Alen T100 - HEPA Style Desktop Air Purifier

This little purifier looks good, has three fan speeds, and a "ion" mode that can be turned off. The HEPA filter gets changed every 6 months and costs $20. To get the "lifetime warranty" you need to sign up for a filter delivery program. This may not be too bad if you use the unit all the time, but it is not too clear how to stop the program once initiated. My first unit was noisy, so I requested a replacement. The replacement arrived promptly, and works well. On low fan setting, it is very quiet. Higher settings circulate a LOT of air, and should be good if you have a serious problem.

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Steamfast 3 In1 Steam Mop

Despite numerous complaints about poor customer service, I chose this model because it has variable steam output, also works as a handheld tool on vertical surfaces, does not get as hot as the sanitizing mops (and I hope is less likely to harm me or my bamboo floors), and gets some favorable reviews when it is working. I purchased this from a local electronics store (~$90) so I would not be at the mercy of the manufacturer's customer service in case of problems later.

I bought the Steamfast mop mainly to clean the stone tile floor of the bathroom. Squirt mopping with disposable cloths typically left my floor tacky, the grout dingy, and near the sink, a built-up film of hairspray residue.

I find this product works effectively when I start cleaning on a medium to low steam setting in the hand-held nozzle configuration around the tub rim, shower glass, toilet base, then (adding the handle and the stiff brush) pre-cleaning the floor tile grout, then switching to the mop head and steam mopping the stone tile floor on the lowest steam setting (per instructions).

Pros

Ready to mop just a few seconds after being turned on

No tacky residue on the tile floor

Floor dries quickly

With the nozzle/brush attachment and the long handle, I can clean the grout and toilet base without wearing gloves and kneeling

The mop head fits behind the toilet

Works on vertical surfaces and counter tops

Steam output is variable

Mop pad washes up nicely and air dries quickly

Reservoir capacity (~20 oz) was more than adequate to clean the whole bathroom.

Doesn't take up too much space hanging in the broom closet

Cons

-Like other mops, Steamfast pushes the dirt around on the fiber pad, which often needs rinsing during the job.

-If there is a lot of fiber, hair, or lint on the floor, the Steamfast mop tends to leave it behind in clumps.

-On all but the lowest steam settings (with the mop head on), the Steamfast leaves a fair amount of water on the surface being cleaned

-It is a bit cumbersome to get this out, fill up the tank, change attachments, adjust the handle, plug it in etc., and then empty and let the tank dry out when I am done.

Overall, I am satisfied with the Steamfast because it solves the problems I was having with the wet disposable cloth type of mop.

PS I use Bona system on my wood floors, but might I steam them once or twice a year in case of dirt buildup.

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Optimus AP-78 Air Purifier

I can hardly feel the air flow. The gauges told me to clean the filters but they were no way dirtier than with my Sharper Image Ionic Breeze Cleaner. I hate to return things so this one is a keeper for the price.

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The Sharper Image Brethe Air Cleaner

This is a stylish unit that effectively generates the white noise associated with fans without intense air movement. I have not noticed a significant reduction in allergens.

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Essick Air 826-800 2-Speed Evaporative Console Humidifier

Great product, at least in comparison. I've tried many smaller units that should have kept my two room apt. (according to claims) here in the remote northeast satisfactorily humid, i.e. 35% or so. None of them did; in fact they all sent the gauge to unreadably low levels, below 20%. This Bemis 800 space saver keeps humidty at about 40% for at least 2 months, after which the it slowly declines as the wick deteriorates. I replaced the wick for the first time this winter on Jan 22. Not bad. Seems as if it will be a two wick winter.

As to noise. I keep the Bemis on low, and it runs 24/24 during the driest months. It is quieter than any of the other units I've used. It's not silent but it is certainly not disturbingly loud. I'm picky about noise and humidity as I play guitars. I've never turned it on high so I can't comment on the noise at that setting.

