Everyone's priority nowadays is to live in healthy and purified environments. To date, the alarm bell is always called when it comes to air quality and often technology can help us to live in a generally healthier environment. On test today the TaoTronics air purifier, which with a rather moderate expense offers a three-layer HEPA filtration. The promise is to remove up to 99.97% of impurities.
How it's done
The air purifier under test is the TT-AP005 model. We want to write it because there are so many variants offered by the brand, and this acronym will allow you to immediately find the object we are talking about. On an aesthetic level, the product differs slightly from many others of the same kind. And in fact, the structure is not perfectly round, like other peripherals of the same house or of other competitors. It has a slightly more refined design, with always rounded edges, but which do not aim to form a perfect circle. The result is an air purifier that also serves as a piece of furniture, and that certainly fits into a minimal and modern home or office.
The purifier draws air from the bottom of the base, where there is a perforated ring. This passes through the large internal cylindrical filter, with the air being expelled from the top. This is an efficient design, which allows for better distribution of clean air. Unlike other filters, which tend to have a horizontal action, where the air is sucked in on one side and expelled on the other, this design allows the air to filter upwards and be better distributed inside. of the room itself. Obviously, this type of design is designed for use not on the wall : the best of itself, this system, would return it with a positioning in the center of the room.
The unit measures approximately 22.5 x 22.5 x 38 cm , therefore it has compact and contained dimensions, which go well with a medium-sized room. It is in fact, to these rooms that the purifier will be most useful, being able to purify rooms of about 25/30 square meters . Truth be told, let's face it right away, we've also tested the unit in much larger rooms. It is true, he will not be able to cover it all in a uniform way, but even at the entrance to a larger hall, he will still be able to do his own.
Since it is mainly used to clean one room at a time, the weight has a lot of importance: the purifier in question weighs just over 3Kg , a weight that allows it to be moved easily , even with one hand, without having to tire too much.
The outer casing is made of ABS plastic , with an easy-to-clean matte finish. It is available in black or white, but we believe that the least invasive color, and which can best match any environment, is the white one we are testing. As already mentioned, the top and bottom edges are rounded, which means there are no sharp edges.
On the upper part, in addition to the spiral air flow, there is also the control panel, which is particularly simple and intuitive to use. There is the on / off button, the timer (starting from 2 hours), the one for controlling the LED light (which can also turn off), in addition to the keys to decide the speed of the fans. There's even night mode, which will allow you to turn it on during your night's rest, with noise really reduced to a minimum. It must be said that in general the purifier emits a noise lower than 25 decibels , therefore very soft and not able to disturb. There is also a button that allows you to lock this control panel, so as to avoid accidental touches, such as those of a child, who therefore will not be able to turn it off, even if he wanted to.
The filter , as you can easily guess, is located inside, and has a cylindrical shape, which adapts to the whole body. It is accessed from below, from a large lid that is screwed and unscrewed. It is easily extracted, and it is really easy to clean, perhaps with the help of a vacuum cleaner.
The TaoTronics HEPA air purifier has a maximum capacity of 250 cubic meters of air per hour . In practice, this means that it can effectively treat a room of size up to 30 square meters . This is a moderately powerful air purifier that certainly won't run the whole house, but it will get by in a medium-sized bedroom.
In total, it offers four different fan speed options. At the highest level, the filter is noisier, it's hard to think about keeping it that way during tea time, or at night. However, it is also much more powerful. The best option is to turn on the purifier to maximum before going to bed, then set it to minimum when you are ready to sleep.
Filtration system
The TaoTronics HEPA air purifier uses a three-stage filtration system. This is more or less the standard for HEPA purifiers, as it is an efficient and tested method. The outer layer is simply a mesh pre-filter. This layer is designed to remove large particles, such as pet hair and large piles of dust . This system prevents the main filter from being clogged with larger contaminants. Precisely this layer is easy to clean, so as to prevent it from becoming clogged in a short time.
The second layer is a true HEPA filter, with an accordion design. It is the part of the filter that does most of the work, removing most of the contaminants from the air.
The third layer consists of activated carbon. This layer is designed to remove chemical contaminants, and to remove odors. Note, that the filter will therefore be replaced approximately every 4 months .
How it works
The most obvious and immediately perceptible thing is the fact that the air purifier in question really removes odors . It is clear, however, that the most interesting part is the one that is likely to be perceived less, namely the removal of impurities in the air. As already mentioned, the external prefilter removes major contaminants, but it is the HEPA filter that is where the most important cleaning takes place. This layer removes 99.97% of particles up to 0.3 microns in diameter . This means removing most of the allergens, such as small dust particles, animal hair, pollen and mold spores. It is certainly a recommended product for allergy sufferers or allergy-induced asthma. A help that certainly will not displease.
Still, it is advisable to have those who have pets in the house. In fact, activated carbon also absorbs many odors, such as those coming from a cat's litter box. Also useful in the kitchen, however, to remove strong odors, such as those that can be generated by the massive use of garlic or onion. Finally, very important also for those who smoke at home: the activated carbon can also fight the smell of tobacco smoke.
Conclusions
This TaoTronics HEPA air purifier is one of the products we would most recommend for normal home use. Small dimensions, aesthetics that will adapt well to a modern environment, and many operating modes, which will allow you to leave it on even at night, without disturbing sleep. Indeed, after several minutes it is perceived that the air in the room has something different: above all the odors vanish, to have a feeling of neutral air.
It is not a filter for the whole house, or for huge rooms, rather a concrete aid room by room. The unit itself is very well built, is compact, and can be placed just about anywhere.
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