House & Home

All I Want for Winter is Clean Air: Oreck ProShield Air Purifier Review

Sunday mornings are my favourite time of the week. That’s the day that hubby gets up early with the kids and I get to sleep in, snuggled under my big fluffy duvet, with as much room as I want to spread out on the bed. He makes banana and egg pancakes with bacon for brunch, and I can leisurely wake up to the smell of bacon wafting up the stairs. The funny thing about bacon is how it smells so good while it’s cooking (especially when someone else is doing that cooking!), but afterwards that bacon grease leaves my house smelling not that great. With our temperatures dropping and the rains already here, leaving the windows open all day isn’t always an option.

Winter’s on its way, so we’re all spending more time inside. But unfortunately, indoor air can be up to five times more polluted than the air outside, and keeping the doors and windows shut all day makes it worse. It’s not just odours. Our homes are also full of allergens like dirt, dust, and animal dander. When the furnace kicks in, it blows even more dust and particles into the air. Volatile chemical compounds (VOCs) leach into the air from household products like hairspray and perfume, and even from building materials in your home like paint, carpets, and insulation. Poor air quality can affect the quality of our sleep, trigger asthma or allergies, and cause headaches, congestion, fatigue, dizziness, or irritability. So what can I do to help protect my family? Here’s one way!

The Oreck ProShield Air Purifier cleans the air inside your home from allergens, dirt, dust, animal dander, bad odours, and volatile chemical compounds (VOCs).

Given the time of year, I thought it was pretty timely when we received an Oreck ProShield Air Purifier for review. The ProShield uses Truman Cell® Technology in a six stage purification process to capture allergens and break down odours and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). I’ve had mine in my living room for the last month and as far as I can tell it’s doing its job, diligently and silently. Without some kind of an advanced sensor to accurately assess the air quality in my home, I’m not sure how I can measure if the air is really cleaner. But what I do notice is the way the air smells crisp and clean, like fresh winter air.

Okay, maybe not quite like this. But isn’t it pretty?

The ProShield Air Purifier is really easy to operate with only three switches. The middle power button turns it on and cycles through to set the fan speed. The unit on low is virtually silent. I set it up for a couple of nights in my bedroom and it didn’t interfere with sleeping at all. No stuffy noses when we woke up either!

On the medium speed the fan is audible but fades pretty easily into the background. High speed is loud though, so it’s probably best to use it to kick start the air purification when you’re not in the room and then turn it down when you come back. This is the setting I use to get rid of cooking smells like that bacon grease.

The Oreck ProShield Air Purifier cleans and freshens the air inside your home from allergens, dirt, dust, animal dander, odours, and VOCs.

The left-hand switch toggles on and off the Air Revitalizer feature which helps further freshen and reduces dust by precipitating it out of the air through the release of negative ions. For anyone concerned about ozone though, note that this isn’t an ozone generator. In fact the Catalytic Oxygenator included in this model turns ozone into oxygen. Finally, the right-hand switch controls the blue neon lights on the box that you can use for a night light if you’re so inclined: bright, dim, or off.

It says in the manual that the ProShield works best in rooms 600 square feet and smaller. That’s a whole lot of space actually, so it will cover even large rooms. The unit itself is small and light enough to easily move around the house as needed. I can take it to other rooms that need some freshening up, like in my kitchen after cooking Sunday bacon or curry. The size, low profile, and ability to be placed vertically or horizontally mean there’s a lot of flexibility to set it up whichever way works best in any room of your house.

The Oreck ProShield Air Purifier cleans the air inside your home from allergens, dirt, dust, animal dander, bad odours, and volatile chemical compounds (VOCs).

One of the best features of the Oreck ProShield air purifier is that you never need to replace the filter. Ever. Just soak it in warm water every 2-4 weeks, dry completely, and return it to the case. There is a spot for an optional carbon odor absorber filter which should be replaced every 6 months or as needed, but it isn’t required to operate the machine. The box comes with 2 carbon filters so you can decide whether it’s worth getting another one after you’ve had a year or more to try them out.

While the initial cost of this type of air purifier is higher than HEPA air purifiers, don’t forget to factor in the cost of those replacement filters you won’t have to buy with the Oreck. With my old air purifier I had to replace the HEPA filter every 6 months, and I think each one cost $70 or $80, so while the start up cost was cheaper, the additional cost of the filters added up and pretty soon it wasn’t a good deal anymore. I much prefer my Oreck!

The Oreck ProShield Air Purifier comes with a 3-year warranty and is available at OreckCanada.com and on Amazon.

The Oreck ProShield Air Purifier cleans the air inside your home from allergens, dirt, dust, animal dander, bad odours, and volatile chemical compounds (VOCs).

Disclosure: I received compensation as a member of TTi Floor Care’s Blogger Sponsorship Program, and I received a sample item for review. All opinions expressed are completely honest and my own, based on my personal experience. Your experience may differ. This post contains affiliate links. This West Coast Mommy is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. I will receive a small commission if you purchase through my link, at no additional cost to you. This income helps pay for the operating costs of my website – thank you for your support!

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