Honeywell 17000 - well built and quiet.

The Honeywell 17000 is our second Honeywell HEPA cleaner. The other worked fine over 4 or 5 years. My wife has intermittent allergies and a HEPA cleaner seems to help during bad times. We do not use the cleaner every day. We use it when my wife senses allergies troubles, and of course during weekly vacuuming to help keep dust to a minimum.

The 17000 is a compact unit with side mounted access to the filter compartment. The unit has top mounted rubberized buttons for OFF/HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW. There are also two filter test buttons for the pre-filter and the HEPA filter. A press of these buttons gives you an estimated time remaining on the filter by way of how many LED flashes occur. For the Pre-filter; 1 flash NEW, 2 flashes 2/3 life remains, 3 flashes 1/3 to Replace. For the HEPA filter; 1 flash NEW, 2 flashes ¾ remains, 3 flashes ½-1/4 remains, 4 flashes Replace.

We have found this unit to be quieter than our previous Honeywell HEPA cleaner. Left on the low setting it makes a soft white noise. The only problem with HEPA air cleaners is that they tend to generate dry air. We have found that this can be minimized in effect by making sure t place the unit no to near the bed if you are planning to sleep with the unit on.

Overall the 17000 is well built and inexpensive. The filter parts can be found at many home centers, so supplies are much easier to come by then ever. I am sure filters can also be found on line. While you can pay more for a HEPA air cleaner, I am not certain that you can find a better unit for the money.