About this item 𝐀𝐇𝐀𝐌 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝟑92 𝐬𝐪 𝐟𝐭.: Also cleans rooms up to 1,881 sq ft in 1 hour (940 sq ft in 30 minutes, 627 sq ft in 20 minutes, 470 sq ft in 15 minutes) 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐱 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐇𝐄𝐏𝐀: Captures 99.99%* of airborne allergens including pollen, dust, smoke, and pet dander, as small as 0.01 microns 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫: The first line of defense against the largest airborne particles found indoors 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫: Reduces VOCs and household odors from cooking, pets, and smoke.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 WINIX 5510 Air Purifier
It is designed to catch airborne particles found indoors, which also helps prolong the True HEPA Filter life 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐖𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐢𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐢𝐫 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐫: Control and monitor your unit anytime from anywhere by instantly accessing your unit with the Winix Smart App through the convenient WiFi feature 𝐀𝐢𝐫 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫: Visual indicator displays real-time air quality in the room with LED lights
𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬 + 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞: Built-in air quality sensor measures and adjusts fan speed in real-time 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫: When the filters need to be replaced, the Filter Replacement Indicator LED will illuminate Show more › See more product details
The Winix 5510 features a 4-stage air purification system, this unit removes 99.99% of airborne particles as small as 0.01 microns in size. Winix’s PlasmaWave® Technology may help to reduce the presence of airborne pollutants and impurities. The unit’s built-in Smart Sensors detect and monitor the quality of air in your environment and provides a visual representation of your current air quality.
When in Auto Mode, the unit automatically adjusts fan speeds to ensure efficient and cost-effective cleaning. Sleep mode is automatically activated when the room is darkened, providing quiet, energy-efficient operation.
#4,572 in Home & Kitchen (See Top 100 in Home & Kitchen) #27 in HEPA Filter Air Purifiers
ASIN
B0DJG1731C
Item Type Name
Air Purifier
Included Components
unit and filters
Item Height
22.7 inches
Feature
𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫: When the filters need to be replaced, the Filter Replacement Indicator LED will illuminate
10 reviews for WINIX 5510 Air Purifier (New Generation of 5500-2 with App Support)
Rated 5 out of 5
jessica h –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Breath of Fresh Air – Truly a Game-Changer!
The Winix air purifier has completely transformed the air in my home! Within just a few days, I noticed a huge reduction in dust. The air feels noticeably cleaner, fresher, and healthier to breathe.It also does an amazing job at eliminating odors. Whether it’s cooking smells, pet odors, perfumes, or even wildfire smoke, they have been no match — we can’t even smell the smoke indoors anymore, which is a huge relief during fire season. Everything disappears quickly and quietly. The difference is honestly incredible.The unit runs quietly, is easy to use, and has a sleek, modern design that fits in anywhere. If you’re looking for a purifier, this one is a total winner. I didn’t realize how stale my air was until I experienced the Winix difference — now I can’t imagine living without it!
3 people found this helpful
Rated 5 out of 5
Mike O. –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Does the job but don’t believe the colors. Well worth the purchase though!
