I am allergic to dust and can smell everything. The day after I plugged in the Honeywell 17400 unit, by the following morning, I had no nasal congestion, no sore tight throat, in the morning, ALL my symptoms were gone and haven't returned since I've been using the unit daily in my upstairs bedroom (past 4 or 5 months). I can even breath easier while sleeping. The unit is noisy; it isn't quite at all when running on the highest speed. At night I turn the unit down to its lowest speed, I can hear it but it doesn't disturb my sleep.

We really like this for our son's room, the white noise is great for my toddler's sleep. I must say I never put it on high for sleep, low is the most one can tolerate. But I put it on medium or high when we aren't in the room, and close the door. We come back, and it's a completely new room, smells wonderful! We have two cats and a son with allergies, so it's important he not be exposed to too much dander. We also encase all the bedding he sleeps in to keep out dust mites. But something interesting our allergist said about the noise, he said, "If it doesn't make noise, it's not working". Interesting that those quiet tower type filters are NOT the best you can buy for allergies, but the under $200 is really the most effective. Anyway, just my 2 cents.

I really think this HEPA air cleaner has helped my family with their allergy symptoms. I would recommend this item and have to all my friends. What a wonderful product! Thank you!

The Honeywell filter was delivered promptly and works very well. I would sugest you use a surge protector with it. I lost an air cleaner previously because of a yery large energy surge.

I researched air purifiers for almost 2 months before finally buying this air purifier. I couldn't seem to decide what would be a good because reviews seemed to always go both ways on everything I looked at. I really think it just has a lot to do with what reason you are wanting your air purifier to work as to how happy you are going to be with it, and as to what type you need to buy. I mainly wanted one for my allergies. I am allergic to dust, dust mites and mold spores. There is no smokers in my house or anything so the air is clean from that.
I mainly chose this filter because I found a really good price for it somewhere else, and I decided to give it a try. I have to say, for what I need it to do, it does a great job. The air definitely feels fresher and my eyes do not burn and I do not sneeze near as much since getting this machine. I like that you only have to replace the HEPA filter every 1-2 years, where most HEPA filters I researched in other machines required every 6 months or so. They are not too expensive for lasting that long.
I have only run my machine 8 days and I took out the filter to see what it looked like, and there was a bunch of dust and stuff already collected on it. So I can tell it is getting a lot out of the air. I saw several people wrote that the machine is way too loud even on low, but I tested several machines out, and this is definitely the quiestest of the HEPA models I tried. At night in my room I have it on low and it is perfectly fine, about the same noise as a fan would be. Even on medium I can watch TV without problems. So if you are looking for a air purifier for your allergies at least, and have around 1,000 Sq. feet place or so your living it, it works great. Highly recommend.

Good News: When the 17400 operates, it does a good job.
Bad News: Motor is defective.
I purchsed the Honeywell 17400 Envirocare in November 2003 and by June 2004 the unit cease to operate. As described here already, the unit simply would not turn on. Returned it to service center on my dime plus $10.00 check. After 5 weeks and no response, I complained aggressively to Customer Support who immediately dispatched a replacement unit. That new unit arrived in early August 2004 after 6 weeks without a unit. You can be sure that extreme care of the unit was observed at all times for fear that it would beakdown again. GUESS WHAT? The new (replacement) unit stopped working on October 8. The next unit (number 3) arrived in 7 days after my plaintiff telephone call to customer service. Still, after the new unit arrive, I had to return the bad unit to Honeywell again on my dime! Maybe three times a charm? Please, please whatever you do (unless Amazon starts giving them away) do not get this unit.

This unit only worked for about 6 weeks, then wouldn't turn on anymore. I'm very disappointed - I paid near two hundred and was unable to return it...what a complete waste!! I would have given no stars if I could have!

I bought this air cleaner in March of 03 and was pleased with the thing until it just stopped working in January 04. There was no indication that anything was amiss, I was changing the pre-filters on the recommended schedule and then one morning nothing; no lights, no sound, no activity. Am sending it back to Honeywell (on my nickel according to their warranty policy). We will see how long the replacement lasts. I have read several reviews here that don't give me much hope. Amazon was nice, said I needed to contact Honeywell directly but suggested I post a review.

