Few months back when the fire burning at Indonesia got a wee bit out of control, Singapore and Malaysia was seriously badly affected. As far as I can remember, I have never seen haze this thick or bad.

So when Singapore announces that they have hit the dangerous level, facemasks (N95) are SOLD out everywhere. Some people even posted pictures of pharmacy in Bangkok saying that their mask sold out (due to Singaporean). LOL. I thought I could ask my sister to get a few mask for me (just in case). But, even she was having a hard time finding it. She told me that 5 of the pharmacy she check in Melbourne also sold out. WHAT?! Even as far as Australia?! This is madness. Le sigh.

One day after Singapore register the hazardous level (400+ psi), Malaysia was hit hard. One town recorded as high as 740+ and majority of the town / city are in the unhealthy zone.

Thankfully my job allows me to be in-door all the time. I hate wearing mask. Breathing is really uncomfortable and the straps are always pinching my ears. So, my next best option would be getting an air purifier. Guess what?! These are sold out in most places too!

After talking to numerous friends and family, checking out tons of forum and website, listening to several sales pitch… I finally made my decision to get the Sharp KIA60EW model. It’s one of the biggest sqft coverage commercial one out there at reasonable price. Not to mention, the advertise claim is that the filter can last for 10 years! (with * and footnotes of course.) Anyway, I’ll be glad if the filter can last for at least 4-5 years.

The machine is really simple to use and easy to maintain. I love the Clean Ion shower function. It really cleans/purify the room fast. (I did a test – I spray perfume all over the room and after leaving the room for 5 minutes. It was smell-free!!!) So, if you are into aromatherapy, no point getting this machine. It will suck in all the smell in the room.

So far, I have only top up the water tank 3 times over the month. If you don’t turn on the humidify function, the water will last longer. As for cleaning, I gave it a good vacuum at the back mesh (air-intake) once and wipe down the whole machine once.

As for the electricity consumption, I have it turn on every night from about 7pm till 11pm. Sometimes on weekend, I turn it on almost the whole day. After a month, it would seems the bill went up about RM 50?!  (Sorry, it’s about RM30+)

During the first week, I left the machine on the whole night while I sleep. I am not sure if it’s psychological, but, I was having a slight headache each morning. Maybe I’m too sensitive to the slight decibel noise when I turn on the ionizer. But, the amazing thing was I went into really deep sleep. Anyway, I decided to turn off the machine before going to bed. As you can see from the picture below, it’s not a small machine ! It’s almost the same size as the Hemnes sidetable.

I really enjoy the cleaner air in the bedroom and sneeze no more! But then, the investment is not light and for some less sensitive people (like hubby), they won’t really feel much difference. So, it would still seems that air-purifier is a luxury item. You don’t NEED it. But, it’s great to have around. 😉