When buying an air purifier, look for two standards and don't be superstitious about the price

On the 9th, Weibo user "Mark He Hehe" posted a Weibo to express his doubts about his own air purifier: "I just found out today that the plastic packaging of the filter element has not been torn open. How did the air quality indicator light change from red to green before? How did the filter element consumption displayed in the APP happen?" It turned out that the packaging film of the filter element of the Xiaomi air purifier purchased by "Mark He Hehe" had not been removed due to misuse. But strangely, after the purifier worked for a period of time, the indicator light showed that the air in the house had been purified to a healthy standard. After this Weibo was forwarded by the well-known counterfeiter Wang Hai, public opinion spread rapidly.

In response to the situation reflected by "Mark He Hehe", the reporter found three Xiaomi purifiers and conducted simulation experiments.

Of the three purifiers, one was the first generation of Xiaomi and two were the second generation of Xiaomi. The reporter took out the filter elements of the three purifiers and wrapped the entire filter element tightly with a fresh-keeping bag and plastic wrap to simulate the plastic packaging of the new filter element that "Mark He Hehe" needed when it was not opened. Afterwards, a Xiaomi 2nd generation purifier was placed in one room, and the other two purifiers were placed in another room. When the reporter reinstalled the wrapped filter into the purifier and turned it on, all three purifiers showed that the indoor air was seriously polluted and turned on an orange-red light. One hour later, the Xiaomi 2nd generation purifier placed alone still kept the orange-red indicator light, while in the two purifiers placed side by side in another room, the Xiaomi 2nd generation still had an orange-red indicator light, and the first generation purifier quickly turned green shortly after turning on the power.

Last night, Su Jun, the person in charge of Xiaomi air purifiers, responded through Weibo that the filter element will still be consumed even if the plastic packaging of the filter element is not opened, because the filter element consumption is a predictive judgment based on the running time and status of the purifier. Even if the plastic seal is not removed, the filter element will be consumed by default. Regarding the indicator light changing from a red light indicating serious pollution to a green light indicating good air, Su Jun explained that even if the plastic film is not removed for use, the ambient air quality detected by the sensor will change due to particle sedimentation and local air flow.

However, this reply obviously cannot answer people's doubts.

The concern and doubts of the netizen "Mark He Hehe" about the air purifier filter actually reflect the confusion of many citizens. What is the most important standard to refer to when purchasing an air purifier? Who has the final say on when to change the filter? In response to the hot issues about air purifiers in the market, the reporter interviewed relevant experts and senior practitioners and sorted out several suggestions on the purchase and use of air purifiers.

Suggestion 1:

Don't be dazzled by technical gimmicks

Just look at two indicators

Net ion group air purification technology, humidification air purifier, seven-layer purification...Searching for air purifiers on e-commerce websites such as JD.com and Tmall, various brands have come up with their own "housekeeping technology", and citizens are inevitably dazzled when choosing.

"We are doing an air purifier here, with a PM2.5 removal rate of 99%! Consider it!" In an electrical appliance store, the salesperson vigorously promoted it to the citizens who came to buy it on a smoggy day.

However, Lu Jianguo, deputy director of the China Household Appliance Testing Institute, suggested that "you don't need to look at those empty ones. When purchasing, you only need to look at two core standards. One is the "clean air volume", that is, the CADR value, and the other is the "cumulative purification volume", the CMM value."

Lu Jianguo introduced that according to the latest national standard for air purifiers, these two parameters measure the ability of an air purifier to purify the air and the sustainability of its purification ability. When the CADR value is larger, it means that the ability of this air purifier is stronger; the larger the CMM value, the greater its endurance and the longer it can be used. In short, the larger the values of these two parameters, the better the effect of the air purifier.

"If we really want to talk about air purification technology in detail, we can't finish it in a year or two. In order to gain a competitive advantage, merchants often take out certain technologies for rendering, and consumers don't need to hesitate." Lu Jianguo said that the new national standard for air purifiers proposes two core standards to prevent merchants from misleading consumers when showing off their technology. As for the "PM2.5 removal rate" claimed by some merchants, he thinks it is also "unreliable": "Such a statement is too theoretical and cannot be verified, and consumers are easily misled."

