The story of how I bought three air purifiers (plus a blower that worked great) because I was scared of hay fever after all this time and wanted to at least make my house a safe zone.

The first one introduced in our house was the KI-PS50.

It was a pilot installation to combat hay fever. It was purchased as a way to evaluate whether one unit per room or one unit per family would be sufficient.

As of March 2023, it could be purchased for the low end of $20,000. It is cheaper to find the lowest priced store on kakaku.com and buy these type of out-of-form products than on Amazon. I have the impression that price.com has recently reduced the number of shady stores, making it easier to buy than in the past.

As with all home appliances, the alphabet in the model number can be used to determine the extent to which the product is out of model.

Even so, the latest version of this model as of March 2023 is the “KI-RS50”. The one I bought this time is “KI-PS50”, which seems to be two generations old … but for some reason “KI-QS50” was never sold, so it is one generation old.Even so, the latest version of this model as of March 2023 is the “KI-RS50”. The one I bought this time is “KI-PS50”, which seems to be two generations old … but for some reason “KI-QS50” was never sold, so it is one generation old.

If you look online, you can find even older “NS50” and “LS50”; LS50 is a 2019 model.

And, to my horror, there is no price difference between these. In fact, the old model numbers are sometimes more expensive. This may be because the stock in circulation has been decreasing, or because the old ones have more functions.

What, they have fewer features now? The 2019 LS50 could connect to the internet and do a lot of things, but that functionality has been removed from the 2020 NS50. For me, I don’t need it, but it’s a little frustrating to see it removed.

As of 2023, there are three types of plasmacluster generators in air purifiers sold by Sharp.

Plasmacluster 7000, 25000, and NEXT.

The ion concentration per cubic centimeter, expressed numerically, is 50,000 for NEXT.

When told the number of positive and negative ions, I can only say, “Huh… I see,” but according to the manufacturer, the higher the number, the better things may be.When told the number of positive and negative ions, I can only say, “Huh… I see,” but according to the manufacturer, the higher the number, the better things may be.

The one I bought this time is the 25,000 type.

It is more expensive than the 7000 type, but I chose this one because I don’t like the design of the 7000 one. Apparently, Sharp likes subtle curves. This one also has a lot of curves, which is not to my liking.

However, it is smart because it is only 23 cm deep.

What is puzzling, however, is that Sharp air purifiers use rear intake. It sucks in air from the back and releases filtered air upward. They explain how the coanda effect works or something, but I am concerned that the rear intake might stain the wallpaper. Other manufacturers suck air from the sides or the entire surface, so this is a system unique to Sharp.

Thanks to this, the entire surface of the air purifier is smooth and simple.

There are no particularly exciting features.

There is a “pollen” mode, which I tried, but I didn’t think it would be of much use.

Apparently, the function is to “blow strong wind to blow up pollen in the room, and then switch to quiet operation to catch the pollen that has been blown up and fallen. The function is supposed to “repeat the process,” but there was no situation in our house where we could deliberately select the pollen mode.

When I suspected that I had brought pollen into the house immediately after returning home, it was sufficient to run the machine vigorously in the “powerful dust collection” mode and return to automatic operation after some time had passed.

For the sake of convenience, I usually keep the air purifier in my office where I telework, and move it to the hallway when I leave the office.

It is positioned to pass through the path to the living room, and immediately after returning home, the “powerful dust suction” mode is used to ventilate the entrance area. People made it a mandatory operation to flap their clothes near this air purifier.

The powerful dust suction mode is,

First 10 minutes: maximum operation + maximum plasmacluster
Next 50 minutes: Stronger airflow
After that: Automatic return to normal modeFirst 10 minutes: maximum operation + maximum plasmaclusterNext 50 minutes: Stronger airflowAfter that: Automatic return to normal mode

This is a convenient arrangement in such cases.

Since the introduction of this model, I feel that the irritation in my eyes has improved considerably. However, there is a possibility that this is just my imagination or that the amount of pollen dispersal was accidentally low due to the climate. It is difficult to say. In addition, for people like me who telework frequently, the time spent indoors may be long or short. It is difficult to evaluate this because I do not have a style of commuting that is fixed at a fixed time.

However, I am happy because I got a sense of satisfaction that I have taken countermeasures. If it costs 50,000 or 60,000 yen, I would think twice, but if it costs less than 30,000 yen, I can forgive it.

I was satisfied, but my partner Ishi’s eyes were still itching.

She has more exposure time to pollen than I do, partly because she commutes to work every day. Moreover, she says that her eyes itch in the morning when she wakes up, instead of immediately after she gets home. Hmmm, it seems that pollen is flying in the room where mother and child are sleeping.

One of the symptoms that plagues house dust and hay fever sufferers is the “morning shot”. While sleeping, allergens in the air fall to the floor or bed. When they wake up, the allergens are swept up into the air, causing symptoms such as sneezing and itchy eyes to appear just as they wake up.

Maybe that’s the pattern. Damn, I clean the house every day. I even vacuum the curtains and such.

Therefore, we decided to install an air purifier in the room where mother and child sleep. This is the second air purifier in our house.

The model I bought was the KC-N50.

Unlike the KI-PS50, which was the first one introduced, the KI-PS50 has lower specifications, being a Plasmacluster 7000.

It may look like a devil who installed a cheap model in the mother and child’s room and a high-spec one in his own room, but there is a reason for this.

Plasmacluster 25000, it’s not bad, but the unit needs to be replaced every two years because of the high load on the plasmacluster generator! The manual said, “You need to replace the unit every two years because of the high load on the plasmacluster generator! The price is several thousand yen. Oh, really?

On the other hand, the 7000 unit did not need to be replaced, so we decided to go with the 7000.

And the 7000 model was very inexpensive at 16,800 yen, partly because it was during Amazon’s time sale.

When it comes to air purifiers, this shape is the most commonly seen. They are everywhere in the city.

The design has been around for a long time, and although it has been changed every year, the gawa has remained the same. I don’t like this design, but the price is low, so I decided to go with it.

The depth is the same as the 2500 model mentioned earlier, 23 cm. It is thin. The basic functions are the same, but the button assignments and layout are different.

Since there is no LCD screen, the humidity in the room is indicated by a lamp with three levels: low, moderate, and high. I would prefer to see a clear indication of the humidity level, but it would not bother me so much if it were not there. It is a matter of separation.

Older models (KC-J50 and earlier) had a digital meter to display humidity. Now it has been removed. Too bad. The place where the meter used to be is now just a vacant lot.

Other stingy features include the omission of the child lock that used to be there, and the loss of the illumination sensor.

Apparently, Sharp wants to “simplify the functions as much as possible and keep the price low” for this type of model. Instead of creating a new series of entry-level models, the company is reducing the functions of existing models each time they are renewed, and making them cheaper instead.

So don’t be caught off guard, 2018 models like the KC-J50 are more efficient than current models. The filters themselves are exactly the same, so if you can get them for the same price, the older models are better.

It’s a hassle to have to think about all these complicated things. Please give me a break. I don’t like complications.


Once an air purifier was installed in the mother and son’s bedroom, “I feel like my itchy eyes are gone!” said Ishi.

It’s not a cure-all, and there is probably some aspect of placebo effect. However, I am happy to report that both I and my son are satisfied with the results.

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