Hunter 30890 Total Air Sanitizer

We just purchased the 30441 version of this model at Target. The 30441 model shares the same manual with the 30890 model. Don't know the differences, if any.

Here is my 3 day assessment:

1) First six hours of unit operation produced an unusual smell. After 24 hours, could not longer detect. I've worked with HEPA filters in clean rooms before, and the smell seems like that of a new HEPA replacement. There may have also been a bit of `electrical' type odor, but I no longer notice that.

2) On all three speed settings, the unit is louder than I would like. We located it far from our bed, so can run overnight on the number 1 setting. Since I have tinnitus, the white noise seems to help a bit with sleeping, but I still think it seems a bit louder than desirable on the lowest setting.

3) We have never used an air purifier before. We finally realized we needed this when I experienced a prolonged allergy attack lasting months which seriously affected my health. After only 12 hours, this unit had a noticeable effect on my breathing. We turned it off one night, and by the morning, I was having difficulty with breathing. The unit really helped me.

4) For comparison, we also purchased the Holmes HAP9726 (I'll review that unit separately) at Walmart. So far running about six hours in our living room, and seems to be working, but need to turn off for a day to test this.

Bottom line: The Hunter seems to be working for us. Like magic for me. I suffered for months, and when home, I can now breathe again.

Update after seven days:

I at first though the odor had disapared after about six hours, but after seven days, when entering the room where the unit is operating, I can still detect a very slight odor. (No odor at all from the Holmes model which is working well.). In terms of performance, the Hunter model still seems to be filtering well.

Update after about 20 days:

The odor from the Hunter unit is slowly going away, though I can't say for sure it has completely vanished. It appears some sort of volatile has been warmed off the unit, but is declining to the point that it may not be a problem. However, after comparing the performance of this unit against the Holmes, which we bought at about the same time, I would say the Holmes, while somewhat more noisy on its lowest setting, may be more effective at cleaning the air then the Hunter. We plan on purchasing another unit, and based on our experience with the these two, we will purchase a new Holmes unit. In less than an hour, the Holmes unit seems to very effectively reduce allergens to make the air breathable.

After about 30 days,

in the Hunter unit I may be hearing an infrequent arcing pop sound as reported by other reviewers. Only have heard this at night when the room is otherwise quiet. The Hunter unit is otherwise performing well, though it is still not certain to me that the odor has disappered. It may now have no odor, but not sure. The Holmes unit is still behaving well, and we still prefer it. Keep in mind it is slightly noisier than the Hunter unit.

Update after about 4 months:

Both the Hunter and Holmes units are working well. The apparent odor from the Hunter unit has completely disappearred. We smell nothing now from the unit. For a period, the Hunter unit began the arcing noise that annoyed other buyers. However, this only seems to be problematic on the high setting, and over night we leave the unit on the low setting, which doesn't create this sound, or is much more minor. We still think the Holmes unit is superior. After nearly continuous operation of both units in a very dusty locale, we still have no indication of the need to replace filters. The two units did improve our air quality. I have had no serious sinus problems since we got these.

Six month update:

We finally replaced the filter on the Hunter unit ($25+tax at Target). I am not sure we had to, but we were beginning to experience increasing light arcing sounds overnight. When we replaced it, my wife used a Swiffer® dust cloth to clean around where the filter had been, The filter is easy to replace. There is no odor from the new filter, so the original odor of the Hunter came from the Hunter unit itself. Note that this odor is now completely gone, so if you can wait 3-4 weeks after purchase, the odor that others complained about will disappear. The Holmes unit is not yet ready for a new filter as we use that in our living/dining room, mostly only in the evening. One does have to turn up the TV volume when the Holmes unit is operating.

I neglected to add earlier that within our home we have central air/heat and we use the 3M Filtrete (UA03DC-6) FPR 10 air filter on our central air/heat. I also recommend this. It alone doesn't completely keep a local room clean like the Hunter or Holmes unit as it is not HEPA rated, but it is otherwise very effective, and good to use with HEPA type units like the Hunter and Holmes. For instance, during all of the fires in the west, we have occasionally been hit with heavy smoke now and then, and the 3M filter seemed to be very effective at taking this out of the air. After a month of on and off smoke, I looked at the filter and it was completely black. Evidently, it has a strong attraction for smoke particles. I want to emphasize, however, that my severe allergy attack which prompted us to buy the Hunter and Holmes happened while we were using this 3M filter, so, it alone, apparently doesn't take out all allergens. A HEPA type unit is more effective.