I fill it once a day with about 4 gallons of water. It comes with a 3 or 4 foot hose that attaches to a sink faucet. I keep the Bemis in the kitchen. Sometimes I roll it to the sink, sometimes I fill it with a pitcher. It is much easier to fill than the smaller units I've owned.

I have only one minor nit to pick with the unit. The fan housing is a little tricky to remove (or rather to put back correctly). One needs to remove it to change the wick. Tricky because the base is basically one large square bowl and the plastic sidewalls bow when the top is removed. When replacing the top, it is essential that it fits snugly into the base and placement becomes the tricky part due to the bowed in sides. It's not a terribly big deal but it's a bit of a pain. (When not placed correctly the unit rattles and the suction through the wick isn't as good).

By the way, my unit is the non digital version. I've had trouble with other digital humidifiers so I went for the less expensive mechanical version this time. The digital units cycle on and off constantly when the humidity reaches your chosen setting. Annoying, and can't be good for the motor.

The Bemis is definitely worthy, I'm very happy with it.

Watts 116102 Standard Faucet, Brush Nickel

was worried about installing this on my own but it was

very easy and all parts fit and worked great am so glad

that we went with the little more expensive one. Am

very happy with the product.

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Midea America Corp/import Mpn-10crn1-bh9 Westpointe Portable

This air conditioner is a honey. Easy to install, blows cold air almost instantly, and cooled my living room and hallway-over 300 sq. feet on a 90 degree humid day. Dried the air out in half an hour, took it from 81 to 76 in three-quarters of an hour. Should have bought this before.

Venta-Airwasher LW24 Humidifier and Purifier

I had had a smaller one which we were pleased with, for use in our bedroom. This larger one is being used in our family room. It is quiet, attractive, and very effective. Easy to clean and easy to refill when needed. A far cry from the big cabinet types with filters that had to be replaced, that took up space and looked out of place, and were a nuisance to refill. I highly recommend it, especially for people whose respiratory systems are badly affected by dry air in winter. We have become so used to it that if I forget to fill the small one and turn it on before we go to bed at night, one of us awakens in the wee hours with dry nose or cough, we set it up, and in a short time all is well.

Be mindful of the size of the area you are trying to humidify. The small one when moved into the family room during the day was not very effective because the volume of air exceeded its capacity. We are very happy with the combination of the two, which in really dry weather we run constantly so the level of humidity never drops.

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Shark Lift-Around Pod Vacuum

I just received this item. I unpacked and used it on my fridge compressor. It seems to work well. My complaint is about the power brush. I was putting it away and the power brush was attached to the hose. As I put it down, it flipped down and hit the ground. A very minor fall, but the power brush broke apart into pieces. It looks like I might be able to put it back together, but who knows. There aren't any instructions on how to do that.

**UPDATE** I just wanted to add that both Amazon and the manufacturer were fantastic in dealing with this problem! After contacting Euro-Pro directly, they are going to send me a replacement power brush. So, I updated my rating to a 4 star.

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20x25x5 Skuttle Air Filters

Exact replacement, Great price!!!

Will ,definitely, be reordering these filters.

Could not find a better price around town

Installer price was far out

Jarden SWM5251-UM Sunbeam Warm Mist Humidifier

My sinuses and eyes get really dry in the winter when the heater is running. I bought one of these exact same models (the 5251) 6 years ago under the Holmes brand name. I wasn't expecting much since many reviews of different sorts of humidifiers out there where often pretty bad. It seemed like many humidifiers require expensive filter replacements, difficult cleaning processes, and they often don't work for long. I am glad to report that after six years, this humidifier is still working flawlessly. It's really easy to clean (I just rinse out the sediment left after boiling off all the tap water). Very helpful with my dryness. I would never live through another winter again without a humidifier, and I've been very happy with this model.