I have extremely narrow sinus passages so it takes very little to irritate them and plug them up. It took years for me to figure out that air pollution has a lot to do with it. This purifier has definitely helped. I keep it on the 3rd speed throughout the day in between the living room and dining room. A half hour before going to bed I move it to the bedroom and set it on turbo. When I retire for the night I turn the speed down to the second from the lowest. I have found that the bedroom door needs to be shut or it doesn’t do the job but turning up the speed isn’t an option since we’re both used to quiet. It isn’t that loud but just a bit more than we can sleep with. In the morning I put it back in the main area and turn it on turbo for at least an hour to catch up again to the pollutants. I also bought a pollution monitor at the same time so I can see the actual results in the levels of pm2.5. The reason I don’t trust the amber or red colors which are supposed to be an indication of moderate or unsafe levels is, if I move it to an office at night the level shows red even when the monitor shows very low levels of pollution. After about 20 minutes it changes from amber and back to blue. When I move it back to the main living area again, after just the 20 minutes, it goes to red again and then amber and about 15 minutes later it’s back to blue. In those 20 minutes the furnace has not come on, a door hasn’t been opened and I have been the only object that has even moved, and that was just moving the purifier. The pollution levels also haven’t changed in those 20 minutes according to the monitor. Also, certain smells can change the color to red and that includes good smells like fresh baked bread. In summary, I’m glad I bought it because it definitely does as advertised and easily for the 360 sq. ft. but due to the warning colors not making a lot of sense and the auto setting based on that, due to my condition I’d never leave it on the auto setting. One last thing, I was thinking the first filter didn’t need to be cleaned for 3 months but when I looked at the instructions again I saw where it was supposed to be cleaned every month. I was shocked at what this filter had collected. It reminded me of a lint trap on a clothes dryer. A lot of this was what we had been breathing in. I have a second smaller purifier coming for the bedroom so I don’t need to keep moving this one back and forth.Update: After more than 1 1/2 years it still performs flawlessly and easily does the job. I have not had to change a filter yet. I just vacuum both sides of all the filters and I’m good to go.Update: I have been using this purifier for almost 5 years and this year it has really been invaluable with the smoky air from the Canadian wildfires. I live in SW MN and we have had days where the AQI has been in the red zone with pm2.5 readings well over 160. This thing has 4 speeds and I typically leave it in the 3rd due to it still being quiet but with the air as bad as it was lately, it wouldn’t keep up. The pm2.5 level got up to 144 in the house but after running the purifier on high for 8 1/2 hours, it was reduced to just 5. This purifier works great for the dining room, living room and kitchen and we have a different smaller one for the bedroom. I do have a monitor for checking the pm2.5 levels. Also, I have not had to replace a filter yet. The only thing I do is vacuum the filters whenever I feel they need it. If this thing dies anytime soon, I will be replacing it with the same one.Update: I’ve now had mine for 5 1/2 years and it’s still working like new. I’ve never had to replace or wash a filter. I just vacuum out all 3 filters about once per month. I don’t live in a smog filled city so that might help but we did put up with the heavy and unhealthy smoke from the Canadian wildfires last summer and it handled it just fine.
144 people found this helpful
Rated 5 out of 5
Sherry GGGGGGG –
5.0 out of 5 stars
A real lifesaver!
I bought new lr furniture last summer, of course it was made overseas, and I immediately began breaking out from the VOCs in the manufactured wood used (fyi this wasn’t cheap furniture). I am very very allergic to formaldehyde, gel candles, essential oils, all those volatile organic compounds. I itch like crazy, which leads to infections and even IV antibiotics…it is really a problem. It usually takes @ 6 weeks for items to offgas enough that I’m not bothered, however I had problems all last summer from this furniture (which are super comfortable recliners so it’s where I spend all my time!). I did get a furnace filter with a charcoal layer but it didn’t help. I left for the winter and figured it would be dissipated when I came back this May, but after a few days I started reacting again. My allergy meds help, but I don’t want to be exposed to the pills or the chemicals. We had some cool weather so I opened a lot of the windows and that helped a lot, until it got hot and they had to close. I was considering putting the furniture in storage for a few months, or selling it and bringing my 30 yr old formal living room La-Z-Boy suite (pristine) back up from the basement, but then started looking at air purifiers. The ones that do VOCs use activated charcoal and are really expensive but the reviews were good for this Winix 5520, it was reasonably priced, plus it was recommended on some allergy sites. I took a chance, and within a few days I was not reacting at all! I got it on June 8 and have waited until now (July 21) to make sure that my problems wouldn’t recur, but it is still working like a charm. My house also smells much better and I’m seeing less dust, but that isn’t as important as the chemical reduction. Most people don’t react to the VOCs like I do, but they are still being absorbed into your body.So I very very thankful for, and highly recommend this air purifier.