Update after seven months:

The new filter in the Hunter unit began the clicking noise from electrical arcing within about 10 days of use, and has become quite prominent, sometimes like a slow machine-gun repetition. I can deal with it, but it has annoyed my wife enough that we shifted the Hunter unit to out dining/living room, and moved the Holmes unit (HAP9726) to our bedroom. The Holmes HAP9726 is not quite as quiet as the Hunter, but it is a continuous din, not with spark-crackle-pop like the Hunter right now.

Apparently, Hunter filters do vary in their propensity to do this arcing, and in the case of my wife this sound would keep her awake, even when the normal fan sound did not. I would say the Hunter unit would be much more desirable if one could turn off the electrostatic portion of the filtering. Since the filters do seem to vary, some users may not immediately experience this problem, but may experience later when they replace the filter.

Note that the Holmes HAP9726 does have electrostatic action, but unlike the Hunter, one can turn it off, and you can have simple filtration, which alone is quite helpful.

Note that both the Hunter and Holmes HAP9726 have quiet controls, and one can make quiet adjustments while your partner is sleeping.

For the office, I purchased the Holmes HAP633-U unit from Walmart for about $60. This unit does not have quiet controls. It has a louder chunky click when changing settings and also, strangely, starts on a very noisy high and you have to adjust low. It is also quite a bit more noisy than the larger Holmes HAP9726 we have at home. There is actually a mild rattling of the fan mechanism, and it as well cyclically bellows mildly louder and softer. Even than though it a smaller unit, it is more noisy. I don't recommend the Holmes HAP633-U. I use it, but I often have to turn it off when anyone enters my office. If one compares the HAP633-U to the better HAP9726, it almost seems like they are designed on completely different principles of efficacy.

I want to make an observation on the air purifier use. My really sensitive allergy window is late August through early November. Our Hunter and Holmes HAP9726 units at home did help alleviate my condition, but did not eliminate it. Probably because I can't remain at home continuously. However, I also feel that these two purifiers (Hunter and Holmes HAP9726) on their own were not enough to fully clean the house. Next year, we plan on purchasing at least one more unit for the home, and starting next August, we have all run on maximum to see if they might help me better.

So, far, given all of our experience, I would most recommend the Holmes HAP9726. The Hunter might be better if one could turn off the electrostatic action, but one can't. Stay away from the Holmes HAP633-U; it is cheaper, but you can find better which will make you happier.

Update after eight months:

Just after seven months the Holmes HAP9726 unit seemed to be laboring with its fan action. I opened the case, and the filters were packed with dust. Evidently, the unit had filtered so much that it was now having difficulty drawing air. I replaced the HEPA and carbon filters with new ones, and the unit is now performing fine.

A note on the carbon filters for the Holmes HAP9726. I know something about how these are supposed to work to remove organic vapors, and I was extremely skeptical of their capability since it takes a lot of carbon to be effective, but originally (8 months ago) I installed anyway. When I recently opened the box to replace all of the filters, evidently the carbon filters mechanically trapped an enormous amount of dust on their own, and may have prolonged the life of the HEPA filters, so I recommend using the carbon filters for the HAP9726.

One other observation on the Holmes HAP9726: It takes air in from the side and blows filtered air upward. The Hunter takes air in from the side and blows filtered air sideways. The Holmes HAP9726 seems to do a better job of air circulation while filtering because of this side and up action.

Finally, when I looked at the dust trapped on the HAP9726 filters, it was extremely fine. It is my perception that the HAP9726 is filtering out much finer particles than I see trapped on our 3M filter for our air conditioning system. Our 3M filter is in the ceiling, and the Holmes (and Hunter) are on the floor. Evidently, the smaller particles remain closer to the floor, or are not being taken out as well by the 3M filter for our air conditioner.

I now have enough experience and observation to advise you to take your money to Wal-Mart and purchase the Holmes HAP9726 if you can't find it on Amazon. It is cheaper than the Hunter unit we purchased, and overall is better.

I'll update this review in the future if anything changes, but this might be the final review update.

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