Air Purifiers: yay or nay?
When I got an air purifier, I did a search of reviews online. Seems the ones that really work are closer to $300.00. I did get one and it was better than the $50.00 one I had but still not close to 100% effective. Best thing I did was to bake cookies -- that helped the best (for the odor, not my belly).
Germ Guardian doesn't publish the CFM (cubic feet per minute) flow rate for the device but a quick google search puts it in the ~100CFM range, suitable for a room of dimensions about 12 foot by 12 foot on each side.
This chart has good info about what to look for regarding filter sizes: http://www.berriman-usa.com/sizing_table_air_cleaners.htm
As an example, if my house is one big 500 sq. ft. room and my ceilings are 10 ft. that gives me 5,000 cubic feet. I want an 'ACH' (whatever that is) of 6 to cycle all the air every 10 minutes so I look for a unit that advertises 500 CFM. These are the ones closer to $300
The problem with these always ends up being the house air flow. Even if I got a 500CFM purifier I would not be happy, because after being on for ~1 hour it will mostly be cycling the same air in the room I've placed it over and over again. I've got to put box fans blowing dirty air into the room, and clean air out... or run the unit in one room for a few hours, then move it to the next room and so on.
We've got some odor issues (pets/cooking) that are more noticeable when windows are closed for air conditioning. Has anyone tried air purifiers like Germ Guard? Look like they are under $100 and I'm wondering about getting a couple for the house.