REVIEW – Beyond temperature, the air in my home just sort of…exists. Dander and dust are a daily reality of owning a furry companion; with allergy season upon us, and having been in our “bubbles” for some time, it’s more important than ever to address the microscopic elephants in the room. Could the solution be the Shark Air Purifier 6? Let’s find out.
What is it?
The Shark Air Purifier 6 is a floor-based air purifying unit designed for areas ranging from 500 to 800 square feet. It easily circulates the air throughout our entire first floor. It stands 32” tall, 17” wide, and about 9” deep. The ‘6’ in the name refers to the six fans it uses to circulate and filter the air. It is designed to catch particles as small as PM 1.0. PM stands for particulate matter, the unit of measurement Shark uses to describe the stuff in the air. While it does cut an imposing figure, it isn’t incredibly intrusive on the room. We have the unit situated against a wall leading to the kitchen; this location allowed us to put the Shark, which my partner refers to as Bruce, through his paces.
What’s in the box?
- Shark Air Purifier 6 unit
- HEPA Filter
- Remote
- Instruction sheet
Design and features
- Touch controls on the top of the unit
- Color display
- The lifespan of the filter represented in hours (filter begins with a lifespan of 4000 hours)
- 4 different power settings to filter finer and finer particulates
- Air quality measured by percentage displayed on the top and front of the unit
Installation and setup
The Shark Air Purifier 6 is extremely easy to set up. Once you’ve wrestled it out of the box, you will want to remove any stickers on the unit casing. Additionally, the back of the unit needs to be opened to reveal the filter. The filter itself is wrapped in packaging of its own that must be removed prior to operation. Once everything is snapped back into place and it’s plugged in, you’re now able to turn on the unit so its air purification smarts can test the quality of the air. Bruce… *hem* The Shark Air Purifier 6 will give you a percentage of particulates in the air and begin cleaning it. Users have the option of choosing a level (low, medium, and high) or an auto function that will run based on the air quality (more particulates = higher fan function, less particulate = lower fan).
What I like
- Ease of use/set-up
- Sleek design
- Unobtrusive footprint
- Quiet operation
- Integrated timer
- Responsive remote
What I’d change
- The touch controls on top are prone to fingerprints
- A schedule function like on a robot vacuum would be nice
- The unit tells you how long the filter will last
Final thoughts
Let me be clear: the Shark Air Purifier 6 is an outstanding air purifier. It stood up to the smells of burnt toast, three animals’ worth of dander, and pollen thick enough to spread on that burnt toast. It has an auto-detect feature that will increase or decrease the filtration level based on the air quality it senses, so it will power up if the oven is hastily opened to reveal the forgotten roast. The remote is very easily able to control every feature from across the room.
While the Shark Air Purifier 6 is really fantastic, there are two areas that could be revisited: the top touch controls and the filter itself. Whatever glass material is used on the top of the unit accumulates fingerprints very quickly, necessitating frequent wipe-downs. This is not really a deal-breaker, however, I can surmise that this unit in black will have this issue ten times worse and moreover the controls are extremely sensitive so any settings created will be altered while wiping down.
As for the filter, did you know there are 3 different kinds? As previously mentioned, the unit itself will tell you how long the filter has left measured in hours. While I do appreciate the information, I can’t help but side-eye how expensive the replacements, sold by Shark, can be, and they vary based on function. Anti- Allergen HEPA – 89.99, Anti- Allergen HEPA with Odor Lock 99.99, and Anti- Allergen HEPA filter with Advanced Odor Lock & Fumes Lock. The Shark Air Purifier 6 is an expensive item, to begin with, so if you are purchasing this product, it is important to be aware of the long-term costs of ownership. I do really enjoy the functionality of the unit, but I can understand the limitations with a cost of ownership that high every 6 months.
Price: $449.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Shark.
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No mention of replacement filters. Purchased this very expensive AP, but cannot find filters for it.
I found the filters at Bed Bath and Beyond. They are expensive…about $100.