Hamilton Beach TrueAir 04712 Allergen Reducing Filter
From Hamilton Beach
Replacement filter for 210 square foot room , model 04381 Allergen air cleaner. Effective at capturing dust. Dust mite debris, mold spores, pollen, smoke & pet dander
- Amazon Sales Rank: #15878 in Kitchen & Housewares
- Color: White
- Brand: Hamilton Beach
- Model: 04712
- Dimensions: 5.88" h x 8.88" w x 10.25" l, .68 pounds
Inexpensive filter, can be impoved with carbon filter add-on
This filter does not need to be replaced every 120 days. You can get by, by vacuuming it and reuse it a few times. Compared to the price of other filters, this filter is fairly inexpensive. Currently, Amazon has the `Buy 4, Get 1 Free' deal on this. With that noted, I have tried Daniel Sessoms' suggestion (found in TrueAir 04712 filter review) on how to make the "Hamilton Beach TrueAir 04381 Allergen Reducer" purifier more HEPA-like. What I did was add a carbon filter to the TrueAir 04712 Filter by purchasing the "Honeywell 38002 Enviracare Universal Replacement Pre-Filter" (an inexpensive carbon filter). From just one Honeywell 38002 carbon filter, I was able to cut up 12 pieces for the TrueAir 04712 filter (The cut up pieces of carbon filter factor to be only $0.65 a piece based on price I purchased at). Next, I just simply tape one piece of the cut up Honeywell 38002 carbon filter to the front side of the TrueAir 04712 filter with regular masking tape (taped up edges to filter). The carbon filter will now act as an extra layer of filter, to prevent dust & also clean up some odor.
Every 120 days (or whenever carbon filter turns `gray' due to dust accumulation), I would just remove & throw away the carbon filter, but keep the actual TrueAir 04712 filter (to reuse again). I vacuum the dust off the TrueAir 04712 filter, and tape a new piece of carbon filter to the same side of TrueAir 04712 filter as before. This is to prevent dust on the filter, in case my vacuum didn't pick them all up, from getting suck back into my room again. And when putting back the filter into the purifier, I would make sure to leave the carbon filter facing outward. After doing this carbon filter add-on to the filter, the Hamilton Beach TrueAir 04381 purifier does seem to work better. At least now, not only does it remove dust & pollen, it can also remove odors.
DISCONTINUED ... along with any future Hamilton Beach purchase.
First, I must say that I loved the Hamilton Beach TrueAir 04381 Allergen Reducer Air Cleaner and it was great for all my needs. You would have found my glowing review on Amazon, which I am now deleting.
They have discontinued not only this unit (which is an acceptable move for a better model), but they also ended the proprietary filters that are required to use it! I have two of these $80 units and paid the $19 price for the replacement filters, because the combo worked better than anything I have ever tried. Of course, now there is some greedy third party merchants here inflating the price on their filter overstock to almost twice the price. But you can get the units for next to nothing.
The discontinuing of the filters is just completely unacceptable, and I will NEVER buy anything connected to Hamilton Beach, "TrueAir" or "Febreze" (all connected companies) again.
I did call Hamilton Beach to inquire about the filters, and of course you get a clueless rep that knows nothing about their products. The filter is listed on their site, if you dig, but you will notice you cannot order it. It is marked discontinued. However, on the phone, I was offered the filter at an outrageous price. ONE filter, with their obnoxious shipping costs, tax etc would cost almost $40... and you would think that buying more would reduce shipping... but no. It almost doubles. If I were able to buy the filters at the normal price with normal shipping, I would have accepted the inconvenience. But this is just disreputable and abusive to the consumer.
With all the people that bought this unit, you must think about all of electronic and plastic waste, environmental repercussions, and the fact that they are all landfill that will never go away.
Spread the word and dry up the Hamilton Beach.
Clean Air!
The filter and the system work very well for me. I find the H-B model 04381 a very quiet unit, and it runs 24/7 (on low) in my bedroom. Here is a hint, for those who would like near-HEPA performance: Fabricate & install a charcoal pre-filter when installing a new main filter. You can get these at Sears or other places that sell home air filters & supplies: Honeywell Universal Replacement Pre-filter #38002. Cut a piece to size, tape it to the new filter on the air inlet side. Secure it well all around the edges. I like that new blue masking tape, it works really well and does not dry out (at least when it is not exposed to excessive heat or sunlight).
As a bonus, you get an automatic change indicator: When the black charcoal pre-filter turns grey, it is time for a replacement.
