GermGuardian GG1000 Small Air Purifier, Pluggable UVC Air Sanitizer, Room Deodorizer, Kills Germs, Freshens Air, Reduces Odors from Pets, Mold, Smoking, Cooking, Laundry, Germ Guardian Air Purifier

I used to get these from Lowes until they stopped carrying them in store. Luckily, you can get them direct from the manufacturer through Amazon now. They are perfect for small spaces such as apartments, offices, classrooms etc. My wife uses one in her grade school classroom and we have two at home in our two bedroom apartment. They take up zero floor space so that makes them better than most air purifiers right there. You do want to avoid putting anything directly in front of it though, as you want good air flow going to it. You can swivel the plug-in so that it can be plugged in upright as shown in the pictures or upside down. It works equally well in either position and its handy for when there is something above the plug-in preventing you from plugging it in right side up. Also, if you have plug-ins that are getting worn out and heavier things won't stay plugged into them, I've found that plugging it in upside down helps it say plugged in better.It does make a bit of noise due to the impeller fan inside the unit. This noise is very quiet when you first get it, but gets louder and more high pitched when the unit is about to quit working. But, usually, you can make it work again by buying just the inside bulb from the manufacturer's website and replacing that part. You can tell when it is about to go out also by the light on the front. It is usually blue but sometimes turns orange when it needs a new bulb. The bulbs last for 12 months to two years, sometimes even three depending on how much you keep it plugged in and on how dirty your air is. The unit uses about 6 watts per hour so it's pretty energy efficient.It seems to really help, especially with airborne mold. I've had farmers lung or lung infections before I started using air purifiers like this so I tend to be rather sensitive to mold. Now that I'm using these, I've noticed that I have far less trouble with mold in my lungs. It also helps get rid of that musty smell that some places have (which is due to mold). My wife's classroom used to smell musty and she and the kids would have the sniffles often, even when they didn't have the flu but not anymore now that she's got one of these in her room.As for odor reduction, I can't say that it really does a lot. It kind of depends on how strong the odor is and whether the thing that is producing the odor is still present after a while. If something makes a strong odor but is then removed, it does seem to make the smell go away sooner. If the item that is making the odor stays in the room, these things can't keep up with it. It doesn't release any smells of its own, so it won't mask the bad odor with anything like an air freshener does. If you do use air fresheners though, I recommend keeping the air freshener and this Germ Guardian as far apart as you can because I'd imagine that making the Germ Guardian try to clean the particles of air freshener chemical out of the air will wear the Germ Guardian out faster.The best part is that it uses blue light technology to kill mold and germs with ultraviolet light rather than ozone production. Air purifiers that use ozone production actually wind up contributing to indoor air pollution and can make you just as sick as the stuff you are trying to clean out of the air. I've tried ozone producing air purifiers in the past, and they gave me terrible headaches. I don't have that problem with the Germ Guardian.If you notice in a lot of restaurants and hospitals, this UV light technology is used there as well. With the Germ Guardian, the fan draws air towards the bottom of the unit, flows it past the UV light and back out the top of the unit. Though it makes the unit make a little noise, it's better than the passive UV filters since it processes the air in the room more efficiently and takes less time to clean the air column in the room. If you use it in conjunction with a fan (either on the ceiling or floor) it can work even faster, especially if it is a floor fan and you can blow the room's air towards the unit. This is especially helpful in rooms that are approaching the upper limit of the unit's capacity which I think is something like 50 - 70 square feet.

Seems to work well in our uninsulated room to get rid of mildew smell. Using it with a dehumidifier seems to be helping during our humid summer here in Maine. I got this last year and it's still working fine

A couple of blue lights glow BRIGHTLY to indicate, I guess, that the UV-C light is not burnt out. I assume the the blue light is harmless, but, given the warnings about how deadly UV-C is to living things, you can't help but wonder if dangerous UV-C "leakage" will burn your retinas or something. My wife wondered this, too. "If that light is so powerful, is the light coming from it safe?"Worse, it's WAY too bright to keep on in a bedroom. I immediately put black tape on it so I could sleep...then hid it in a box! The fan sound is gentle white noise, not a problem. Some people like a little white to to help with sleep. But blue light - the color of sunlight - is not good for sleep at all. And finally, if you want to save the 10 watts or so that I measured this unit at with a watt meter, you must pull it out of the outlet. No on-off switch. Stupid.Does it work? Well, it's a matter of proving a negative. My bedroom smells clean and fresh with it, but then, it didn't smell bad without it. I haven't gotten sick since I started using it, but then...would I be sick now if I DIDN'T use it? Probably not. I guess the test will come if I get a cold or the flu and use this to fight germs in my sickroom. Again, if I recover fast, can I thank this device? There's really no way for a non-scientist to prove if it's doing anything at all...no way for a lay person to measure germs in the air with or without. I'm not saying it doesn't perform as advertised...I'm just saying that it's hard to determine what it accomplishes, if anything. Just be aware that it's NOT a filter, and it removes no particles from the air. Doesn't claim to. So, my next purchase may involve a HEPA filter device (for allergy relief) with a built-in UV-C light (just for that extra degree of feeling like I'm doing something beneficial, even if I can't prove it).

This is an excellent air purifier! It is quiet and small but mighty!

A MIRACLE WORKER! Full disclosure: I'm not a cat lover, but married someone who already had one - and the cat and I have learned to tolerate one another. For a year and a half, we've lived in a house where the only rational place to put the litter box was the laundry room. I have a sensitive sniffer and I've schemed finding a new home for the cat due to the stench of the litter box in a small room. Even immediately after changing the litter, it still stunk - and if the litter was more than 2 days old, I would literally hold my breath while grabbing laundry. We've wiped down the walls and floor with bleach, Nature's Miracle, put air fresheners in, burned candles, etc., and nothing works for long. I was hesitant due to the price, but this thing has been a game changer - within hours, the smell was gone and hasn't come back, even when I'm actively sniffing. The con is that now I'm going to have to remember to change the litter since it doesn't reek every few days! Despite the price tag, I'm even considering buying more for other stinky areas in the house! Note that it does have a built-in fan, so it may be too noisy for common areas. It's not loud exactly, but has a distinct whir that might annoy me in the living room or kitchen, but is easy to write off in the laundry room.