"But are the two indicators of CADR and CMM indicated by the manufacturer credible?" Some consumers raised such questions. "I hope that there will be professional organizations to conduct comparative tests on the purification effects of different purifiers under the same conditions, so that we can have a scientific and neutral auxiliary judgment when purchasing!" During the interview, many consumers also made such suggestions.

Lu Jianguo introduced that at present, the inspection of air purifiers mainly involves three major departments and associations: quality supervision departments, industrial and commercial departments, and consumer associations. Among them, the dynamic spot checks of quality supervision and industrial and commercial departments can cover about 30% of mainstream air purifier manufacturers. The products and enterprises that have been spot checked must meet the provisions of the national standard that air purifiers should be truly marked with CADR and CMM, otherwise they will be punished accordingly. The inspection of the Consumer Association is mainly carried out by purchasing samples in the market and conducting comparative tests on the effects of different products.

Suggestion 2:

Non-disposable consumption

Don't just look at the "price tag"

"I bought an air purifier for a few hundred yuan for cheap, but I didn't expect to have to change the filter every few months."

Whether in physical home appliance stores or e-commerce websites, the price difference of air purifiers that consumers can find is very huge: from 399 yuan to 6999 yuan, and even tens of thousands of yuan. Experts remind that air purifiers are not disposable consumption. The filter element, which plays a key role in purifying the air, is a considerable consumable cost. Citizens should not forget to take this into account when purchasing.

Lu Jianguo introduced that in developed countries such as the United States, air purifier filters are divided into 1 to 22 levels according to standards such as purification capacity. The purification capacity and use time between level 1 and level 22 may be dozens of times or even higher. Although China does not have such a detailed filter element grading, the quality and life of filters at different prices are also far apart.

"It is recommended to choose reasonably according to your own use needs, time and budget. If you only look for cheapness, the cheap filter you buy may only have a fraction of the effect and life of a good filter." Lu Jianguo said.

The reporter found that regardless of the size of the brand and the price, when the merchant marked the price of the air purifier, the cost of the filter element was often not clearly stated, and citizens needed to ask actively when purchasing.

Suggestion 3:

Filter element replacement cycle

For reference only, do not trust "The same brand and the same model filter element, why did mine prompt that it should be replaced after only 6 months, while my friend's can be used for 10 months, did I buy a defective product?" A citizen told the reporter about his confusion. Industry experts said that such a situation may not necessarily be a quality problem. In different regions of China, due to different air quality levels, the consumption level of the filter element will also be completely different, and consumers do not need to be too troubled.

For the service life of the filter element shown by the manufacturer, consumers should not trust it while referring to it. Ms. He, a citizen who has studied the daily application of various professional testing equipment, bought a professional suspended solids testing equipment. When the filter element of the air purifier in her home reached the six-month usage period recommended by the merchant, the performance of the filter element did not weaken through the detection of the instrument. It did not begin to decline until the 10th month of use. At this time, she replaced the filter element, which also saved family expenses.

"Most air purifiers on the market mainly rely on the boot time to calculate the filter element loss. Truly "smart" purifiers are extremely rare." Lu Jianguo suggested. Most purifiers cannot rely on the machine's own sensor equipment to judge the PM2.5 purification capacity of the filter element at different life stages. "Purifiers that can achieve this technology often cost tens of thousands of yuan." Taking the Xiaomi air purifier as an example, according to Su Jun, the loss of its filter element is the result of weighted calculation of multiple factors such as equipment operation time, operation status, and air quality.

Two Xiaomi purifiers placed in the same room both wrapped the filter element with plastic wrap and had exactly the same boot time, but the results of the display lights were very different. One hour later, the indicator light of the Xiaomi Mi 1 in the left circle has turned green, while the indicator light of the Xiaomi Mi 2 in the right circle remains orange-red. Reporter Sun Qiru

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