I have a 100 year old house - by that I mean I have lots and lots of dust problems. I also have 3 cats, 3 hamsters and a guinea pig (as well as fish!) And I smoke, way too much. I got this air cleaner a week ago and the setup was terribly simple.I leave it on the low setting because I found medium and high to be too loud, but low is working just fine in my 17x16 open room. (There's an open stairwell in the room.) This thing sucks my smoke towards it from 10 feet away, and I dusted the day I got it and haven't had to since, which is truly amazing for my house. I'm breathing better as well!I highly recommend this product to everyone. In fact, I'm going to buy a couple of smaller Honeywell's for my bedroom and bathroom (cat litterbox in there.)

You can barely hear it on low speed. Medium makes a little noise, but it's not as loud as the Vornado AQS15 on medium. I use the Vornado in my bedroom for air cleaning and background noise :) High speed is a bit loud. I bought 2 of these for my rather long basement, and I keep them both on medium. They aren't noticible to me at all.Having electonic push buttons instead of a knob or switch seemed like a great idea, but I have two issues with it. First, my daughter likes to push the buttons to make the lights change. I think we've finally convinced her to leave them alone though. The other problem is, when the power blinks they go off and stay off. I don't lose power that often, but when I do I usually don't notice that they're off for a few days.

My apartment no longer smells like the musty old house in which it resides. I doubt that my landlord has ever had the ducting cleaned, and I question whether he changes the furnace filter. My box fan gets black mung all over the blades in the winter, so I bought this unit to keep that stuff out of my lungs. I may be a college student but I can still afford comfortable breathing. Technically this isn't any worse than what they charge for a year's supply of prescription antihistamine. All I can think is that I should have bought one of these years ago. I prolly wouldn't have had to dust so much hehMy only complaint is that the high setting exhibits motor noise. It isn't any louder than my box fan when running on high, but it wasn't what I expected from a product marketed under the name 'QuietCare.' However, this is my first HEPA filter so I have no base for comparison. It really seems like an efficient design, you can't go wrong with a squirrel cage motor. They push the same CFM with half the noise. My music drowns it out and I usually run it on medium anyhow. It's still quieter than my AC and refrigerator! The medium setting actually has a pleasant 'white noise' sound to it. I'm *very* sensitive to sound, I even insulate my PC case with acoustical dampening foam. This product passes my standards for environmental noise. Someday when I buy another for my bedroom, it will probably be of the SilentComfort product line.Sure I could survive without one... but why? Yeah, technology baby!

I ordered two of these units. One of them died after a few minutes. I returned it for a replacement. The replacement died after a few minutes - same as the first unit.The third unit worked for a month and then died.Three separate units died within a month of being taken out of the box.These units are not cheap and I expected better quality. Three units not functioning is terrible quality - not possibly a statistical coincidence.Stay away from this product.

Couldn't miss on a great Gold Box deal on this item! It was exactly what we were looking for to maintain (and eliminate) odors such as smoke and others. The only downside is the "warning light" for when to replace the filter. We cleaned out the first filter so that we may reuse it for another few additional months, however, we could not reset the "warning light" so it still shows "replace filter". That is a bad design.Otherwise, it is a very good filter for those who have smokers or pets or whatnot. (It mentions that it should be used in a closed room and to be honest with you, we use it with windows open and it still does it thing!)

I researched a dozen HEPA filters and decided upon this product based on price and functionality. I purchased 2 units - one for upstairs and one downstairs. One unit worked fine and is still working 2 weeks later. The other unit turned on for 5 minutes and then died. The manual said to return it if it didn't work. I returned the item for a replacement (hassle enough) and when I plugged in the replacement (different electrical outlet nonetheless), the new unit ran for 5 minutes and then died. Exactly the same problem as the first unit.Obviously Honeywell has poor quality control for these units. A single bad unit may be acceptable, but 2 in a row is more than coincidence. Not only will I not replace this second unit, but I will not shop for any other Honeywell products in the future.If you like hassle and disappointment, buy this item. However, if you expect a quality product for your money, stay away from this unit.

