You know, I hadn’t thought of that. You probably could use it to clear a room from stinky smells.
Might need to check that out the next time I’ve got a batch of onions caramelizing! 
I’m not sure you would want to use it to clear a lot of dust…it would clog it faster, but for smells…
With a washable pre-filter and or a cyclone excess dust would not be a problem but the activated charcoal filter also has a lifespan that ideally you could balance out. After a while even fried onions and popcorn would not be removed. As much as I have issues with the Blue Whale the fact that the air stream is available from both ends is a real positive, and will find a use even if the big job is onions and popcorn.
wait, what? why would you want to remove that lovely smell from the air?? 
Well…you do have a point!
(The initial slicing part is tear inducing though…could do without that.)
Have you tried slicing them on the laser cutter?
Nope! No onions in the Glowforge! 
(Happy Cakeday!)
Hmmm… What’s the settings for cake? Is there proofgrade cake? Onion cake? Questions upon questions…
Haha I really meant more along the lines of fine dust. Say a garage that you’ve just blown out with the leaf blower. Set the filter in there and turn it on for an hour to capture all the particles floating. Seems like a much more versatile filter than one married to the bottom of the Glowforge, that must be lifted to be cleaned. If you’ve got a very confined space you’d like to contain the GF and all it’s accessories (which is ideally more my style) then the GF one is the winner no competition.
Oh, yeah. Would work fine for that. I’ll probably hand mine off here to hubs soon…I don’t really need one, I’ve got an excellent venting setup. I just wanted to test it. 
i think this would be a very expensive way to accomplish this. the filters in the compact filters would be awfully expensive to replace for that kind of use.
A long time coming is a little bit of an understatement, Dan. The current shipping estimate is presently more than 4 years since I placed my order, and over 2 years since I received my actual glowforge. Really wish you and your team would do better about communicating the actual status of your failure to deliver and what steps you are taking to actually provide the products we ordered.
About a year ago, I started worrying about the air quality in my workshop, with the soldering and the lasering and the CNC milling and the hoyvin GLAVIN. After buying a gadget to monitor the air, I discovered that particulate levels spike while lasering, even with my machine vented to the outside. And who knows how long the really tiny stuff hangs around.
So I then invested in an actual filter on wheels. I did a lot of research and settled on that one because they’re not promising any magic or alien technology. It’s a big fan with a HEPA filter for particulates and activated carbon for VOC and smellz. I spend a lot of time in that room, and now it probably has the cleanest air in the house.
Disclosure: the above are affiliate links, because that’s what the Amazon shortener does when I’m logged in. I have no relationship to these products other than having purchased them at full price for my own use.
I just want to know some stats so I can choose which one to get. I’m in a very similar situation to you, and I just want to use this 6600 dollar paperweight in my condo. You have my empathy sir.
If you’re looking for stats on the compact filter in use and in comparison you should probably read: this thread
There are lots of other posts from people who have bought other filters, just like the post you just responded to. So the information is out there - what’s stopping you from choosing?
I’m trying to figure out the time distortions here. The original crowdfund was in October 2015, so we’re currently only 3.5 years out. I keep seeing people saying it’s been “more than 4” and “more than 5” years since they ordered. I was one of the original backers, ordered 3.5 years ago, and have only had my machine for 14 months. How have you had yours for over two years?
I don’t think he’s said that. He’s saying his current shipping estimate is what he’s basing his time delay on.
For instance I now have an October shipping estimate for my filter. If it holds true (it was July last I looked) it will be 4 years after I ordered and just shy of 2 yrs since I got my machine (Nov 2017).
Okay, that makes more sense. I’ve been reading some of these posts and wondering if I live in a parallel universe or something. 
I’m counting from the current shipping estimate for the air filter of October 31, 2019 (the date shown in my account.)
I was also one of the original backers, with an order date September 26, 2015. I received my Glowforge in late September / early October 2017.
If the air filter manages to ship by October 2019 (unlikely given Glowforge’s track record), it will arrive 4 years after I ordered it, and 2 years after I received my Glowforge.
Interesting. Does it seem accurate to you?
I am on my third Foobot (with a fourth allegedly on the way). They keep replacing them for various issues. I have collected a lot of data using them and, found that they frequently disagree with professional meters sitting right next to them. There does seem to be some correlation of some readings with actual AQ conditions but, alerting appears to be completely disconnected from even its own AQ readings.
There have also been several incidents where it has shown sudden-onset CO2 levels so high I should not have been conscious.
Of note is that it guesses CO2 levels from VOC readings rather than using a dedicated CO2 sensor.
I’ve found a few other people with similar experiences, like: Air quality matters but don’t trust Foobot on it | by DHH | Medium
I keep eyeing the various inexpensive AQ sensor breakout boards for use with microcontrollers and, wondering if a DIY solution might be better.