PurOxygen's P500 Air Purifier Is A Simple Luxury For Your Rental Home

When it comes to gadgets, devices and doodads you've never heard of, let alone tried, there's usually that one person who tells you, "You have to try this!" They're lifesavers and gamechangers, next-level tech that will make you rethink whatever you thought you knew about something, and we're all better off for having them in our lives. I know, because I get to be that person now, at least when it comes to cool travel gear. But even then, life is still full of surprises.

For example, I recently needed some work done on my house to repair (and upgrade) lingering hurricane damage, and as someone with sensitive allergies, I was worried about what the dust and debris would do to me. In this case, the contractor was the first person to say, "You have to try this!" He was talking about an air purifier, and he added that he uses them in his rental properties, too. Next, I called a good friend, my trusted vacation rental source, and asked if he uses air purifiers in his properties. "Sure do," he replied, before telling me how gross some of his tenants have been (gross stories are one of the perks of knowing people who rent properties for extra income).

With the visions of unexpected cat dander fresh in my head, I figured it was time to test these glowing recommendations, and I picked up the PurOxygen P500 Smart True HEPA Air Purifier. After all, if it's good enough for a rental property, it should be good enough for my home, and who knows how much longer these repairs will be kicking up dust? Certainly not my contractor! I kid, I kid.

For starters, it's very simple. When using a device for the first time, be it tablet, electric toothbrush or air purifier, the last thing we want is an instruction manual that rivals most John Grisham novels for length and complexity. Right out of the box, the P500 screams ease and convenience.

The hardest part is taking off the side panel and unwrapping the filter, because I accidentally put it back in the wrong way, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only fool making that mistake. From there, the air purifier's interface on the top of the unit is marked with four very obvious icons, and the remote control handles the rest. Set it for the night or after a few hours of sanding and painting in your home, and don't think about it again.

About the size of a desktop computer tower, the P500 covers a room of up to 550-sq. ft., so that's essentially a bedroom, home office, living space or kitchen. Wherever you are in the home, if you're seeking cleaner air, plug it in and press one button. I work from home now, but after just a few days of using this, I wished I could go back and put it in my actual office so my poor neighbor didn't have to listen to me sneeze 100 times a day.

The air filter for the P500 purportedly eliminates 99.98 percent of contaminates, which is obviously awesome. I don't have a degree from MIT to prove that, sadly, but I can say with confidence that my breathing has improved over two weeks of use, and my nose is much clearer in the morning.

One of my favorite things about this air purifier is the system of lights that tells you everything you need to know, including when it's time to change the filter. Each filter typically lasts 6-8 months, but a forgetful person like me definitely appreciates a red light that tells me, "Hey man, change the filter if you want to keep enjoying the peace in your nose and throat."

With me, it always boils down to whether or not it will benefit my son, and especially if it will withstand his curiosity. Again, the lights are a really great feature on this, so if I put it in his room at night, the lights won't catch his attention, because they're no brighter or more colorful than his standard night light. And the noise is no louder than his sound machine—the P500 isn't completely silent, but it's not like you're sleeping next to the ocean, either—so he didn't even notice it was present.

The most important feature, though, is the child lock. The first time he laid eyes on this and saw not only a remote control, but four buttons? I knew the P500 was in for the ultimate test. So far, so good.