3 people found this helpful
Rated 4 out of 5
Samson Wick –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quiet, powerful, feature filled, but has some drawbacks
The Winix 5510 is a powerful air purifier that’s quiet, easy to operate and packed with features. However the app and documentation leave something to be desired.The 5510 seems to be some kind of one-off middle model that doesn’t appear on any of the company’s main brochures. I usually see this sort of thing when a model is made for a specific retailer like Costco, or when it has a unique or experimental feature not common to the rest of the product line. If you go to the Winix website, you won’t find this one by browsing – you have to put the model number into the search to bring it up. Why is this relevant? If you search for replacement filters using this model number, you won’t find many that match, but as far as I can tell the filters are identical to the ones used by the 5500.The packaging did a great job securing the cleaner and it arrived without any damage or issues. No assembly is required for setup, but you do have to remove the cover, the dust mesh and the two filters so you can take them out of their plastic covers and reinstall them.The machine is easy to operate, but the instructions provided are terrible for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the instructions don’t actually tell you how to use the device. They explain how to install and replace the filters, and they explain the function of “Auto” and nighttime mode, but they don’t tell you how to actually set auto and nighttime mode. It’s not difficult to figure out, but the instructions have one job to do, and they spend more text on compliance garbage that users don’t read or need, and none telling you how to operate the device. There’s a light on the front center of the device. The diagram that labels the various features does not tell you that this is the air quality indicator. There’s one sentence that mentions the air quality light in relation to something else, but absolutely nothing to tell you what the different colors mean. Again, it’s not hard to figure out that red is bad and green is good, and other colors are something between, but the instructions have a single job and completely fail at it. Lastly, the instructions do not tell you want replacement filters are compatible. Instead they show you in about three different places how to contact the manufacturer to buy the filters from them.A huge part of the reason that I bought this Winix 5510 is because popular brands are easy to find replacement filters for. There’s a huge secondary market making knockoff filters that will work mostly as well as OEM.The practice of gatekeeping replacement parts is kind of underhanded in my opinion. I get that low quality replacement media might diminish your opinion of the whole filter, but when you pay half price for something you should know what risk you’re taking.For the record the HEPA filter provided is labeled “2522-058-01 Rev.01S” and the carbon pre-filter is labeled “2523-0053-00” Replacements are sold on Amazon, but the Amazon search won’t bring them up for some reason. If you use google and search for “116130 5510” it will bring up links back into Amazon for replacement media.The filter has an app control instead of providing a remote control. On the one hand I can understand that having a remote control is just another object that’s a hassle to keep track of or to lose and an app can fix that because you’re much less likely to lose your phone, and even if you do, you can always install the app on a new phone. Unfortunately Winix decided to take advantage of the app to force you to create an account. At best every account you create for an app like this is a security liability and widens the attack surface for identity theft. When an account gives you significant benefits in return for the sacrifice of your privacy, I can understand it, but when it’s just so you don’t have to walk across the room to push one of four buttons, it is definitely not in your best interest to create it. The manufacturer should have made the app without a login or account requirement – many manufacturers do. For this reason I have not used the app and cannot recommend its use.The primary reason I purchased this air purifier was to clean the pet smell from a room in my house. I have not had it long enough to say how well it performs, but I will say that the air quality filter went from red to green after a short while but had not significantly reduced the smell. I will update the review after I have had more time with it, to confirm whether it does significantly clean the air in the room.The filter is very quiet unless you crank it up to “Turbo”, and even then, all you really hear is the rush of air.For some reason the cat is very attracted to it and keeps reaching up to try to look into the air outlet.With sturdy construction, easy configuration, quiet operation, automatic air quality detection, replacement filters that are likely to be available even after a couple of years and light detection to automatically enable night mode, this filter has all of the features I could ask for except for an app that doesn’t require a wholly unnecessary login.
