Honeywell 50250-S True HEPA Air Purifier, 390 sq. ft, White

By no means am I an expert at the exact cleaning abilities of this air purifier or the exact terms used when comparing the specifications of it to other models. Thankfully, you can find those in other reviews. I will describe my impressions and what I have found to be true with this air purifier, both negative and positive. First, some have commented on the smell the unit emits. The manual itself describes that you might notice a smell in the first few hours of usage, but it is nothing horrible. It says it comes from the carbon prefilter and the odor did disappear after the first night of usage. That was not a huge deal to me and it likely occurs in many air purifiers. Second, I have noticed a difference in the air. Some noticeable smells have been dramatically reduced and it certainly helped with allergies. While we were looking to improve the air condition for allergies, we also wanted an air purifier to help with odor (specifically from a wood burning fireplace). This purifier helped in both areas. Third, do not underestimated the noise this unit generates. I noticed a few people commenting on it, but I thought that surely it couldn't be that loud. I was wrong. There is no way you could leave it on its highest setting (unless you were not at home). We leave the unit on the lowest speed at all times and admittedly the noise it produces is within reason. We do turn it off at times (while watching a movie, etc). The noise produced on the lowest speed is okay and I did not see a reason for returning it based on sound alone. However, I think they could have lowered the noise by dissipating the air flow a little bit more. It's not really the machine making so much noise as much as it is the air flow being generated. Speaking of airflow, this unit is very powerful! I was impressed by its power. I use it in a fairly large space and it handles it just fine. I was also impressed by the easy access to filters. Most units do not make it that easy to access the filter for cleaning/replacement, but it is super simple on the 50250. Overall, I really like this unit. It does make some noise, but it also gets the job done and that's what is most important. For the price to quality ratio, this unit would be hard to beat!

The two things I was worried about when I bought this was the noise level and the bright blue light. I guess I read a few too many reviews and watched too many YouTube "hear how loud this is" type videos and I made myself rethink my purchase while waiting for it to be delivered. (sounds louder in the videos than in does in my house) It arrived late at night, Fedex brought this at about 9:45 P.M. I guess the size of the box made it necessary, it was probably the bottom box in the truck and the drivers last delivery for the day/night. It was in the original packaging then put inside a larger plain box stuff with crumpled paper,....packaged very well. I love it when a company makes sure your larger, heavy, and expensive item gets to your door in great shape! :) I also have a Kenmore Hepa 130 air cleaner that I thought was pretty big, but that is actually tiny compared to this one! I now have to rethink where this will be now that I have it home. It's as big as my husbands garage shop vac minus the hose and wheels! It seems very solid to me also. Wrapping and attaching the pre filter is simple. The knob on the bottom to remove the filter is very easy to open and close, like my other model maintenance will be quick and easy. The cord could be a tiny bit longer, especially if you need to keep it 3 feet from walls and furniture, a longer cord (like my smaller Kenmore cleaner has) would help to get it past and around furniture without having to use an extension cord. The highest setting (cleaning) is a bit loud, but isn't that bad. To me its like the highest setting on my window A/C unit,...can still hear TV but is noticeable when sitting right next to it. The 2nd setting (day time) isn't bad at all and no trouble hearing the TV,...more like a gentle hum. The lowest setting (sleep setting) I can barely hear it, it's very low. The blue light is bright enough to notice. But personally I don't like bright blue electronics lights. Everything in my house that has one of those bright blue lights has a knickknack of some kind sitting in front of the light so I don't have to see it. I don't even like cars that have the super bright blue dashboard lights. They are just too distracting to me.(the lighter green is better) I will probably tape a piece of paper or something over the light. But really, it's not a big deal. It's how this works that is important. I kept this on high for the initial set up for about 30 minutes before turning it down to the 2nd setting. I can tell the difference in the air quality already. Yesterday was the 4th of July, so the air quality today wasn't the best. Add in the indoor pets too and you get a dusty, stuffy house. Since I have had this on I noticed the air smells better and cleaner. No stuffy nose either. I'm sure that this will work perfect for our house. Will update my review if anything changes. I'm hoping we have many years of trouble free use with this machine.