I bought the air cleaner, plugged it in and it worked for about a week then just stopped working, motor didn't work, no activity of any kind. I returned it and had it replaced and had the exact same problem, but this time it stopped working after one day. Called the Honeywell customer support line and all they could tell me was that sometimes the units sit on the shelf and the motor collects dust and this might cause it to burn out. I agree that the motor probably burned out on both units but this explanation made no sense at all. I didn't want to pursue it with them, I just returned the second unit and am looking for a different air cleaner. Might have just been very unlucky but it is a very odd coincidence. Amazon of course was very responsive and helpful.

This review used to read "...we're saving on the Allegra, too. Great product." HA HA AHAHAHA! I gave this thing five stars shortly after buying it. Well, one year and a day after receiving it, the thing died deader than a doornail. Calling the company to ask what to do, the girl on the other end said to send it back with a detialed letter describing what I'd done to their machine to make it quit! (Turned it off one day, turned it on the next.) She said I wasn't supposed to do that - turn it off and then on- but should have just left it running.
Save your money, get something else. I've got extra filters I bought for this thing and can't use.

I ordered one of these a few months ago, and after running it on "high" for 2 hours the fan stopped. The cleaner worked on medium & low settings after that, but would not run on high. I called the company; they said it was a defect. Amazon.com sent a replacement; the replacement ran for only 5 minutes on "high" before giving up the ghost. The medium and low settings are great, effective and quiet - but not being able to use the high setting is ridiculous, and 2 defective cleaners in a row seems like a pretty bad track record. This happened in the past 2 months; maybe it was a defective batch from the factory, since earlier reviewers don't seem to have had this problem. Anyway, food for thought.

An earlier review I had written (q.v.) stated that this product may be no longer available. It seems now that it is available through a company called Kaz. According to their website "The Honeywell trademark is used by Kaz, Inc. under license from Honeywell Intellectual Properties, Inc."A change in manufacturer may explain why that company was no longer able to obtain replacement filters from Honeywell. Whether or not these Kaz products are as good or deserve the same reputation as the Honeywell made ones remains to be seen.

It works, but it's very LOUD.

I have had Honeywell HEPA air filters of various ypes for the last 4 years. They have really made a difference for me since I have allergies. My husband, who does not have any allergies, also found his to be great when he lived in the dorms since it kept his air so clean and breathable I will note that a friend of mine had the QuietCare and on high, it really is not that quiet. I have the Honeywell enviracare 11520 and 10500 at home and both of these are seem quieter on the highest setting, though on the lowest and middle setting the QuietCare my be quieter than either of these in low speed (there is only two speeds on the 11520 and 10500 which I find sufficient). I fall asleep easily with the 10500 about a foot away from my head every night.Also, other Honeywell enviracare HEPA air filters are round so you can put them anywhere and they'll work just as well. You have to turn this one and so you don't get 360 degree filtration. I highly recommend you check out the 11520 and 10500.

I am very happy with this air cleaner; however, it is not as quiet as I was expecting.

I have had honeywell hepa filters for years, and I think i just got used to the noise, as when I plugged this in... I was suprised at how quiet it is. This is great for a nursery or a bedroom.Not sold on filter based systems? I just dont care for the electronic ones as I find they dont remove dust from the filters quite as good as these units do.Use this for a one month and open the unit and look at the filter and you will be amazed at the .... you are breating in without a good filter.If you have asthma, this is a must.

I was very interested in this product, but some investigation reveals that it may no longer be supported by the manufacturer & filters may be or become hard to obtain.I couldn't find this model on Honeywell's website (though I did see a picture of it somewhere). Perhaps it was replaced by the Enviricaire Elite series?Another website that sells filters for this product says they can no longer obtain them from Honeywell and Honeywell has not provided any explanation for the current situation. Search for "enviracaire replacement filter" on the web to see what I mean.Do some research before purchasing any of the Honeywell Enviracaire products.

I live in an apartment in downtown Seattle. We had terrible problems with dust and road grime making its way onto our shelves and counters -- I had to dust thoroughly every weekend. So I was very excited to get this air filter. It is pretty loud on the highest level, but obviously that is not a problem when you aren't at home. At its lowest level it isn't any louder than the hum of a quiet refrigerator. And it kicks out really clean, cool fresh air. It's about the size of a large hat box, and it is very light weight and has a convenient handle at the top for easy carrying. I carry it from my living room to my bedroom every night. Only one problem--the air it produces, while very clean, is also very dry and when I slept with it on in my bedroom all night, I woke up with dried out, painful sinuses. However, this air cleaner has made a noticeable difference in the quality of the air in my home and I would recommend it.

