Honeywell (HHT-090) HEPAClean Tower Air Purifier with Permanent Filter

GermGuardian AC5000E 3-in-1 Air Cleaning System with True HEPA Filter, UV-C and Odor Reduction vs. Honeywell HHT-090 Permanent Hepa Filter Tower Air PurifierMy boyfriend and I live in an approximately 600 sq. ft. first floor apartment in Washington, DC. Boyfriend has seasonal allergies as well as moderate cat allergies, so when we adopted two kittens, we bought both models reviewed here, based on their Amazon reviews. We've had and used both 24/7 for over two months.Currently the GermGuardian is in our living room, near the litter box, and the Honeywell is in the bedroom, where we don't allow the cats.*Quality/Appearance*When the Honeywell arrived, after a few weeks of using the GermGuardian, our first reaction was "Wow this looks like the cheap version of the GermGuardian." The GermGuardian has a much sleeker appearance and just looks more expensive (despite being about the same price when we bought it.)I personally don't mind the appearance of either and was not bothered by the GermGuardian's UV light the way some reviewers were, since turning it on is completely optional. Since the GermGuardian now lives in the living room, we keep the UV light on at night but haven't noticed a difference.I do like the ionizer function on the Honeywell, and noticed that it makes the bedroom smell cleaner.Winner: GermGuardian*On Seasonal Allergies*We had the GermGuardian for a few weeks before the cats and the Honeywell, and moved it between the living room (daytime - on highest setting) and bedroom (nighttime - lowest setting).Boyfriend immediately noticed a difference in sleeping. He woke up less stuffy when we used it in the bedroom at night, and I've noticed that it noticeably eliminates odors in the living room.We now have the Honeywell permanently on in the bedroom and Boyfriend has found that it still helps manage seasonal allergies, but doesn't appear to be as good as the GermGuardian. This is less than scientific, as we haven't tested both separately during high-pollen season.Winner: GermGuardian*On Pet Allergies*It depends on the severity of allergies and the other measures you take to alleviate your home of dust and dander. Boyfriend has moderate allergies to our cats, but some days are better than others. We hope the air filters are helping to some degree, but are afraid to do a test run without them.A friend with much more severe allergies came over after we'd had both purifiers running (and after a thorough cleaning, even) and had a miserable stuffy nose because of the cats. The filters help, but are not the only solution. If you have pet allergies, make sure you're doing everything else in addition to these devices -- including vacuuming your furniture and mopping/dusting regularly.Winner: Tie.*Noise/Airflow*Both purifiers have three settings. For both, the low and mid settings are unobtrusive and provide decent white noise. Make sure that you open up the Honeywell when you receive it to TAKE OFF the plastic covering the filters. We did not realize we had to do this at first. The GermGuardian comes ready to use.Both have decent airflow but are not as powerful as a fan. The Honeywell instructions say to keep it 3 feet from any wall but I think that is ridiculous to make it your room's centerpiece.Some reviewers said that their devices started to rattle after a few months. Having kept both devices on 24/7 for about two months, I haven't noticed anything like that.Winner: Tie*Smell/Odor reduction*A lot of reviewers on both purifiers complained noticing a burning plastic smell when they first turned it on. Both air purifiers had a slight odor like the one described, but both dissipated completely after about a week of continuous use, with open windows when possible.Both do a great job of odor reduction. The GermGuardian is in the living room near the litter box (cleaned daily) and we rarely notice an odor. The Honeywell in the bedroom is great at combating that stale-air bedroom smell that would otherwise be a problem for us, given that we keep the door closed at all times to keep the cats out.Winner: Tie.*Cleaning*The GermGuardian has a true HEPA filter, which needs to be replaced every six months at about $50 a pop. The Honeywell has a not-HEPA filter, which you can clean with a vacuum attachment. I haven't had to clean or replace either, yet, but I think the Honeywell wins the thrifty category.Winner: HoneywellOverall, the GermGuardian has a lot more going for it than the Honeywell. Despite being slightly more expensive, it's probably worth the money for a well-working, solid device.

We bought this filter after reading quite a few reviews on purifiers, the "permanent" air filter is what won me over as many of the others needed replacements every few months, etc. We bought this to help cut down on allergens in the house and it has been working like a champ since the first day we turned it on. We maintain once a month - for others who may have more severe allergies, you might consider maintaining 2x. It is simple - after turning the purifier off, pop off the back of the machine and remove the filter front carbon pre-filter, then take out the two permanent filters and vacuum clean - you'll need to use a thin tool that has some powerful drive. We've vacuumed the carbon filter - which seems to take the brunt of the dust and particles, and then to a thorough vacuum of the filter. The perm filters are not as white as when we first had them but monthly maintenance has kept them going. You apparently can replace the permanent filter if you wish, but we have not had a need. I also do a thorough vacuum of the front of the filter and around the outside as that does help get rid of particles and dust too. There also seemed to be a question about the red light - it is a good indicator when you need to clean. If you clean and start up and it is still on, unplug again and take the end of a paperclip and above the red light gently push in and it should go off - some people hold for 5 seconds but once I have reset we're good to go. If you can find this purifier, just know it has staying power. We're pleased with the performance and usage after all these years and allergies have been helped immensely.

We've been looking for a good purifier for a while, at a decent price that won't break the bank. Myself and the hubby have pretty bad allergies, and we know that there is a lot of dust in the house that we just can't seem to rid of completely. I was excited to get this product. It was amazingly easy to set up, the instructions were about three pages long for the entire care of the whole device. Which I thought was nice, proves how easy it is to care for. Obviously, being as I just got it yesterday, I haven't had to clean the filters, but it seems really easy and pretty straight forward.As soon as I opened the box, I went into our bedroom and plugged it in. Started it up, and closed the door, went about my day. About an hour later I went in there, and just the 'feel' of the air was different. The scent was so.. clean. That's the only word I could use to describe how it smelled. I used it in my living room over night, same thing. I plan to use it in each room of my house, circulating it around the house. Mostly will use it in the bedroom and living room though. It seems to do really well. I'm very pleased!Noise wise, low and medium and barely noticable, not much more than a small fan in noise. High is a bit loud. More like a fan running on high by your bed instead of on low. But overall, I don't plan to run it at night anyway, so it isn't going to bother me in the least.