I am alone in watching infomercials late at night, and one evening when I saw the Homedics Brethe Air Purifier, I knew it was an item I wanted to have. I’m a smoker, and sometimes the air in my room gets a bit stale. I liked the idea of using “water” as my air filter, because water is something that can change a lot more. more often than a HEPA cartridge filter. However, the $59.95 price tag was too much for me, so I decided not to order it then.
A few weeks later, I was browsing through the Avon Catalog and saw a product called “Avon Fresh Air Globe” that was essentially the same. The Avon only version was $39.95, which was $20.00 cheaper in full…plus, I could get free shipping through my Avon lady. I thought I wouldn’t find a cheaper price, so I went ahead and ordered the Avon Fresh Air Globe, knowing that if it didn’t work I could always return it.
When the New Air Globe arrived, I was amazed at the simplicity of the product. All I had to do was fill the tap reservoir, and then plug the unit in. When I first got into Globe Avon, the quiet fan began to “stir up” the water, creating a mini “rain” in a ball of fine mist. The idea is that the incoming forced air passes through this mist before it is released back into the room, effectively “washing” and purifying the air. That’s the idea anyway.
After several hours I waited for my room to smell fresh and clean, like the air after a spring rain. However, I did not consider the difference in air quality. I noticed that almost all the water in Globe Air Fresh Avon disappeared after a few hours, and I also noticed that the water that was left was not dirty. It was thought to be dirty because of all the dirt that is being cleaned from the air, but it is not.
After a few days, some convinced Avon Fresh Air Globe to lose money and pay for the equipment. Then my best friend saw the Homedic Brethe Air Purifier on QVC and agreed to give it a try at a special price of $49.95. When his Homedics unit arrived, I noticed the main differences from the Avon Fresh Air Globe. First, the Homedics Air Purifier was noticeably larger than my Avon one. Better yet, the Homedici spirit came with 3 bottles of scented hydro-essential oils, while the Avon version doesn’t come with all the oils.
The idea of adding the oils to each capsule is to change the water in the air purifier a little time, which it does. to give the unit a scent in addition to purifying the air. We breathed into my friend’s unit and added the oil as instructed, and within minutes we were amazed at the amount of scent that filled the room. Everything smells fresh, clean, and absolutely wonderful! I was intrigued, I borrowed a home essential oil for myself to see if the Avon Fresh Air Globe would make it better by adding some fragrance.
Sure enough, when I added hydro-essential oil to my Avon New Air Balloon, I got the same powerful fragrance back. like my friend Homedics Air Purifier. I went back and read the instructions that came with my item, and sure enough Avon said it was okay to use oils in the unit. They just don’t let me use the oils.
The main reason for the price disparity between the two units is a) the smaller size of the Avon unit and b) the absence of oil with the Avon unit. The average amount is annoying because it means you have to add water more than once a day, and you’ll need scented perfumes for the unit to work significantly, so in the end, I think the Homedics Air Purifier is. a better purchase. Even the Homedica version looks better than the Avon version if you ask, which is another added benefit.
Also, although I think the Homedics Air Purifier is a better product than the Avon Fresh Air Globe, I don’t think the other one is very effective at actually removing dirt from the air. But these products seem to be nothing more than diffusing fragrant perfume. If I just wanted to add a scent to the room, I would light a lamp or use a plug in air freshener. I think if you want a “real” air purifier, you’re better off going with something like the Oreck Air Purifier or Ionic. Aura from Image Sharper. They may cost a bit, but they will actually clean the air instead of just releasing the “mask” smell.