*** Update! *** We've now had this air purifier for more than 2 years and it's still going strong. It's on a timer to run from midnight to 7am every day. We run it at night because it does get a bit loud in the living room while watching TV now that we don't have ceiling fans and the air conditioner running (winter time!). Most importantly... The purifier still doesn't make any weird noises, no wobbling, no vibration. I vacuum the outer filter (the black carbon filter) probably once a month now and it is still perfectly fine and in good shape. The inner HEPA filter is still perfect! Maintaining the outer filter keeps anything from really getting to the inner filter which is great. ***UPDATE*** So we've had this air purifier for about 2 weeks now. Still loving it! The amount of dust in our house has been greatly reduced. Still no wobbling, buzzing, or irritating noises. The suction is still going strong. I have noticed that with the air purifier on, I don't need to turn on the ceiling fan; the purifier moves the air enough that the ceiling fan just isn't needed. I love this unit so much that I recently purchased one for my mom! I'll update again with her opinion of the purifier after she's had it for a while. I did notice that a couple days after buying my mom's, the price jumped up to $187. For whatever reason, the price on this air purifier changes from $127 to $187 then back to $127 frequently. If it's $187 when you're looking at it, give it a week and the price will probably drop again. Thanks! ***Original post: We've only had this purifier for one day so far but here are my observations thus far: Super easy to set up. Remove the unit from the box, unscrew the bottom handle, lift the cover from the unit, wrap pre-filter around HEPA filter, replace cover, put screw back on. Plug in unit, turn on. Done. Yes, this unit is loud, but not intolerable. With it on low, I can hear the TV just fine without having to turn up the volume. However, on high, the sound is fairly close to that of a hair dryer. I'm usually very sensitive to noises, but this sounds like a fan (which... it basically is, the vents blow air straight up from the top of the unit). I'm one of those people who simply cannot sleep without a fan on so, this fits right into my comfort zone as far as noises go. There are no odd whirring, buzzing, rattling or humming sounds. As an added bonus, with the unit on low, the white noise effect blocks out a lot of our random outside noises (vehicles, neighborhood pets) that usually drive my Shih Tzus crazy. Their random barking has decreased significantly! The suction is great. If I place a piece of paper near the side of the unit while it's on high, it'll suck the paper right to it. With the unit on low, it doesn't pull the paper to it, but will hold the paper in place if the paper is touched to the side. I read reviews where people complained about the blue light. It's no brighter than an average alarm clock or the time display on a microwave. This is a non-issue for me personally. I also read that people had issues with the purifier wobbling or being unsteady. I have mine sitting on top of a side table that sits on top of carpet. Zero wobbling, no vibrations. It is also worth noting that my house is very open planned; the main living areas (living room, dining room, kitchen and utility room are together/separated by arches) and the area the purifier is working in right now is well over the 350 sq. ft recommended for this unit. After 24 hours, the air in our home seems much cleaner. We have major dust issues due to living on a non-paved road, having tons of carpeting \and heavy curtains throughout the house, and cotton fields all around us. Generally, after I dust, there is a fine layer of dust on all surfaces again by the next day. I dusted yesterday right after turning this purifier on. Today there is a minimal amount of dust to be seen on my tables. Huge improvement!! So yes, after one day, I'm pretty happy with this purifier. Here's hoping this unit lasts a long, long time! =)

I first purchased one Honeywell 50250-S 99.97% Pure HEPA Round Air Purifier and one of its smaller siblings (used in another room) because I suffer from terrible sinus allergies and medication alone wasn’t cutting it. My home is mostly carpeted with the exception of the kitchen and bath, and as a lot of allergy suffers can attest, carpet is not good for allergies as it has a tendency to break-down and release particles into the air, as well as a trap for dust, pollen and other allergens. I unfortunately don’t have the upfront cash needed to re-floor my entire home with a better alternative, so I turned to HEPA filtration to help out. I work in a scientific/tech industry and have an understanding of the limitations of these types of home HEPA filters and what they can and simply cannot do. I was not expecting miracles