Sharp Plasmacluster air purifiers feedback thread

[AnnMumsnet]

This thread is for the 10 Mumsnetters who are reviewing a Sharp Plasmacluster air purifier in their home. All reviewers have at least one child with asthma or dust allergies - this could be mild, moderate or severe. Reviewers will be adding feedback and thoughts over the next three months, in a diary style.

However if you are not a reviewer but are interested in this product please feel free to add comments or ask questions of Sharp or of the reviewers.

Please note: This feedback will only be used by Sharp to inform their development of the product, it will not be treated as a clinical trial.

Sharp have some specific areas they would like you to comment on - you won't be able to add comments/ views on all of these straight away as some are looking at the longer term issues so please do revisit the thread and update your responses over the period of the review.

Please state the age of your child(ren) with asthma / dust allergies as well as the severity of their condition.

Initially, please add your first impressions of the product when it arrived: for example: overall first impressions of the product, was it what you expected? Where have you placed it? How was it to get it set up/ started etc. If you have any queries about the product please either post them here and Sharp will aim to respond or email MNHQ.

Then once you have had the product in your home for awhile, please add your thoughts, comments or experiences regarding the following areas - and the possible effects the air purifier has had for yourself and your child(ren).

Affect on asthma / dust allergy generally
Any reduction in illnesses in the home or affects on winter colds you would normally expect to see
Any reduction in smells around the home
Any reduction or effect on dust in the home - and the effect of this on your child with asthma
Any reduction or effect on mould in and around the home (in troublesome areas such as Bathroom and Kitchen where ventilation might be an issue) - and the effect of this on your child with asthma
Any other comments?

All reviewers who add feedback here will receive a £50 high street gift voucher as a token of thanks for taking part.


Many thanks

MNHQ

[blueberryboybait]

Another great night here too - althouhg I noticed about an hour after it ran out of water (I just switched it to clean air only) DD started to do her itchy scratchy nose and face scratching, which I can only assume is down to humidity. Another cough free night though.

DH is very keen to keep it if we get a reasonable discount as buying one right out would be out of the question.

[bramblebooks]

Ds feels that his breathing is better. I did catch his cold but got over it much faster.

It does make a room colder when it is in humidifier mode, which ds doesn't like - can imagine it wo uld be great in the heat though.

Bit sad we don't get to test them longer, ds and dh have horrific hay fever and this would be of such benefit to them.

[QOD]

My dd is doing my nut in tonight, cough cough throat clearing, uhurm uhurm - still awake at 2224

I tried turning it up and she couldnt stand the noise

[QOD]

right. I've done the water tank and she's on the humidify one, can't do that plasma ion as it's too loud.

WOUld help if she wasn't so pathetic and I could pull her door up.

God I am so crabby I could slap her arse.

[QOD]

aaaaaaaand she's asleep.

Tsk, that'll teach me!!

(i've been up since 6am and am really tired and she was grating on my nerves, I'm not quite always usually so intolerant

[bramblebooks]

By the way, used it to combat dh's cooking the other day. Burned fish in burned gluten free batter dealt with pretty sharpish when it would normally stink out the entire house.

[Louii]

QOD, sorry but was laughing at your post as I have had many evenings like that, if they would just do something to actually help themselves! Hope she was ok rest of night.

DS has now had 7 nights in a row of solid sleep, amazing!

[blueberryboybait]

Has anyone else noticed how much nicer their children are after good nights sleep? I have and DD's nursery commented on how much less tired she is.

[StarExpat]

There was some water on the wall on the other side of hte room this morning. Does that mean the humidity is on too much? Never ever had water on a wall in our place and we bought it 3 and a half years ago.

[DaftApeth]

That's a bit worrying starexpat. I'd turn off the humidity function for a while.

[StarExpat]

Thanks, DA - why is it worrying it's not a health risk or anything is it? Sorry, I'm a huge worrier.

[GemmaSharp]

Hi StarExpat, monitoring the humidity of the room ultimately comes down to personal preference. We would suggest however if you are getting condensation on the wall where it was't before, you may want to stop the humidifying mode.

[DaftApeth]

Worrying because you don't really want damp/water on your walls as you'll get mould!

[StarExpat]

oh, haha! I should have thought of that.

