GermGuardian AC4100 3-in-1 Air Purifier Review – On To Cleaner Air

Amazon.com Price: $ 54.99
(as of 06/03/2019 11:42 EST- Details)

Where to Buy: Amazon.com

Dimensions: 6.38 x 7.5 x 10.38 in

Guarantee: 1 Year Limited Warranty

My Rating: 9 out of 10

Need for Cleaner Air

For the last 4 years, my poor husband has gotten bronchitis or pneumonia around February every year. After last year, when he saw the doctor multiple times during and after his bronchitis, they sent him to have allergies testing done. Since he was already taking medication, they weren’t sure why he was still getting sick. They were hoping to see if there were any allergies that were causing the typical cold to turn into more serious breathing problems.

So off he goes to his allergy testing appointment to arm poked multiple times. He comes home with his paperwork detailing his results and suggestions and let me just put it in the easiest of terms…..he’s allergic to everything. A few of his main allergies are dust, trees, grass, mold, and dogs and yes, we have a large dog.

Doctor’s Suggestions

In addition to lots of vacuuming and changing the bedsheets twice a week, one of the doctor’s suggestions was to purchase an air purifier for our bedroom. This would help to eliminate dust, mold, and dander in the air, which in turn would help Neil’s breathing problems. Since I do most of my shopping online, off I go to my computer to see if I can find a good quality purifier online without breaking the bank. In my searching, I came across the GermGuardian AC4100 which was $49.98. It was an Amazon’s Choice and is rated 4.1 out of 5 stars so I gave it a closer look.

3-in-1 Air Purifier

When searching for an air purifier, a HEPA filter is a common desire for people. Not only does the GermGuardian AC4100 have a HEPA filter, but it also has UV-C Light and Pre-Filter/Activated Carbon.

• HEPA filter catches dust mites, pollen, pet dander, and many other allergy triggers.
• UV-C Light kills airborne germs including staph, influenza, and rhinovirus. Titanium Dioxide is activated by the UV-C light to reduce remaining organisms.
• Captures large dust particles and pet hair, extending filter life. Activated carbon traps household odors and harmful VOC’s.
• Allergens captured are bacteria, household dust, mold spores, odors, pet dander, pollen, tobacco smoke, viruses
• Air Purifiers with charcoal filters reduce common odors from pets, smoking, and cooking

We loved the fact that this purifier had the additional 2 stages of purifying – the UV-C light and the charcoal filter. Our dog’s bed is in our bedroom and with Neil being allergic to dogs (and we weren’t getting rid of her as she is part of our family) finding a purifier to deal with pet dander and hair was important very important. The advantages of killing airborne germs as well as capturing dog hair were perfect for our home.

Does it work? Well, these are the filters after a couple of weeks of plugging in the GermGuardian AC4100 in our bedroom.

This is the carbon filter that started out as black! I rubbed the bottom left corner so you can see the color it started as.

This is the HEPA filter that started out as white!

So back to the question, does it work? Well, you can make your own decision after looking at those filters.

How Does It Look?

I realize this probably isn’t your main concern with an air purifier. In reality, though, it is something you will be seeing – if you want it to work well, you can’t hide it. The GermGuardian AC4100 has an overall clean look. Since we were looking for one for our bedroom, it didn’t need to be really large but our master bedroom is a decent size so it couldn’t be really small either. The unit measures 6.38 x 7.5 x 10.38 inches making it not overly big but not tiny either. The instructions recommend placing the unit one foot away from any wall (I’m assuming for air flow) so that made for a little harder placement in our bedroom. You can place the unit vertically or horizontally which is a nice feature as it allows for more placement options. We ended up placing it horizontally on our nightstand and it looks fine. To be perfectly honest, it maybe looks a little bulky on our nightstand. It would have been nice to try to hide it a little further back in a corner but since this was for health reasons, I would rather have a machine works well than looks nice.

Can You Hear It?

The GermGuardian AC4100 offers 3 speeds. When we first started it, we put it on the highest speed and to be honest, it is a little louder than I was expecting. It wasn’t loud enough that it kept us awake at night but it was definitely something we had to get used to. For the first couple of weeks, I kept it on the highest level for that initial air purifying. Now, I usually have it on the lowest level at night. On the lowest level, you can still hear it but it sounds more like a white noise machine.

Upkeep

So what is the upkeep for the GermGuardian AC4100? There is a single filter that will need replacing which includes both the HEPA filter and the charcoal filter. GermGuardian recommends replacing this filter every 6-8 months depending on your use of the product. To lengthen the life of your filter, you can replace the carbon filter separately, as well as vacuum the filter monthly. The UV-C light will eventually burn out so it will also need to be replaced when that happens.

Final Thoughts on the GermGuardian AC4100

For around $50, the GermGuardian AC4100 is a compact unit that seems to work quite well. I love the fact that I no longer see particles flying through the air in the sunlight. In addition to that, I enjoy that our room has a clean smell. Although I would like it to be a little less noisy at the higher speeds, I appreciate the fact that it does the job well that it was intended for. I am considering buying another one for our living room and kitchen area.

** I was not paid or compensated in any way for this review**