Mike H. (Detroit) phoned one day to say:
“I wouldn’t recommend any air purifier Home Depot sells in their store. They don’t know squat about air purifiers, and they don’t even warranty the products they carry”.
He was frustrated having wasted time buying an air purifier from with poor advice given in the store. The purifier he bought not only didn’t offer him any allergy relief, it didn’t collect any pollen in the filters when he opened it up. However the Customer Service (in the store) was good and he received a full refund.
I told Mike:
“You can’t expect expert advice from Home Depot on air purifiers, since they don’t have an in-house expert in health matters. You first have to know which technology matches your needs, and then which models have that technology, before you should even search for a good price. Do you know about the 10 technologies and what they do?”
“Nope”
He then asked me what I thought of the Ionic Pro, the model Home Depot recommended, and which was on sale there. I told Mike that the ionic pro does not have a HEPA filter – the technology he needed most for dust and pollen effectiveness.
He then asked me for suggestions in buying the right air purifier. This review offers my suggestions to Mike, plus all the reasons to avoid, or buy, an air purifier from a big box store or their online website.
10 Technologies – and what they do
Air Purifier Home Depot Brands
Home Depot Carries the Following models online:
RabbitAir
Honeywell
Winix
Blueair
Ionic Pro
GE
HomeDepot.com Problems
Target, Home Depot, and Lowe’s all sell air purifiers on their sites. Before buying any air purifier home depot (or any of the other “big box stores”) sells check the following:
1) Do they have the best price on the model you want? Remember – they are just a middleman and don’t actually carry, or service, the item. They just have it drop shipped from the manufacturer.
2) Is the warranty the same there as with the manufacturer? In many cases I’ve seen that the original manufacturers offer longer warranties if you buy direct.
3) Are prices on Amazon lower? Amazons return policies are better than Home Depot. You’re better protected, and most often the price there is lower. (However check the warranty on Amazon, and the price on the page of the manufacturer as sometimes Amazon is more).
Conclusion
If you know the ten technologies (see the video), and you have compared several brands that match your needs (see the comparison chart and reviews) then shopping online at Home Depot, Amazon, Ebay, etc. is a good way to get the best price.
If you get the same price from the manufacturers site as from the reseller (Home Depot, etc.) I suggest you buy from the manufacturer, as you’ll be able to deal directly with them if help is needed.
The Link below takes you to the comparison chart…
Air Purifier Home Depot Comparisons