It was fine the other days but just this morning there was moisture. I'll keep it off for a day or two.

[GemmaSharp]

Hi all, on an earlier thread, we said that the ideal humidity is between 50-55%. This was stated as there is evidence that this is the humidity level where virus and bacteria growth is limited.

The Plasmacluster technology will fight against the air borne bacteria that causes mold build up. However if the room is humid / damp already it might be better not to use the humidifying function.

The range for this product is 38 M2. This is recommended for the conditions that we stated for the product (in terms of ion density / room coverage) The product may have some effect outside this scope but as we have not tested this (especially taking into account personal circumstances) we can not take a view on effectiveness of eliminating smells in other rooms - sorry.

Referring back to the smaller models, we are constantly looking at range extensions and have a model, the KC930EKW, which is for smaller room sizes and does not have all the features of the KC850 (you guys are currently trialling this one). You can find out more at www.sharp.co.uk

This is rather long, but I hope it answers all your questions.

[StarExpat]

Thanks, GemmaSharp. Just still wondering what sort of discount we could get for it at the end of the trial.

[GemmaSharp]

Hey StarExpat, I think I have that figure, but want to make 100% sure before I give it out to you all

[GemmaSharp]

Hey all, I have confirmation that we will offer a discounted price of £299 for those of you who wish to purchase their unit after the trial.

[ilovesprouts]

ooh id love to buy it but cant afford 299 all at once ,i think is really good ds2 not cough as much,, smell fesh and clean i dont want to give it back

[Louii]

I'm going to have to do a fundraiser or something so I can afford to buy it :-( Had been hoping it would be nearer the £200 mark.
It had made an unbelievable difference to our lives in the space of a week.

[bramblebooks]

Glad people are seeing a real difference. So are we, but there's no way we can buy it as we are already funding ds2's blood glucose sensors at £250/month, and that's a stretch :( Ah well, will just get the benefit over the winter months and pray for the pct to get their act together over ds2's funding.

[DaftApeth]

Gemma, thankyou for all your time answering our questions. Answers are very helpful.

Can you tell me the diference between an ioniser and purifier/plasmacluster or is it all the same thing?!

[StarExpat]

Another good night from us :) There is no wheezing or coughing (and no water on the wall this time, either :) ).

So what does this mean? Does this mean that the air in our home was previously too dirty? . I spent a lot of time cleaning daily and I hoover, dust, wipe all surfaces (including skirting boards!) and clean the bathroom every day. (I'm a bit OCD about my home being clean - but I do let my toddler play and get messy and have messy play, playdough, sand, water, flour, cooking...etc. I just clean up really well afterward).

[GemmaSharp]

Hi DaftApeth, love how interested you are!

Most ionisers release charged negative ions into the atmosphere. These are then attracted to airborne elements in the air such as dust. This process makes the dust bigger and heavier so it can be more easily pulled through a filtration system or drops to the floor where it can be vacuumed up. They are what we would terms a reactive system. The ioniser is dependant on the filter to clean the air in the room.

Plasmacluster uses both positively and negatively charged ions to create the same oxidising process that is found in the natural world, allowing users to experience this in a closed environment where air can become more contaminated. We term this as a proactive air purification system. This technology actively breaks down contaminants such as viruses, bacteria and contaminants that can exacerbate those with allergies and asthma. The easiest way to visualise this is the sneeze analogy. if someone walks into a room where there is a air purification system without Plasmacluster and sneezes, the virus in that sneeze (now circulating in the air) is reliant on being pulled through the filtration system before it is inactivated. With Plasmacluster, in the same circumstances, the positive and negative ions in the room start to break down and inactivate the virus as soon as it enters the air. It is not relying on the filtration system to do this.

Of course our products have an advanced filtration system as well, this is working alongside the Plasmacluster to effectively filter out the physical dust particles that can exacerbate asthma and of course dust allergies (as well as pollen spores in the hay fever season.)

Hope that answers you questions!

[GemmaSharp]

Hey StarExpat,I'm really sorry but I am not in a position to give a definitive answer as I am not aware of the circumstances. Condensation on walls is generally a result of differing internal and external heat factors coming together. I do not think it has any relation to how dirty the room air is...