or it to knock down every smell in my house. In other words; HEPA is meant to filter particles, it won’t work on odors from gasses! I was however pleasantly surprised at how well it does work at helping ease my allergy symptoms and some of the odors it does seem to help with. I placed the 50250-S in the main living area of my home, which includes the living room, kitchen, dining room and a hallway that leads to the bedrooms. This is actually about 2 times more area than the 50250-S is rated to handle, so again I wasn’t expecting it to be as powerful as it could be if used in a room matching its rated capacity. But within a couple of hours of running the 50250-S on its highest setting, I started to notice my sinuses were opening up and a drop in the usual household smells. Knowing that people have a tendency to “get used to odors” after they have been exposed to them for a short while, I figured the best “smell test” would be after leaving the 50250-S while I was at work and returning home. I could definitely tell a big difference in the air quality, again with the usual smells being much attenuated, but actually feeling better than ever when it came to my sinus issues. My home was now becoming a sanctuary from my allergies! Now to address some of the pros and cons of the Honeywell 50250-S 99.97% Pure HEPA Round Air Purifier. Pros: Easy to set up. Take the bottom of and remove the HEPA filter from the housing, Remove the plastic from the carbon pre-filter, wrap it around the HEPA filter and secure with the included Velcro strips and install the assembly back into the filter housing, position the filter in the area you want and plug it in and tuen it on! I didn’t even look at the manual. You should however read the manual and pay attention to the safety recommendations. You wouldn’t want to place this near water or in a wet area or where drapes could get wrapped around it, choking airflow from the motor, overheating it and possibly causing a fire. Works well, even in areas outside of its rated capacity. Though I don’t recommend this unless you dust and vacuum regularly anyway. Quiet enough to not be bothersome, if it is on its lowest setting. It alerts you when it’s time to check your filters. I’m going to make the assumption that this feature is based on the increase of vacuum due to your filter getting clogged up, but it may just be keeping track of run time. Either way, it reminds you to keep an eye on your filters. Cons: On its highest two settings, it’s rather loud, but it is a big fan, moving a lot of air. So not so much of a “con” per se than the reality of physics! So if you want to clean a lot of air, you have to move a lot of air, and moving a lot of air with a big fan is going to make a lot of noise. If you stripped your furnace fan out and sat it in the middle of an open room, you would see that it is very loud as well! This unit is a plastic box with no real sound deadening, so be aware of that reality! I’d just run it on high when you aren’t going to be bothered by it, and then switch to low when you need it to be a bit quieter. It’s large and round, and they suggest you should place it 3 feet from any walls, which I ignore because it would just be in the way. It isn’t slim by any means. But to clean that much air, it has to be big. The energy usage is going to be worse of course on the highest setting, so again, use low most of the time. The price is a little high and fluctuates, not the fault of the HEPA filter, but you should be aware. I now own two 50250-S models and have them in my main living area. I got my first one at around $120, the second one I bought cost $170… So I would wait and see if the price drops before I bought this item. Hard board styrofoam pagaking is terrible stuff, it's bad for the environment, it sheds little statically charged pieces everywhere that stick to everything and it's more trouble than it's worth. I'd use that brown paper fiber based packaging before styrofoam! All in all, the Honeywell 50250-S 99.97% Pure HEPA Round Air Purifiers that I own were a good investment for me and have really helped greatly in combating my sinus issues. I would recommend it to anyone who suffers the same. I can’t speak for those who want to use this for smoke and other smells other than to say “quit while you’re still alive” and it may not work if the smell is not due to particles, again, HEPA was never intended to filter gasses! Cooking related smells may not be fully knocked down right away, but it sure makes a dent and the house smells a lot fresher and quicker than in the past. So if you have reasonable expectations, you will not be disappointed by the Honeywell 50250-S 99.97% Pure HEPA Round Air Purifier. I give it 4 stars because it actually worked better than I was expecting but had to ding it one point for the packaging. But I liked it so much I bought a second one!

