***WARNING: I had an issue with the spacing in this post. I’ll apologize now.***
A funny thing happened a month or so ago. Remember when Handy Hubby painted this artsy mural on our foyer wall? {If not, look here.}
Many of you asked where we found the cherry blossom artwork. I blogged about it here after asking the company, RabbitAir, for permission first, of course. They kindly gave me the OK to share their cherry blossom image. And that’s when the ‘funny thing’ happened. I was contacted by their customer service department and asked if I had an air purifier in my home. I told them no but that we had considered buying one. The reply I got was surprising. RabbitAir hooked me up with one of their home air purifiers {for free!} along with the Germ Defense Filter, Cherry Blossom front panel and wall mount kit. I was incredibly happy about this because 1) it was super nice of them and 2) I have crazy fall allergies. Now, I know some of you may think this is all a total cop-out and that I made a deal with this company in exchange for their product but, I assure you, it’s not. {One of my main goals as a home decor and DIY blogger is to be honest.} And now that I’ve been living with the air purifier for a little over a month, I wanted to share my thoughts on it.
The MinusA2 SPA-700A Ultra Quiet HEPA Air Purifier arrived undamaged but without the wall mount kit. After I notified them of the mistake, the company quickly shipped the missing parts. We decided to install the air purifier in our master bedroom because the manual stated that it covered up to 700 sq ft.
Originally, we had wanted to put it in our main living space on the first floor but that’s roughly 1200 sq ft. Plus, I’m the only one in the family with allergies so it just made the most sense to use it in our bedroom. The unit came with a base stand {for sitting upright} and a wall mount kit {for mounting to the wall}. Since we’re short on table space in our bedroom, Handy Hubby easily removed the base and mounted the purifier to the wall.
I was a little disappointed with Step 4 of the instructions where it says to “decide where you want to position the wall mount bracket and consult a hardware store or contractor for installation materials and instructions.” For us, it was fine. Handy Hubby has a huge supply of hardware in the garage and he’s pretty much a contractor if you ask me. However, I do think it’d be nice if hardware was included along with installation specifics {like whether or not to tie into a wall stud}. While the unit is not heavy {think less than 20lbs}, we ended up drilling the wall bracket into a stud for extra support.
The back of the unit has 2 square ‘knobs’ that slip right over the bracket and 2 padded wall protectors at the bottom to keep it from damaging the wall.
Once mounted, the air purifier looks like this. That cherry blossom branch looks familiar now, doesn’t it?
The gallery pictures on RabbitAir’s website are a tad misleading. The purifier must be plugged into an outlet. So unless you mount it right over an outlet somehow, the electric cord will be visible. It does have an easily accessible control panel.
We usually leave it off during the day and set it on AUTO just before hitting the hay. The unit really is quiet although I actually like a little white noise at night. We like the HIGH speed. Handy Hubby is very fond of the MOOD LIGHT {see the sliver of purple light below} which can be turned on/off or dimmed.
It even comes with a remote control so we can switch the light/purifier off/on from the comfort of our bed. {Handy Hubby keeps it in his nightstand drawer.} It’s very convenient.
So what about the efficacy? It’s hard to say. I like to compare it to the flu shot {sorry, I’m a part-time pharmacist}. You don’t really know if it’s working until it doesn’t. Like I said before, I have an allergy to ragweed. While I still did a fair amount of sneezing and had congestion this fall, it hasn’t been quite as severe or long-lasting as previous years. I was able to sleep comfortably without taking any allergy medicine at night but I did need it during the day. Also, my autumn allergies always turn into a sinus infection at some point in September/October. However, this didn’t happen this year. So maybe the purifier worked it’s magic on me OR maybe this season’s ragweed wasn’t as bad OR maybe I just wasn’t as reactive this year. Who’s to know. I’d really need to clone myself and make a control group to get a scientific answer. Still, I’ll take comfortable nighttime breathing and no annual sinus infection any day!
One feature that I think could come in handy this flu season is the air purifier’s portability. Even though the unit is wall-mounted right now, I can simply pull it up and off the bracket then connect it to the base stand. Here’s the stand…
A handle at the top/back makes transport easy.
I can totally see us putting this in the boys’ room when Layne brings home a bug or virus from kindergarten {which is bound to happen} to help clean the air. There is some upkeep to the unit. Monthly vacuuming of a specific filter is required along with cleaning the lens and unit every 3 months. There are 6- and 12-month filter replacement guidelines as well. I haven’t had to tackle any of those things yet but the instructions look simple enough. All-in-all, we’re very satisfied with the RabbitAir purifier. On a scale of 1-10 {1 being completely unsatisfied and 10 being completely satisfied}, I’d give it an 8. I think Handy Hubby would give it a 9 because he likes the MOOD LIGHT so much. One thing is for sure, we’re extra happy about having healthier air to breathe while we sleep. Especially since our bedroom has been exposed to paint, off-gassing rugs and new furniture chemicals…due to that lil’ makeover we have going on.
If you’re interested in learning more about RabbitAir and their products, check them out here. Happy breathing!
DIY, inspiration