Disappointed it has ionizer/bad for asthma September 05, 2011

I own an older version of the large Kenmore air purifier, which has worked well for years,  and I wanted to buy another.  I see that this now has an ionizer, which is bad for asthma (the reason I want a second one in the first place).

I wish the older model without the ionizer was still available.  This one will make my asthma worse, not hellp it.

Worked Great - Broke Fast July 12, 2011

I am really torn writing about this. The unit worked great without filter changing required. But, it broke within weeks of the warranty running out. I took it into the Sears repair center and was told (a week later) that the product could not be repaired because the unit was no longer made by Sears - so I had them toss it rather than bring the broken appliance home.

A year+ later, I saw the same model for sale in a Sears store - so the repair center's story was not true.

Despite this, I just bought the same unit again on sale and bought the extended replacement guarantee.

We run the unit all the time and the savings in filter replacements (not required) seems to make it a good bet.

But, I would not buy the unit at full price -- and I would not buy the unit without getting the longest replacement deal available.

Works great but listen to me. March 30, 2011

This unit performed flawlessly for the first 12 months. I cleaned the pre-filter (black mesh) with my kitchen faucet sprayer and inner aluminum electrostatic unit as well in the dishwasher once each month during this timeframe as well. Then all of a sudden the control panel started to flicker and it would shut off. Hmmm I then washed both filters thoroughly and the interior one in my dishwasher and then dried them both which is essential and it ran for another two days and it failed and did the same thing with the control panel flickering and shut off again. I took the interior electrostatic filter to my work which has a commercial dishwasher that gets to 165 degrees and washed the interior filter. The unit then ran one week and did then stopped doing the same thing. I than put the electrostatic filter under the microscope and saw that even the hot dishwasher left behind fine black dust on all surfaces and especially the electrostatic wires which are attached with springs on the sides. I took a damp soapy cotton face wash cloth and wiped all wires and was amazed how black the cloth got. I then took a ruler, attached commercial sticky velcro and got glued the fuzzy side to a paint stiring stick and used it to clean the interior flat fins. Wow I was amazed what the commercial dishwaher left behind. When I was done my bath tub water was much darker after cleaning/scrubbing this for 10 minutes. Dried the filters popped them in and it ran fine as it did when new. I am on year 3.5 owning this so even though I know I have to do a more thorough cleaning for it to work it is worth it. Hearning an occasional zap is ok with this unit but when you start hearing it freaquently it needs to be cleaned. About the only thing that can kill this now is the motor or the control panel. Now every 2-3 months I now fill up my bathtup with hot soapy water to a 6 inch depth, let the electrostatic filter sit in there and soak for a couple hours and then clean as I mentioned above. Also as you know there are 4 fan speed settings. I recommend you do not use speed 4 the highest for you will fry the motor much sooner. Speed 3 still cleans great as does speed 2. Good luck hope this helps. Happy with my flicker free control panel ans I'm nearing year 4 on this unit. I have one more hint for you and photo if you don't have little kids who might put their fingers in the unit. I cut out one area of the top grill where the most volume of clean air is directed and being expelled. This quieted the unit down 10%-15% and also reduces the force on the motor. It nearly turns speed 1 cfm into 2 and 2 to 3 etc. saving you a little electricity and it all adds up when this thing is running nearly 24/7. See attached photo. Enjoy..

Product works great but NO REPAIR AVAILABLE December 21, 2010

Great unit but very overpriced for a unit that Kenmore will not repair. My LCD screen is disolving (clearly a manufacturing defect) and Kenmore refuses to help me. I spoke to a senior level person who continued to tell me to call the parts department. The only available parts for this unit are the filters. period. Very upsetting since it's just past it's waranty and Kemore pretty much stated to just buy a new one.