Couldn't be Happier with Purchase

I purchased this air filter over the summer with my stimulus check from the good ole government. I had wanted a room air filter for my bedroom for a long time. In the spring I have seasonal allergies to contend with and in the winter dust makes me miserable while I sleep.

My sleep issues were starting to affect me a lot. With a new baby in the house, sleep is precious to me and waking up in the middle of the night, and worst of all wheezing went I laid down was starting to bum me out to say the least.

My first experience with a room air filter was an Oreck. My wife's grandmother initially offered me their Oreck air filter to start. I noticed the difference immediately. I was sleeping better and I was very very happy. After a few days the unit started to arc. The Truman filter was beginning to get dirty, and when that happens it arcs. Arcs are little "arcs" of electricity that snap when large dust or dirt particles hit the filter. It looks like a large static electricity shock, but much louder. So....I cleaned the filter, which took several hours to dry before I could put it back in the unit As time went by, the unit needed cleaning more and more, and at times when I heard the arcing, it was many multiple snaps until you turned the unit off. They actually were enough to wake my baby a few times sleeping in the next room. The filter became progressively harder to clean. The instructions explicitly say that you should not place any kind of cleaning device ( squabs, pads etc ) into the filter. This thing was not getting clean with soaking and rinsing in sudsy water as they suggested. Long story short, the unit could not go more than two or three days without the now incredibly annoying arcing. It had to go.

With this in mind I decided I wanted something with a replaceable filter that would go several months without needing replaced. I researched like a mad dervish for several weeks. Some filters were just astronomically expensive, especially the HEPA filter units. Others had a decent price but the filters were super duper expensive to replace, and/or did not include a HEPA filter. Eventually, every site I went to seemed to always take me to the Alen a350 based on the list of parameters I hoped would be met by a room filter. At $400 this unit was not cheep, but the filters only needed replaced every 6 months according to the company website and they were reasonably priced at $40. looks like it has gone up since to $50. Oh well, still a relatively good deal.

Received the unit, started it up and checked out the settings. The low unit is very quiet. Audible…but not loud. The second setting, which is where I keep mine at, is somewhat loud, but not so much that you need to raise your voice to carry a conversation on with someone across a room. The third and fourth levels are loud. No other way to put it. These settings would make it hard for me to fall asleep but would be a good if you had the unit off for a while and wanted to quickly scrub the air inside the room.

The unit has an ionizer, which is a nice benefit. The ionizer does not create ozone which is ideal for small children or those with reparatory issues. The ironic thing is that my wife actually like the ozone smell of a room with the Oreck and its ionizer, even though it not something you would probably want to be breathing in day in and day out. The air after running the Alen however always smells clean and fresh which I love.

Another side benefit of this unit but isn't on the website is that it moves the air in the room. I hate being in any room in which I feel the air I am breathing is stagnant or stale. I wanted to install a ceiling fan in the room to help room air circulation this but found out the Alen does good enough of a job for me to be comfortable at night.

The filters are easy to replace and I am finding that my first filter that came with the unit is going to last more than 6 months. I have another ordered but I think I will get one more month according to the filter sensor which tells you when to replace it.

The timer is nice but if you are buying this unit to aide your allergies you probably will want to keep it working all the time. I normally reduce it to the lowest level during the day while I am away and turn it back to level two when I get home.

Bottom Line:
The best thing I can say about any product I use is that I would recommend it to anyone who asked me. The unit has allowed me to breath better at night when I sleep, even when it’s just on the second lowest setting. I can even keep the windows open at night in the spring and summer when allergens can be at their worst, and still wake up feeling refreshed. Not to say in those cases I won't wake up a little congested, none the less however it allows me to do it without waking up 10 times a night.

Now that its winter, it cuts down on the dust in the room and I don't wheeze or have difficulty breathing anymore.

This unit is highly effective and at a very competitive cost. I am extremely happy with the purchase.