80 people found this helpful
Rated 5 out of 5
Ava B. –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Considering a Second Unit
A few weeks in, I’m happy with the purchase and considering getting a second one to accommodate a larger living area. I chose this unit after a lot of research because based on its CAD rating and filter life expectancy and cost, it provides one of the best values available and also because I wanted an air purifier with separate HEPA and carbon filters (many of the composite 2-in-1/3-in-1 provide a more compact filter altogether, with less thickness at each level and less surface for air to be filtered through). I live downtown and have pets, so both dust and smells can be an issue. It’s been running on turbo most days and sometimes overnight.PROS:arrived quickly and on timeeasy/no setup out of the boxdoes what it’s supposed to – upon inspecting the filter after running for about 10 days, there was already a layer of dust/particles on the reusable filter that I was able to easily vacuum offtakes a minute, but will reduce lingering lysol smell (if I spray anything indoors, usually it takes hours for the smell to go away, but with this air purifier running, the intensity of the smell is immediately reduced and gone faster than it would otherwise)very quiet, unless running on turbodoes ok job in a space much larger than recommended (around 480 ft^2 instead of the indicated 360 ft^2, but I’m on the market for a second unit because if you want really clean air/”great” performance in that kind of space, this alone will not do it)takes little spacevery easy to move around (minus power cord limitations)CONS:direction matters – I find myself rotating it around the room somewhat frequently, changing which way it’s facing will often trigger the sensor and turn the indicator from blue (clean) to red – it maybe worth trying one of those 360 degree units, however, their filters tend to be “all in one”, so it’d be a trade offdirection matters x2 – sometimes even if it’s in the immediate kitchen space but “facing” outward, it doesn’t start to capture and reduce smells until rotated 180 degrees to face exactly the area you want cleanedthe sensor is a VOC/odor sensor, meaning it doesn’t get triggered by amount of particles/dust – while I don’t think this is a con for everyone, it’s the main reason I’m running it on turbo most of the time – I can’t get a measure of dust in the air, and with pets in the house, there is always dust to go aroundhas Plasmawave feature and turns it on by default upon starting, which I don’t want to use due to ozone by-product concerns (but you can easily turn this off with one push of a button)turbo fan level noise – while it’s not “loud” by any means (I doubt any other machine of this size and comparable power would be much quieter, I have a tiny one that can be louder than this one on max speed!) the noise is audible and can get annoying after a few hours, however, when running it on a lower fan speed (even on 3 and turbo would be 4), you can barely tell it’s workingNOTES:no intrusive air blown in one direction, but makes the room cooler overall (same effect like running your hvac on “fan” instead of “AC”)needs to run on turbo to really get the air moving around the room – as long as the motor doesn’t mind this, I don’t necessarily consider it a con
41 people found this helpful
Rated 5 out of 5
Kevin L –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good value, well made, works as advertised.
Works well. It is very sensitive to air quality and automatically speeds up when it senses higher particulate levels and/or odors. The sleep mode works very well, unit runs at night but is so quiet it can’t be heard. It usually runs at the lowest speed during the day and even that is almost unnoticeable. Replacement filters are a little pricey but filter life seems pretty good.
4 people found this helpful
Rated 5 out of 5
Johanna W –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great function and value
Excellent air purifier at this price point. I observe that it quickly removes odors from chemicals, cooking, and wood smoke coming in from outdoors.I have pollen allergies, and Winix provides improvement in my breathing and itching eyes.I have a unit in the Parrot Room, and it cleans feather dust from the air, along with gasses and particulates which could cause serious health damage to these extremely sensitive little family members.Filters are easy to clean and replace, and the entire purifier is lightweight enough to easily move around the house without being flimsy.I had older Winix models from about 7 years ago. One developed motor noise (bearings?). I hope that has been corrected as it was the only shortcoming.A very good value and investment in health and quality of life.