I was initially reluctant to spend the money on this air cleaner. However, I've had a succession of air cleaners that were much less expensive that didn't do a thing to improve my allergies and sinus infections. I took the plunge and boy am I grateful. This is the best air cleaner I have ever owned. I bought a new one initially. But then I saw an old one at a garage sale and bought that too. It took some cleaning up. (So now I have one in my bedroom and one in my living room, both set on low and left on 24/7.) The quality of this air cleaner is superior. If you buy a new one it will last for a very long time. If you buy a used one you may have some serious cleaning to do to it like I did, but you will still have a solid air cleaner. The hepa filters may seem pricey but if you are dealing with a lot of dog or cat fur/hair then you should vacuum the pre-filters at least once a week and that will extend the life of both the pre-filter and the hepa filter. I wish I had initially bought this air cleaner years ago because I spent more than the price of this air cleaner on crappy smaller, less well built units that I ended up throwing out. I hate to sound like an infomercial, but this air cleaner has changed my life!

I'm allergic to just about everything. Let's put it this way, when I got my tests back from the Allergist I *wasn't* allergic to feathers. That was it, everything else came back positive. I'm allergic to dust, mold, grass, trees, pet dander, ... the list could go on, but I think you get the point.I bought this product for use in the master bedroom ( roughly 17' x 20' in size), to clean out the allergens. Since it was going in the bedroom, I was very concerned about the noise. This has not been an issue. It runs continuously on the low setting and it really is quite. Most people don't even notice it.Again, running continuously on the low setting, I've found the pre-filters need changing about every 2 to 3 months and the HEPA filter is just now indicating it needs changing after about 15 months. I think this seems a reasonable amount of time for the filters to last. Changing the filters, however, is my one and only complaint. Did I mention I was allergic to dust? Opening the cleaner to change filters -- especially changing the pre-filter -- is not easy to do without getting dust all over yourself and in the air. Even though I change the filters as soon as the light indicates, there is a lot of dust not firmly trapped in the filter. When you remove the velcro straps holding the pre-filter in place, the dust gets airborne and gets on you..That being said, it does seem to have made my bedroom a much more pleasant place to live. I've noticed that during the spring and fall pollen seasons that I'm sleeping better at night. I attribute that to the good job the air filter is doing. There may be cheaper air cleaners on the market, but why settle for a substitute? After a year of using it, I'm convinced it was worth every cent I paid for it.

I have been very happy with my Honeywell air cleaner. We purchased it after we turned on our central heater for the first time in the winter and were experiencing allergies with dust. It also helps relieve my husband's pet allergies. It indicates when the filters need to be changed, which is very handy.

I use this to protect my computer equipment from dust (it's VERY dusty where I live) and it works well. However, on the highest setting it's very noisy. During the day I keep it at the lowest setting, and can only turn on the "deep clean" at night when I'm not in the computer room. Other than that, works great.

Amidst a construction at the moment, I purchased this for the common space within my office. People had been complaining of dust and allergen levels due to the construction. The Honeywell 17400 has done a tremendous job for us. There has been a noticeable and welcome improvement in air quality. My colleagues and I recommend this product. It is quiet and effective.The pre-filters only last a few months dependent upon use while the HEPA filters last about a year. We have had the machine running on high 24-7 for quite a while now and have never had a problem.

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.Recently, I decided to purchase another air cleaner with a HEPA filter for my bedroom because I had contacted bacterial pneumonia last year and wanted to make sure I did not get it again. This air cleaner really works! 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 problem sleeping when it is running on the low and medium settings. I leave it on all the time, and I've found that it works best when the door is closed. It has a convenient handle on the top, so I can move it to another room quite easily. The prefilters last about 3-6 months, (and they can be vacuumed 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. Highly recommended for anyone who has pets, who lives with or entertains people who smoke, and who is allergic to dust, molds, or pollens.