I just bought this unit for the third time in 20 years. In the mid-90s in Brooklyn, I bought it to help with cat allergies and kept it for 6 years. In the mid-2000s in Chicago, I bought it to help with dirty downtown-apartment air and kept it for 5 years. Now, I have it once again in a Chicago apartment to help with a "sick air" residential building (dust/mold/dirt from hallway and facade renovations.) It has never failed me. Like the other 80 percent of reviewers giving four or five stars all say, it just works. Like, works in the way that products used to work 20 years ago. The people complaining that it's an old, bulky design that's a little louder than more modern units? Good! The last "more modern" unit I had--a Holmes mini-tower HEPA purifier--allowed so much air to bypass the HEPA filter, it spit out black soot on my walls and floors. It ended up on a one-way trip down the garbage chute after two years of my partner and me wondering why we always felt sick and congested even though we ran the unit 24/7. I opened up the unit and found everything inside caked with thick black gunk from all the bypassed air. Yes, on Turbo the Honeywell 50250 sounds like a 737 ready for takeoff. But you only run it that high when you really need to, which is rare. On low it still sounds like box fan on high. But just like running a box fan, you tune it out pretty quickly. Eventually, your house comes to feel weird without the noise of the unit in the background. Most of all, you feel an immediate change in the air. This unit, even on low, puts out enough clean air to create a breeze that will flutter your clothing as you walk by. If you live in a "sick" building like we do, you will notice the difference every time you enter and leave your front door, and it's a big difference. You do have to replace the pre-filter (which is relatively inexpensive) every three months. You can cheat and wash it like I used to, but the charcoal just washes away eventually. You really do want to replace it. You can carefully vacuum the outside of your HEPA filter but you won't need to replace it--which is good since it's more expensive--more than every three years or so. Most important is to keep the outside of the unit clean/vacuumed and replace the prefilter. A dirty prefilter you refuse to replace will make the machine become very loud and very inefficient. TRUST ME on this--I've been there too many times in the many years I've owned this machine. Do yourself a favor and just buy a few pre-filters in advance. The machine feels all 20 of its pounds heavy, but the handle on top makes it manageable to move, or to carry from room to room. We will eventually get Honeywell's small (sub-100 sq. ft.) True HEPA machine for our bedroom, but for now we split the machine's time between living/dining room and bedroom. A couple of hours in a new room is enough to make it feel like brand-new room. (I can't stress enough what I wrote at the top of my review--this machine really, really just works, and works alarmingly well.) I've added photos of the unit and its box so you can get an idea of its size and bulk relative to normal furniture (and normal-size adult cats!) In the photos, you can also see what the inside of the unit looks like when it's open, top and bottom, as well as see how the pre-filter wraps around the HEPA filter and is secured with two Velcro strips. I can't speak to power use, but even on low the machine is noticeably powerful. Over the years, we replaced all our incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents and LEDs, so it will be apparent pretty quickly if our electric bill goes up significantly. I may come back to this review in a couple of months to revise it with the change we notice in our bill from running the machine on low 24/7. And, please, don't be silly. The machine was designed to run 24/7. The instruction booklet suggests you run it 24/7. If you want all the wide and nifty health benefits of clean indoor air (cardio-pulmonary, cognitive, attention-related, stress-related), run it on low 24/7. I only ever turned my previous two machines off to change the filters. Then again, you'll probably come to love the device so much that not running it will feel like leaving your house without your cell phone. Having this machine again is like seeing a beloved old friend again. I can't believe how much I missed it, or how much better the air is in my apartment already. HIGHLY recommended!!!

While this product has both pros and cons, having lived with it for a month, I'm VERY pleased with its overall performance. There is absolutely no dust visible in the air, even when looking for some particles near a sunlit window. None. Zero. The unit is fairly large, about half the size of a steel garbage can brought to the curb. This may be an issue for some people, but conversely, a smaller unit would not move (and therefore not filter) as much air. It moves A LOT of air, so it can get windy sitting nearby. But because it moves so much air, it works so well. We leave it on the lowest setting 24 hours a day, because turning it up to medium or high would be ridiculous. It really moves a lot of air. The air enters into and flows out of the unit in a 360 degree pattern, so the unit cannot be "aimed" towards, or away from, nearby objects. Some have compared this unit to a Sharp model (which costs twice as much), but they should be comparing two of these to a unit costing twice as much, and three of these to a unit costing three times as much. Some consider the unit loud, but it doesn't bother me, and the "white noise" puts me right to sleep at night. Construction quality is EXCELLENT. They generally "don't make stuff like this anymore." Mine was made in Mexico. The plastic is high quality -- the vents, the controls, and the convenient carry handle built into the top, all feel solid. I opened the unit up (there's a large plastic nut on the bottom) to examine the HEPA filter (which is huge), and even the filter felt solid and well made. The unit sold directly from Amazon (can't comment on ones from 3rd party sellers) is the current model with the silver control panel on top, and is very handsome (much nicer than the older model visible in some customer-uploaded photos above). This unit is the "50250N" model, which was apparently an internal model number used by the manufacturer, and never actually labeled on the packaging/unit as "50250N." The difference is the "N" (new) model features the "lifetime" HEPA filter which doesn't need to be changed. The current "N" model is also cosmetically nicer than the prior version. To be clear, there is only one current model of this air cleaner, the 50250 (which was internally called a 50250N by the manufacturer). The 250 in the model number refers to a CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) of 250. The unit has a fairy bright blue light visible at night, but this is likely a safety feature so people don't trip over the unit while heading to the bathroom late at night. It didn't bother me, and I actually find the "night light" helpful. The markings on the blue lighted dial were unreadable, however, but given that there are only 4 positions (Off, Low, Medium, and High) this isn't a big deal. Note that the manufacturer recommends turning the unit on "High" for a few seconds EVERY time the unit is switched on, to create extra suction on the filter gaskets for the tightest possible seal. Then switch it to Medium or Low as desired after a few seconds. We let it run 24 hours a day on low. If you can live with the size and the amount of air it moves, you will be very happy with this unit. We are very happy with the unit, and will buy additional units for other areas of the house in the future.