Last year, I decided to get a second one (of the same model, the SWM5251) after moving into a new place with a bigger bedroom. The newer one is this exactly the same but under the Sunbeam brand name instead of Holmes. It's the exact same thing as my old one, so Sunbeam must have bought the technology rights from Holmes or something. Anyway, the Sunbeam is working well now on its second winter, and I expect it will continue to work for several more years just like my first Holmes unit has been doing.

Calutech Blueray High Output UV Air Purifier

So honestly I can't say that it has changed my life, etc. There are just too many variables when it comes to allergies and mold and stuff to reasonably attribute to 1 source.

But since installation I have noticed a significant decline in mold in my vents. Yeah it isn't gonna magically kill the mold already in your vents, but once I bleached and cleaned them, it may have helped prevent regrowth. It probably helped that I also fixed the AC bowl so it wouldn't dump water down my ducts...

When you look at cost vs specs you can clearly see that Calutech is a winner. This one here has a whopping 120 watts of power, which is a ton compared to most models you will see with only 30W or 10W.

Remember that this 120Watts is total power which is Joules per second and is distributed around the lighted area. Stuff that gets exposed has a very short exposure time and is only going to pick up a tiny percentage of the total power emitted due to the exposure time and how small the object is.

Its just like when you walk through a room. How much of the total light output of a light bulb in the room did you absorb? Even if you walk really close to the light, you are surely only absorbing a small percentage.

So you need a lot of output for it to kill or disable any organisms. However, the main thing I wanted it for was to keep mold from growing around the wet areas in the AC itself. For this purpose, it is fantastic! The light is always shining so mold really doesn't have a chance.

This light has filters to ensure it doesnt transmit 180nm ozone-creating UV which is good. You definitely don't want an ozone generator in your attic!

Make damned sure you don't look at the UV light when installing. 260ish nm wavelength UV can mess up your eyes and cause cataracts. It is not like the 380nm stuff that is used for currency-lights and viewing scorpions and parties.

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InstaPure F2BWT3P-1ES Faucet Mount Water Filter System

I like the style,the looks, the ease to install & filter longevity( 200 gals.) Twice as long as any other system & the least expensive filter to replace.

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27x27x1 (26.5 x 26.5) Accumulair Platinum 1-Inch Filter

I am not sure how other filters may work, but what I can say is that I have bad allergies, and when I am in my home running the central air it is as though I have no allergies at all.

I have purchased this product through Amazon/FiltersNow twice, and both experiences were positive.

Big Berkey w/ 2 Black Berkey Filters

I searched for the best water purification technique available primarily because I was shocked at the state of our drinking water and I couldn't just go on blindly dumping chemicals into my body. My criterion was to remove all added chemicals from my drinking water including Fluoride and as an Engineer with a scientific background I needed scientific backing.

Note: The usage of Fluoride in our water systems is controversial, but Ninety-seven percent of western Europe has eliminated fluoride from drinking water. goggle "Fluorosis" and "fluoride side effects", read the article on "about dot com" on "fluoride removal". Read the article on "livestrong dot com" on "side effects of fluoride ingestion". I quote, "Fluoride ingestion has been associated with adverse health effects such as IQ deficits in children, depression, weight gain and heart disease. The "Journal of Applied Clinical Pediatrics" reports that "high fluoride intake has a damaging effect on intellectual ability," and human studies from China, India, Iran and Mexico found that elevated levels of fluoride in children resulted in reduced performance and impaired development of intelligence. The U.S. National Research Council has also found that fluoride affects normal endocrine function, which may contribute to hypothyroidism, or reduced activity of the thyroid gland. Hypothyroidism can lead to fatigue, depression, weight gain, hair loss, muscle pains and heart disease.

I started off with on a friends recommendation the Nikken Pi-Mag which i soon rejected because they independent lab results were not available, fluorine was not removed from the water and I could not trust a MLM companies claims' that were not scientifically verifiable.

