, watching tv, or listening to music when it is running on the low and medium settings. I leave it on all the time, and I've found that it cleans the air best when the door is closed. It has a convenient handle on the top, so I can move it to another room quite easily. Also, it is light enough that I can take it with me in the car if I want to use it away from home. The prefilters last about 3-6 months, (and they can be vacuumed often if you have pets who shed). I change my HEPA filter every year, but you can wait 3 years to do so. These filters are easy to change. The Model 17000 is for a smaller room, and the Model 17400 is for a larger space. Highly recommended for anyone who has pets, who lives with or entertains people who smoke, and who is allergic to dust, molds, or pollens.