8 people found this helpful
Rated 5 out of 5
David –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Machine, Automatic, Very Quiet, Great looking
** 3-week update **After a few weeks a clicking noise developed in the fan when running on the sleep (lowest) speed. Looking at the fan it appears there maybe an imbalance that over the weeks developed into a motor shaft tapping. Make sure to inspect your unit for a balanced fan. I just issued a replacement on the 5500-2 so we’ll see what happens.** Original **I spent weeks comparing units on Amazon and elsewhere. I didn’t want to spent > 200 on an overbuilt fan, or be stuck buying overpriced filters. I ended up buying the Winix 5500-2 and Renpho AP002 and first impressions with the two units are that they both appear well built, quiet, and have the automatic mode I really wanted.TL;DR;Winix 5300-2 – Quieter w/Smarter hands off Automatic technology & Ionizer – Set and Forget!Winix 5500-2 – Identical in Black w/Remote & washable carbon filterRenpho AP001 – Incredible unit, Amazing filters, Low cost ownership!Renpho AP002 – Almost identical, slightly more air volumeFILTERSThe Renpho filter has a price and feature advantage over the Winix. Both units have H13 Hepa filters, both have the honeycomb active carbon filters (for capturing VOC), and both have a washable pre-filters for catching large particles. The Renpho however has 2 bonus layers, a microbial coating on the Hepa filter, and an additional charcoal filter sitting before the carbon filter to collect larger particles. The Winix does claim the active carbon filter is washable – Renpho does not make this claim, however both appear similar so it maybe purely marketing. The Renpho filter is shorter and fatter – if you ran the numbers they both likely have similar surface area, thought the Winix is CADR rated for 360 sqr/ft while the Renpho is 330 sqr/ft. They are close.Renpho OEM filters sell for $25 for a full replacement. Winix OEM filters sell for $50 for a full replacement. Renpo claims the filter should be changed every 6 months, Winix claims every 12. I assume this is reflected in their price strategy, however since the filters are so similar, I doubt both claims can be true – and this all depends on how dirty your air is! So cost of ownership is likely less with the Renpho.AIR IONIZATIONThe Winix comes with an Ionizer (called Plasmawave) and Renpho does NOT. The Ionizer charges any particles passing through the unit so they are heavier and will float to the ground and out of air. If you’re concerned about Ozone gasses, then this is a feature you can disable and is not a feature on the Renpho.SOUNDThis is a real issue for me – I am sensitive to sound and like the home quiet at night. Deciding on a unit for my children makes this even more important, and I don’t want to force them into a white machine for air filtration. In Sleep mode the Winix is significantly more quiet at (advertised) 26dB where the Renpho is at 35dB. With the Winix 10ft from the bed I can just barely hear it. The Renpho is noticable but not “loud”. The Winix appears to have 5 speed modes, Sleep, Low, Med, High, and Turbo. The Renpho has just 3 modes, Low, Med, High, with Sleep mode being the Low mode with lights off. Here’s the rub however – outside of Sleep mode, the Winix sounds “louder” having a higher pitched whine while the Renpho is more of a hum. If I was going to just set this on High in a corner and forget it, then Renpho is the winner. For a quiet bedroom the Winix appears the winner.AUTOMATIC MODEThis was a huge feature for me and the Winix is a much “smarter” unit. Both units have a similar Automatic feature, sensing the air, bringing the fan speed up or down according to the readings. Both have light(s) indicating the current air quality reading. The Winix however had a light sensor that, when the unit is in Automatic mode, will place the unit in Sleep mode when the lights go out (for more than 1 min). In the morning the unit goes back into Automatic mode. This is huge if you appreciate how quiet the unit is. You can set the Winix to Automatic mode and not touch it until your next filter cleaning. If you wish to use the Sleep mode on the Renpho you will need to push the Speed button to cycle through the speed options back to Sleep – and then again in the morning cycle back to Auto. In reality you maybe better covering the lights with black tape and leaving it in Auto or just leave it in Sleep mode permanently.REMOTEWinix has one, Renpho not – for my needs this is a non-issue.CHILD LOCKRenpho has one, Winix does not – this is a great feature if young kids are around!APPEARANCEPersonally I think the Winix looks clean, modern, and the black color blends well into a corner near furniture. The Renpho AP002 like the Renpho AP001 have their signature funky look which is fine but not as refined. It’s an air purifier, so who cares, but it is also a visible piece of equipment in your home.For us the Winix seems more appropriate for a bedroom, the Renpho for a living room. Winix higher cost of ownership justified by the features and sound levels, Renpho for lower ownership cost.If the Renpho unit was QUIETER (ahem – hint hint Renpho) then I would just go that route – save on upfront and ownership cost.SIMILAR MODELSThe Winix 5300-2 and Winix 5500-2 are the exact same physical unit in different colors with different filters. The 5300 is gray, the 5500 is black. Only the 5500 has a remote. The 5500 has their “advanced” AOC Washable Active Carbon filter, while the 5300 has a disposable active carbon. The 5300 Hepa filter is slightly thicker (good) and you get 4 disposable filters with each replacement. If you buy the 5500 and don’t like the washable filter it comes with you can buy the 5300 replacement pack and use them instead. For $23 more we went with the Winix 5500-2 to test the AOC filter, and for the black aesthetic. Currently you can get the 5300-2 for $129 (Amazon) and when I purchased the Winix 5500-2 for $152 (now listed at $159 on Amazon).The Renpho AP001 (often found as RP-AP001 or AP-001) and Renpho AP002 are very similar products, both using the exact same filters, having different aesthetic designs, and with the AP002 having more airflow (for supposedly the same sound levels) and covering 30 sqr/ft more space. The AP001 has a dedicated Sleep button while the AP002 Sleep mode is the first option on the Speed cycle button – more daily button work for you. Currently the AP001 sells for $99 (Renpho direct) while the AP002 for $137 (Amazon). I bought the AP002 thinking the newer model maybe more quiet than advertised. If we get another Renpho it will be the AP001 for $37 bucks less.