I looked at Aquasana and Multipure's product line but I became obvious that the life expectancy was about a year and I would deal with leaks, and defective housing. The reviews for the New Wave were 10Stage Filter were promising on amazon and I bought it right away, but soon grew suspicious of their claims as there were no results posted on their website either. I called New Wave customer service which I must add was great and friendly and asked for the independent lab results, which they emailed. After analyzing the results I was disappointed to see that a company that makes water filters provided results from a lab called, Truesdale lab but back in 1995 (15yrs ago!). Surely they can get this tested recently since both regulations and water quality have changed since then and made this readily available to their customers via their website. Anyway the results they provided showed that it was tested for Cyst Removal (based on the 1988 NSF standard), Lead, Choloform and Lindane removal. Fluorine was not removed which for me was not good enough.

I returned the New Wave Environ and finally found the Berkey filter system which has an additinal fluoride filter as well. Although more expensive (about 250 inclusive of a set of flouride filters), the Berkey filters would be cheaper in the long run as they last between 3,400 gallons to 19,500 gallons depending on water quality, unlike the New Wave Filter's 1500 gallons. Furthermore I liked openness and readily accessible lab results by independent labs such as the University of Arizona, LSU and Spectrum labs (google Berkey lab results). Furthermore they are used by emergency organizations like the Redcross and Unicef.

I must add that there is no perfect system, the fluoride filters usually use an activated alumina filter media and Aluminia has been associated with Alzheimers. I was concerned about any aluminum dust residue left in the water and a little more research revealed the residue to me negligible.

Here is a comparison:

Water boiled in an Aluminium pan for 5mins had: 2.791 ppm aluminum

Colgate toothpaste: 52.878 ppm aluminum.

The Berkey flouride filter after 10 cycles had .037 ppm aluminum and after 20 Cycles: .029 ppm aluminum which in my opinion was negligible and safe.

I hope this helps you and saves you time!

*****update 6 months into using it a filter cartilage just broke! i emailed the company for a replacement and am waiting to hear back! if you can get a RO machine. Dropping the product from 4stars to 3stars.

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Gaggia 14101 Classic Espresso Machine

When I got my Gaggia more than several decades ago, it was not yet called a Classic. It was called a Coffee Gaggia. About 20 years ago, some minor changes were made, and the unit was renamed Classic. The new "Coffee Gaggia" is not the same as this machine.

This machine has a robust build, and high quality parts. Its tank heats the water quickly, and to a proper temperature, and the pump is powerful enough to do the job properly. I would strongly recommend using filtered water, especially with a low mineral content, so that deposits do not build up in the tank.

My version has an all metal frothing wand, which does as good a job as the skills of the operator will allow for. The newer versions have a "turbo frother," and an optional milk frother that will take the guess work out of frothing and place foamed milk directly into the cup. I can't comment on these newer features, but perhaps they will allow a better job to be done by those with less experience.

The newer models are brushed stainless, while the original models had an appliance enamel finish. Since the old finish allowed water to penetrate under any scratches or imperfections in the finish, this was a particular problem near the portafilter holder and underneath the drip tray. The new version should retain its finish far longer, although the old one still does not show any wear in places that are visible with the machine assembled.

Minor differences are that the new machine has a more robust looking steam knob that was moved to the side, and the thermostat light, which indicated that the unit was heating, has been replaced with a "ready" light that is integrated into the coffee switch and signals the opposite.

In the time that I've had my machine, I've had only minor problems with it. My steam thermostat needed to be replaced once, and the light on my power switch stopped working. These were larger issues before the Internet made it easy to find parts, as these items are hard to find locally. The other problem is that if the unit is not used for extended periods, and the tank is allowed to dry out completely, and the water used was hard, then some parts are subject to clogging. The troubleshooting steps in the manual are not helpful for these sorts of problems. The machine can be disassembled for cleaning by somebody who is mechanically inclined, but unless you feel comfortable with appliance repair, you are better off avoiding the situation by using filtered water, and/or descaling regularly, especially before any long term storage.