We finally cracked and bought this air purifier after replacing our 3rd gaming system in 3 yrs. Most of our major electronics are in a high-traffic area that is frequently exposed to dust, dog hair, smoke, cooking odors, and even pollen. We needed a serious system that would be able to combat all those elements without breaking the bank in electricity costs and replacement filters, or becoming a nuisance appliance that's a pain to clean. (We've had smaller ionic breeze type fresheners before, and I became a sceptic after not seeing any appreciable difference in air quality in addition to snagging my hand on the little teeth inside those purifiers when I cleaned them.) We've had this unit for six months, and the difference in our air quality is amazing. Previously, I had to dust all our equipment daily (computers, TV, game systems, surround-sound speakers, and furniture) because I could see the buildup; now I only do it once or twice a week, and that's mostly out habit, because I don't see the dust particles unless I leave it for a week. Instead of raising our utility costs, they actually went down over this summer, partially because the cooling fan helped keep the temperature lower, and partially because we didn't get the buildup on our AC filters that caused the AC to run longer to cool the house. When we come back from vacations, if we remember to leave it on, the house loses that stale, unlived-in feel we sometimes came back to. I've saved countless dollars in air freshener. I don't know if this is directly related, a coincidence, or the wishful thinking of the placebo effect, but the family members (including myself) who are asthmatic or sufferers from airborne allergies had only one visit to the ER/Dr.'s office this summer, as opposed to our previous average of 4-5. The machine itself has been easy to clean--we just take out the filter strip and run the vacuum over it. (You can't fully appreciate how icky your air was until pulling out that strip. Ugh.) We haven't had to replace the main filter yet, but the replacements are relatively inexpensive and are supposed to last at least a year, even at the rate we use it. The drawbacks? It's a little big/bulky, roughly the size of an end-table, though it covers the right square footage for the room. (It's an open floor plan kitchen/dining/LR space.) (We've nicknamed the unit R2, because it looks like there's a robot lurking in the corner.) It's also rather loud on "Turbo" mode (the highest setting), so we have to turn it down or off when watching movies. I compensate for that by leaving it on high whenever we're in bed or out for the day, then turning it down after work. I'm curious to see how it helps this winter, when we might not appreciate the blowing fan as much, but will need the purifier effects more, because we won't be able to open the house to fresh air as often. Overall, though, the savings in cost and allergy-reduction has been priceless; we're looking at buying smaller but similar units for the rest of the rooms in the house.

I've been using this for a month or more and it really works well. I have two dogs and live in an older home that tends to get a musty odor when it's been raining a lot and since I've been using this, the air is noticeably cleaner smelling-no odors and less dust. I use it in my living room. The only downside is the noise and the size. I wish I could achieve the same results with a much smaller machine but I've got smaller ones that simply don't work as well and so, I will stick with this. Besides, on low, it's more quiet than my central A/C or furnace. During the day, I keep it on low ( since I'm home) and at night I turn it up to medium or high depending on the need. You can watch TV with it on low but I prefer to turn it off since we only briefly watch TV at any given time. There is a charcoal filter that removes odors and the HEPA filter to collect particulate matter. The charcoal filter can be replaced as needed. I like to keep an extra filter on hand. The blue light on top is a bit much and not necessary at all. It's not as if you need a reminder that it's running! If I put this in our bedroom, I will need to cover that light. There are dummy lights /gauges that let you know when to change the filters. I never rely on those. I instead, check the filters after a week or two. It's not difficult to open up. You just unscrew the bottom ( it has a nice big handle on the screw for easy turning) and pull out the motor/filters as one piece. The machine is lightweight relative to the size. I highly recommend this machine.