Reviews on Friedrich C-90A Air Purifier This really does what it should

Reviews on Friedrich C-90A Air Purifier Friedrich air cleaner does not produce ozone if carbon filter is replaced regularly. I have had a Friedrich air cleaner for years. Here are some tips. Electrostatic precipitators (EP) produce ozone. Fresh carbon filter materi...

Friedrich C-90B Electronic Air Cleaner Top rated in leading consumer magazine! Washable pre-filter and ionizing cell, 365 maximum CFM, For 465 sq. feet rooms, Dimensions 20 x 16 ...

I’ve run two C-90A purifiers in my house for more than two years now. There are a few downsides that you should watch for but I do recommend them. I bought them because we live in an incredibly dusty area and that was becoming intolerable.

First, I did my Consumer Reports research. The heavily advertised (and expensive) units from were rated as not recommended, as were all electrostatic-only air “purifiers.” The article made an excellent point: dust collects on furniture surfaces too, but that doesn’t mean they are cleaning the air! Good point, CR. That convinced me.

I bought both my units from the same retailer on eBay, shipment was quick, nothing arrived broken. The one thing the tiny manual, and the web site, doesn’t tell you is how much cubic air space each unit will clean. Square footage estimates are irrelevant when you have an entire house of vaulted ceilings, as we do. So there is no guidance in that respect, somewhat of a surprise and disappointment. I decided one unit for our living room, one for our dining room, since we have an open and flowing floor plan and those rooms don’t have walls between them. The unit comes with one pre-filter that is washable and isn’t replaced, plus a carbon after-filter that is not reusable. The recommendation is to replace the carbon filter every three to six months, depending on your environment. I replace mine every three months and they are quite dusty by that time. I buy a four-pack of filters, which costs $80.

The high setting for the unit fan is very noisy and I suggest you use that only to initially clean the air, or if you have an especially dusty or allergen condition at some point. Otherwise, you can leave the unit on medium or low — I use medium in the summer when windows are open, low in the winter when we have everything closed. My main living areas now need dusting only once a week instead of at least every two days. Mission accomplished.

I’ve never noticed any ozone smell and I am literally hyper-sensitive to all odors, but then again, I change the carbon after-filters like clockwork. We also have a 60″ monstrous television in the living room, along with one of our Friedrichs, and we’ve never had any kind of electrical interference. My guess is those who have had such problems should check their circuits or switch the circuit where the is plugged into.

The plug is a grounded three-prong and the cord is about six feet long. I suppose if that’s not long enough you could use a heavy duty grounded electrical extension cord to reach your preferred placement area. The units are fairly large and quite ugly — beige hard plastic. Ugh! They are certainly not unobtrusive so be aware of that. I won’t have one in the bedroom because of the ugliness, noise, and size of the unit. Too bad they don’t make a smaller unit too.

The cleaning of this thing has a couple of hidden surprises. First, the electrostatic unit does NOT need to be washed in the dishwasher. I gave that up after one washing. I simply remove it, take it to my utility sink (a bathtub or shower would do nicely too), spray it on both sides with Castrol Super Cleaner, let it sit a few minutes, rinse it on both sides with very hot water, shake the water out, and let it sit on a towel overnight to dry. That’s all it takes — nothing fancy or elaborate, just make sure it’s dry before putting back into the unit! I do the same thing with the pre-filter, but that’s easily blotted dry with a large towel. No matter, you’ll still have to wait for the electrostatic unit to dry before using the unit again. And don’t forget to clean the grill on the intake side of the unit — it gets dusty too. Now another gotcha — the fan blades get filthy but I haven’t seen anywhere that it’s recommended to clean them! Unfortunately, the side that becomes disgustingly dirty is the opposite side from the easy access where you’ve removed the pre-filter and the electrostatic unit. That means you have to reach in, carefully, and try to wipe each blade with a cloth dipped in cleaner. I have very tiny arms and hands and I find it a tight fit. I haven’t checked to see if the fan can be removed somehow — now that would be a production. Anyway, I was disgusted at how gross the dirt was after a year of use. You should also clean the bottom of the inside of the unit, where dirt and dust seem to settle also. These are little hidden surprises that aren’t explained anywhere.

I’ve never heard my units crackle and pop, but that is supposedly what happens when they get dirty and need cleaning. I don’t let them get to that point. My house is always exposed to dust — we live on a rural island in Puget Sound, WA where the wind blows constantly — and I never clean the units more often than once a week; it usually ends up more like every two weeks.

I have had a positive experience with customer service at . After a few months I started getting a mild shock (still don’t know why) when I removed the electrostatic unit from one of my Friedrichs, even though I always unplugged the things before starting my cleaning process. I e-mailed their customer service, and the fellow apologized profusely, immediately sent a new electrostatic unit (didn’t even ask any other questions like when I bought it, from where, etc.), and just requested that I send the defective unit back in the box after I received the new one. He included a return shipping label so I didn’t have to pay for anything. The replacement unit was fine and all was well.

I recommend this unit if you have a dust, pet, odor, or allergen problem in your house. The unit seems like a lot of money but it’s worth it in the long run for something that actually does what it is supposed to do and does it very well. Just make sure you keep it clean and change the carbon filter regularly, and you’ll be happy with the results.

Reviews on Friedrich C-90A Air Purifier Powerful I have only had this Purifier for 2 weeks so I can not give too much advice on it. I was in the market for an air purifier (cleaner) and lik...

Reviews on Friedrich C-90A Air Purifier Ozone Problem I purchased two of these units a year ago - an investment of $1,000. I used them over the last winter, and was very happy with them. Of th...

Blueair 601 Air Purifier Product MPNMPN:blueair 601 Key FeaturesSq. Ft. Coverage:650 Sq. Ft.Quiet Operation:With Quiet OperationHEPA Filt...

Friedrich C-90A Air Purifier Product MPNMPN:C-90A Key FeaturesSq. Ft. Coverage:465 Sq. Ft.Quiet Operation:With Quiet OperationHEPA Filter:Wit...

Reviews on Friedrich C-90A Air Purifier The best on the market. I have to say that I am stunned that there has only been one review (prior to mine) on this product. The Friedrich C-90A air cleaner has be...

Reviews on Blueair 501 Air Purifier Blueair experiment worked I live in northern California and this year (2006) we got a lot of rain which made the allergy season pretty bad. Tired of waking up sneezi...

Sharp Plasmacluster FP-N60CX Air Purifier

Reviews on Blueair 501 Air Purifier If the air was blue, it’s clear now

Tags: ESP, Friedrich, Sharp, Sharper Image

You must be logged in to post a comment.