The other "parts" issue is that the gasket for the filter basket should be considered a consumable part, and should be sold by every dealer as an accessory, rather than just by repair facilities. The machine really should have included an extra one since this is the only part that will definitely wear out with regular use. It might take a few years or longer, and is easy to replace, but it will wear out.

Overall, this is a well built machine that should last you many decades. Although it seemed expensive when I bought it, it has averaged out to about 6 cents a day to own it, which was well worth the price, and I'll probably get another few decades out of it.

If you have used cheaper espresso makers, you will appreciate the robustness and quality of this unit. Features such as the three way solenoid controlled valve might be transparent to the user, but the lack of them become clear when you use a cheaper machine. This one just keeps going and going.

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DeLonghi DD45P 45-Pint Energy Star Dehumidifier

This DeLonghi DD45P Dehumidifier is so far advanced over other dehumidifiers I have owned over the past 15 to 20 years, it is like a newly invented appliance for 2010.

It's the pump stupid! Why haven't all dehumidifiers been designed with automatic pumps from the get-go? Did appliance designers think that a homeowner would gladly trade a dry basement for the chore of emptying a bucket of water every day?

The initial set-up was relatively easy after I read the instructions twice. The controls are understandable and fairly intuitive.

This is a smart dehumidifier compared to the older manual dumbbells I have owned. The display reads your room temperature. The unit can be set on auto, to run until it brings the humidity level in percent numbers down to a level you decide. It can be set to run for a selected time period or just run continuously at one of its two different speeds, high and not quite as high. It has delayed start and delayed stop if desired. If you choose to not pump the condensate to a nearby drain or out the window, don't turn on the pump, and it will fill its built-in bucket instead. All this and energy star rated to boot.

The pump works well. The supplied condensate hose, which is 3/8" OD clear vinyl, runs up a corner wall in my basement about 8ft, then about 8ft more along the ceiling of my adjoining laundry room, and 4ft down into a laundry tub. I did have to add 8ft more hose to make the distance, but the pump handles it all very nicely. I bought this model for the pump and I consider this purchase as one of my better moves. It has been running 24/7 for about 6 weeks, and I just forget its there. My fingers are crossed.

The only negative features (in my opinion) are that the hose for the pump comes out the front of the unit near the base and the tiny wheels don't lift the unit high enough up off the floor to run the condensate hose under the unit towards the back so its not so visible.

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AmairCare HEPA Filter for Roomaid Air Cleaner

I think everyone needs an air purifier for city driving. I'm in bumper to bumper traffic at least 3 times per week and there's always at least one vehicle puffing out smoke. The body just wasn't designed for inhaling polutants from a tailpipe. I use my Roomaid in the car but had let it sitting dormant for a couple of years as I procrastinated buying a new filter. The new filters are better than the origninal that came with the unit. There's no compartment up-top that allows you to insert a scent module to freshen the air. That compartment was a weak-link, allowing un-purfied air to circulate through it. This new filter has made a big difference in my commuting. My Roomaid is always on and I don't get overwhelming chemical smells throughout the cabin of my SUV. Easy to install and worth every penny to me to keep my allergy symptoms at a bare minimum.

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Honeywell HRF-11N/HRF-D1 Permanent Air Cleaner Stackable HEPA Filter

Some models require two of these filters. They are now vacuumable, so presumably you never have to buy them again, but still...40.00 of filters is still 40.00.

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Crane 1 Gallon Humidifier

I only rate an item if it's extremely good, or really poor, and this item is great. We bought it for our daughter because she would cough at night. After we put it in her room it really reduced her coughing. It also doubles as a great night light. We liked it so much we bought a similar humidifier that was in the shape of a panda, but it was not nearly as good as the hello kitty product, and it didn't have the night light feature.

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