Plant Air Purifier (Terra Cotta) with Self-regenerating Activated Carbon Filter, Air Cleaner and Odor Reducer

I don't hate this product, by any means, but I expected it to be more refined given the price.First, the science behind it. There are some studies that seem to show it works. There is also quite a bit of debate about this and alternate viewpoints. I'd recommend doing some searching and get both sides of the debate so you can make up your own mind about that before deciding to buy it.But, let's assume it works as expected, and is able to remove toxins from the air. Awesome - who wouldn't want that?It comes with everything you need except the plant, which is good. The amount of provided clay balls and activated charcoal is generous, and you will have extra left over, which is good. The washing and mixing process is pretty messy, however. Basically, you wash the medium with water to get the clay dust off, then soak all of it for at least an hour to hydrate the mixture. You'll need a bucket for this and some sort of hose. I did mine in the kitchen, but outside may have been a better idea as the clay dust has a tendency to float and go where it shouldn't.Prepping the plant itself isn't as easy as I thought it would be. it has to be cleaned of all soil, which I found difficult without damaging the root system. I deliberately chose to use a snake plant (which the manufacturer also recommends) because they are hard to kill and can withstand even my root washing. I did the best I could, and the plant seems to have made it through alive. I also didn't have any trouble with it tipping. Start off with a small plant so that by the time it gets larger, it will have a well-developed root system and won't fall over.After that, you just pour in some distilled water every week or so to make sure the water level doesn't go too low and dry out the plant. The clay is great at holding water and releasing it as needed, so this isn't hard. They recommend waiting a long time (a couple months) before turning on the fan, and even then, to work up to having the fan on longer periods. The fan will speed evaporation, so when you get to that point you'll have to monitor the levels more closely.The fan is a small, squirrel cage laptop fan. It doesn't move much air, but is very quiet, which is important. The power cord plugs directly into the fan, which is at the top of the pot. This is far from ideal, and you'll notice none of the product pictures show it plugged in. This is because having a power cord awkwardly sticking out from the top of a plant pot doesn't look good. It looks like something you made yourself with duct tape and a plant pot, which is not okay at this price point. They recommend plugging it into a timer (not included) while working up to the longer fan run times which seems a bit persnickety, but certainly better than standing over it all day plugging and unplugging it (there is no power switch). It does have a float mechanism that turns off the fan if the water gets too low, which is useful.The water level window is not as easy to read as I would hope. I keep a small flashlight beside mine to use when checking the water. It works, but the little floats that stick out like little test tubes above some self-watering pots (like Lechuza) are far easier to read, especially from a distance.Overall, it does the job it sets out to do, but does it with a lack of elegance that I expect at this price point. It just feels amateurish, like a prototype someone made in their garage.Would I buy it again? Maybe. It is an interesting experiment. But, I wouldn't buy a second one, and I also wouldn't tell anyone how much it costs, unless you want them to give you that "are you kidding me?" look.The things we do for science.Sean Logue, 2017

I remember stumbling upon the NASA report that generated this on the web years ago. I thought, "someone should really make those for the home." And when I saw this one ... I thought I would give it a try.The directions have the stamp of "written by engineer" syndrome ... because they are three and a half pages for what is basically three or four things to do. I used two small sansevieria trifasciata that were in soil for their entire life. They are doing fine.I will probably try to get one of the bigger ones next.

I bought two of these -- because of sinus issues this winter. I remembered the research from NASA about plants which could clean the air. Then I discovered this planter. I followed the instructions and now have plugged these in. The plants are not doing as well as expected -- but I think that is because it is winter and they did not really achieve water roots in the two weeks I waited before plugging the units in. No matter. I am so charmed by the science of these air purifiers that I am buying one for every room in the house -- which means one planter with one appropriate plant will clean the air like 60-200 plants in normal pots. The difference? these planters have no soil . It is the ROOTS which detoxify your air. That's what I mean: very cool science.

Wrong color came in but it looks great. Will update at 30 day mark.

We've been using this fan planter for about nine months, since reading Dr. Wolverton's excellent book, and it is awesome! Cleans the air as well as any filter appliance we've ever used, and there are no filters to replace! I don't have an air quality tester yet, but my nose tells me this thing is extremely effective. I also trust all of the NASA data. Note the 60x multiplier is actually a conservative estimate; they have measured 100x to 200x performance with these kinds of devices!Be aware that all of the "magic" comes from the plant, which you must care for. You have to plant it, acclimate it, water it, feed it, give it light, etc. Also the planter won't be able to do any heavy cleaning without really stressing (or killing) the plant until the plant is fully acclimated, which could take a few months. If you can't or don't want to manage the plant, or if you need immediate cleaning, forget this thing.But if you are game for some really high-tech plant keeping, and you want an evergreen air cleaner, this device is simply sensational. The included instructions are indeed nerdy and detailed, but also easy to understand and execute! And the type is legible!I personally love plants and hydroculture, and I'm blown away by this machine's performance. We have a decent sized rubber tree in this bad boy that is now fully acclimated and will clean any room where we've placed it. We even used it to clean the air in our new car! For two weeks, we put it in the car, in our garage, with all windows closed, fan running, all night long, then put it back inside every day for sun and rest. Worked great!Love this!

Mine was not so lucky. It is a shame because I had really high expectation and was very excited to get it to work on purifying my room when I first received it. I read the instruction carefully and tried with a rubber plant and thought it would be a tough plant to try. But the clay balls do not hold the root tight enough in place even though I put most of them in and the plant is constantly toppling and leaning to the side. The leaves look lifeless and the plant is dying. I am usually pretty good with plants. I might try with a different plant but am discouraged after spending so much money on it. And now it is too late to return it.

so far so good. : )