It appears to have been on fire,surronding walls & unit covered i

David
I recently purchased the same unit and had the same issue. I have since received a replacement and realized where the problem was for me. when Honeywell packages the unit for shipment they place all the extra parts including the muffler inside the canister. If the box is inverted in the shipping process than all those items create pressure on the filter/bag that seals the dirt canister from the suction side of the motor. In my case the bag was damaged/torn from the items inside during shipment and I didn't realize it. The motor then sucks a lot of hair, dirt and debris into it's cooling blades causing extra load when it turns. In my case it was extreme enough excess load that it overheated the brushes and covered everything in black soot. So...if it runs hot i suggest you inspect the bag/filter for holes. best of luck ..it worked for me

I was burning candles, which apparently caused my units to carbon up and put soot on the walls _ I will never do that again!

Mine did the same thing. I'm currently taking it apart to clean it all out.

The black film is caused by mold,which is moisture behind the walls.Clorox with make the black film go away but mold will come back.

The trouble began in 2003 when Consumer Reports magazine published a report claiming the expensive air cleaners don't clean air. The magazine later claimed its tests showed that Sharper Image's Ionic Breeze Quadra Silent Air Purifier and four other units also release potentially unhealthy levels of ozone.


Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/02/sharper_image.html#ixzz0VATFAuRq

John,

"Smokey-acidic" - are you the original owner, and can verify no fires, etc? (People don't always tell the truth when they sell a house).

In my own experience, allergen control is a two-part job
1. Using a purifier/ionizer to oxidize odors and electrostatically sweep particulates from the air (like a magnet in a box of loose hardware - clump the micro-particles that normally float on air currents together so they "fall-out", to be swept, vacuumed or filtered by step #2. My experience is with the EcoQuest purifiers, and I like the ones with needle-point ionizers. I don't have a lot of experience on the RCI technology, can't comment on it. New EQ purifiers run ~$700-1000 USD, depending on capacity; you can probably find used units (older models) on eBay or craigslist for much less, but you'll be doing your own service unless you know a dealer or handyman who will do repairs for you. (and this can get pricey in a hurry too).

2. Use an ultra-high-filtration vacuum cleaner (or a whole-house unit that vents outside/downwind from your house) to remove the "fall-out" and embedded dust/dander/other accumulated crud from upholstered furniture and carpeting. I don't know what kind of "carpet cleaning" you used - some systems just pump hot water into the mud and microbes already in the base of the carpet, **** some of it out, but leave a layer of now-moistened crud in the bottom to grow stuff that you may be reacting to. Some use steam, which is better (kills more of the cooties instead of simply re-hydrating them), others use chemical powders to adsorb dirt and then get vacuumed-out. Just understand, unless the size of the dirt being vacuumed is big enough to be strained-out by the filter media, you'll be inhaling it again when it comes out the back of the vacuum-cleaner, so the really-tiny stuff goes through regardless, which is why you want an ionizer that will clump the little stuff together (and increase the effectiveness of your filter media). Having an external (outside the living space) exhaust on the vacuum would be even better, but probably more spendy and less convenient to routine housekeeping.

If I can be of further assistance, or if you have questions about any of my response(s), please let me know before rating me.

If this solves the issue, please rate it accordingly. My goal is to earn a "FixYa" rating from everyone I help.

Thanks for using Fixya.com,

Jon

you can, however the heat from the condenser will recirculate back into the evaporator, you need a place to discharge the hot air, and also the drainage from the condensate. I have cut holes in walls to the outside of the room in many applications with no windows, and they work fine. Just a matter of if you have an outside wall, and how much troble it is to cut the hole, frame the inside of the hole out, get power to the unit and secure the unit in the hole. Hope this helps...

Actually, your purifier is working as it should. The black soot is due to the negatives ions which attach themselves to the smoke/dust/dirt particles in the room and make them drop to floor. If you don't smoke it won't be much of a problem. Some minor residue will be found in and around the unit but this comes about because the negative ions make dust and other particulates fall to the floor. A quick wipe or vacuum easily eliminates this problem. Besides, I would rather have them on the floor than floating around in the air, wouldn't you?

Hi there,

The black residue is what is in your air. The reason for it to cling to the walls is the Ionization process that the machine creates. The ionization is to create a clean breathing space, free from contaminants. All particles floating in the air will be negatively charged and cling to each other or to objects in the room (like walls) that are positively charged.

If you cook, there is some smoke created, or when you burn candles. These greasy particles will stick to the wall or to surfaces. Cleaning them up regularly might help. You can also try another product from EcoQuest called EcoH which is based on enzymes and cut through that grime easily. That might take the black stuff off the walls.

Dutch

I had the same problem and then found that it was from burning aroma candles! I will never burn them again!