Danny as been writing about air purifiers for 10+ years. He is a major fan of home technology, which makes him the perfect person to test and evaluate products for HouseFresh
Alternative to the Therapure air purifier that are available to buy in 2020:
Invalid table id.Therapure air purifiers are descendants of Sharper Image ionic air purifiers that were super popular back in the day but they now part of the brand ENVION who are part of Boneco a swiss company that has been making purifiers since 1956.
The Therapure brand of purifiers resides at the lower end of the budget spectrum with most units costing less than $200 with most at around $129.
As with any air purifier review, we are interested in how each unit deals with smoke, dust, pet dander, and pollen. I am also interested in running costs, so how much electricity is used (as many air purifiers will be used 24 hours per day) and the costs of filters (no point buying a cheap unit and then having to spend many $$ on filter replacement.)
Let’s jump into the reviews and find out if therapure air purifiers are worth getting:
1.Envion Ionic Pro Turbo
This air purifier is meant for fairly sized rooms of up to 500 square feet and the price is usually around the $149 range.
From a technlogy point of view, it uses ionisation combined with a fan to add weight to air pollutants through the use of negative ions that then get captured by the steel blades.
It doesn’t use a HEPA filter so the benefit is that you won’t need to replace the filter like you would with a pure HEPA based unit.
You will also need to remember to clean the blades peridoically to keep the unit running at an efficient level.
The other benefit of ionization it is far less loud when in use when compared with a similar HEPA purifier which needs to force the air through the filter to achieve the same job.
Based on customer reviews, some people love the Ionization effect and describe the air as smelling a lot cleaner but their many customers who have issues with the ionization and said it actually had a negative effect on their allergies – so be sure give it a good test before deciding if you want to go for a unit like this. I love that Amazon.com is great with returns just be aware of third party sellers that may charge extra for returns.
- Ultra-quiet air purifier with cutting-edge technology reduces airborne microorganisms and odors from your home and discharges invigorated air without emitting ambient noise
- Whether you're dealing with a light touch-up or a thorough deep clean, this fan system made for medium rooms with a 3-speed fan ensures that your space receives the precise level of cleaning
- Ionic technology uses negative ions to attract positive airborne pollutants and particles in the air; Traps pollen, dust, smoke, and pet dander down to 0.1 microns
- Innovative easy-to-clean front-loading filter presents a highly advantageous solution that significantly reduces the necessity for frequent and potentially expensive filter replacements
- Intricately crafted interplay of form and function, the tower's ingenious design channels natural resources to their fullest potential by using less energy than a compact fluorescent bulb
2.Therapure TPP240
You can use this air purifier is smaller rooms – maximum of 343 Sq Ft with the price around the $130 mark but varies across the year.
Unlike the pro turbo this unit combines a HEPA with an ionizer and even uses a UV germicidal tech to kill germs and bacteria whilst the HEPA and ionization deals with the pollen and pet dander.
One thing to note is that this unit doesn’t use a true HEPA but is a HEPA type – a true HEPA filter needs to remove 99.97% of particles smaller than 0.3 microns. HEPA type works only on 99% particles above 2 microns. Whilst this difference seems tiny, it really matters when we are dealing with tiny particles that cause allergies like dander and pollen. For this reason, I would say that you should avoid the TPP240 if you want to see benefits for asthma and allergies.
Another thing we noticed is that many of the reviews on Amazon.com shows signs of review manipulation with a Fakespot grade of D, for this reason, we wouldn’t recommend this unit and would suggest you look elsewhere for budget air purifier such as the Levoit H13 that is regularly available for less than $100 and has a true HEPA combined with a carbon filter.
- High-performance air purifier that provides ideal air purification for medium to large rooms such as nurseries, bedrooms, or home offices
- Cleanable HEPA-Type filter removes PM 2.5 particles from the air including pollutants such as smoke and other impurities
- Main voltage: 120 V; Capacity: 343 square feet
- Photocatalyst filter reduces VOCs (volatile organic compounds), found in paint or carpet fumes; Sleek design with built-in handle for portability
- Digital control panel with a 24-hour timer function, clean filter indicator, ionizer option, night mode, and 3 fan speed options
3.Envion TPP100 compact 360 air purifier
This tiny air purifier is built for very small areas and can be found online at different retailer around the $60 and sometimes comes up at Walmart for $25ish.
Unlike the other 2 therapure purifiers we reviewed here, this doesn’t use UV or Ions and uses the HEPA- style we mentioned previously.
Whilst this unit can be found super cheap, be aware that replacement filters can cost upwards of $32 with shipping.
Whilst this could certainly be an interesting gift for someone at the office, we can’t suggest that this unit is suitable for someone looking to deal with dust or pet allergies – you really just need to spend at least $100 for a unit that could deal with these issues for a fairly small room.
I would suggest taking a hard pass on this air purifier and spending an extra $40 to go for something like the Levoit H13 that we recommended earlier.
- REMOVES mold, smoke, germs, bacteria, viruses, common allergens, pet dander & odor from the air in your home; CADR Dust: 30 Pollen: 29 Smoke: 27
- CLEANS the air in small size rooms (about 115 square feet) up to 3 times in one hour
- COMPACT - Perfect for small spaces like bathrooms, pantries, offices, cubicles, etc.
- 100% OZONE FREE. Does not use UV or Ions which produce trace amounts of ozone, a harmful air pollutant.
- CLEANABLE filter eliminates needs for costly filter replacement.
So should you buy a Therapure air purifier?
It probably won’t come as a surprise in that I don’t recommend you buy any of these air purifiers.
Whilst they are super popular due to the fact that they are stocked in big box stores like Costco, Walmart, Sears…etc they just don’t provide enough value in 2020.
Ionization is a technology I would generally avoid even if it’s not as bad as the old ozone generators of the past – some people find that even small amounts of ozone can make their allergies worse.
The lack of true-HEPA is also a major concern as it feels like customers are duped into thinking its similar to the filters used on American made Austin purifiers – when there is a massive difference between the number of particles that are blocked.
The challenge is that if you want a unit that can deal with a large square foot area as these units you will need to spend at least $100 more – but I think it’s well worth the extra investment.
Be sure to check out my top air purifier recommendations for 2021 (all budgets covered!)
Table setup not completed.Last update on 2023-09-09 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API