Features:

• 60 sq. ft. true HEPA medical filter medium - filter only needs replacing every 5 years.
• Meets HEPA standards, trapping 99.97% of all particulates larger than 0.3 microns.
• Military carbon cloth for odor and gas removal.
• 3 Speeds - 400cfm on high setting: cleans a room area of up to 1500 ft.

Editor Reviews:

Product Description:
The Austin Air HEGA air purifier is an economical answer to allergen, VOC, gas and odor removal. Reports by consumer experts indicate that Austin HEGA Standard and Jr. Air Purifiers are perfect for someone who: (1) Has multiple chemical sensitivities and needs an air filter that doesn't offgas (2) Needs HEPA particulate (small particle) filtration as well as gases, odors and or smoke problems (3) Is a city dweller with medium particulate allergies who also may have city or neighborhood pollutants that produce odors, gases and or soot. Most people have heard of HEPA filtration which is HIGH EFFICIENCY PARTICULATE ADSORPTION filtration (good for small particles such as dust, danger, pollen, mold, etc.) Some allergy sufferers also need chemicals, odors, and gases removed from their environments (new homes, city living, apartment living). This type of gas filtration is usually achieved by using some type of carbon or carbon/zeolite pellets to absorb the gases and odors. Some manufacturers are now also using a carbon cloth filter for gas and odor control. Austin Air's product development team developed a method for combining the carbon cloth's gas trapping properties with HEPA particles filtration. Austin engineers named their new filtration discovery HEGA - High Efficiency Gas Adsorption. Activated carbon is woven into a lightweight cloth, which is powerful enough to protect military personnel from toxic poisons.

Rating : - Spectacular
This is so good that a friend whose child suffers from severe asthma [and who has an Oreck air filter that cost about $800--- which broke down as soon as the warranty expired], could actually sense how much cleaner the air was when she was in the vicinity of the Austin and asked me where she could buy one. She asked even though I have had this for nearly 10 years [one filter change so far, by the calendar, not because I sensed it stop working].

I can't recommend it strongly enough.

While it is a bit noisy, it's an even background noise, not at all irritating [and I am a real noise crank]; in fact when my neighbors have a party [their dining room wall is my bedroom wall], the hum actually is an added bonus and helps me to fall sleep.

I should mention that when the wind shifted one night after 9/11 here in NY I got a heavy dose of the smoke cloud and so could barely breath when I arrived home; I closed myself in the bedroom, turned on the Austin filter, and was fine.