784 people found this helpful
Rated 3 out of 5
Allen D. ReineckeAllen D. Reinecke –
3.0 out of 5 stars
One of the better rated air purifiers, but…
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UPDATE 3:.Nov 17 2023, and about 9 months in, I just changed the filters, using genuine Winix filters. The HEPA filter was pretty clogged, as heard from the higher, noisier airflow after changing it. The filter change light had come on a few days ago. I have blown out the HEPA filter several times but I guess a 6-month change is going to be ideal for our home, with all the pet hair and dander..The unit continues to run flawlessly on speed ‘3’, 24/7, and noticeably reduces the amount of dust in the living room. The air quality LED is always blue. I read that the sensor only senses odors, not dust, which is probably why. The only exception is when it picks up my freshly applied cologne!.Definitely a recommended air purifier, though I’m also going to try the Coway Airmega AP-1512HH in our bedroom since there is an Amazon deal. It is also a highly commended and comparable air purifier. It senses dust level, though the carbon filter is inferior..UPDATE 2:.6 weeks in and the purifier is definitely reducing the dust in the living room. I have cleaned the filter elements a couple times and noticed a couple issues. The screen has two snap-in features halfway up the sides. If you don’t ensure they are pushed in fully, dust will bypass the screen, as shown by a gray build-up on the carbon filter at those two areas. Those snaps also cause a problem when removing a dirty screen. The screen vibrates as you pull it out and the snaps disengage with some force. The dust on the screen falls off and makes quite a mess (see photo). You cannot stop this from happening.Other than these, the purifier is working well..UPDATE 1:.It’s been a week and the dust level in the living room is noticeably less, as seen by the much fewer particle count on the surfaces. It’s also helping in the adjacent dining room. It’s been on speed 3 24/7, only on Turbo when I vacuum. I’ve already rinsed the prescreen filter and used a damp cloth to wipe the light accumulation from the mesh on the carbon filter.About 3 days in, I researched the best location for an air purifier. I found some articles that recommended raising the unit 2 to 3ft off the floor. So, I placed my Winix on the side table. It seems to be working well. While I can’t prove it’s any more effective, it will certainly improve the room air circulation, being more in the center of the airspace. This should also capture more airborne particles..The LED bar has only once changed from blue to red. It was because of my cologne!! I had just showered and applied my cologne. As I walked into the room, I saw a red bar. A few minutes later it went back to blue. I got my cologne bottle and sprayed it a few feet from the air purifier and it immediately turned red. The sensor certainly picks up odors!.I’m still very pleased with the Winix 5500-2 and my daily electricity consumption is not noticeable. Being an engineer, I have a spreadsheet to record my daily kWh year-round! ;-).ORIGINAL REVIEW:.We have 2 dogs and a cat, in a 100-year-old home with air heating blown through old wooden and rusty tin ducts and floor spaces. So, there’s lots of dust. In my research, I saw that dust is never eliminated by air purifiers but can be reduced if it’s suspended in the air and near the filters. It never hurts to have clean air to breathe either..The Winix 5500-2 seems to have good performance reviews and at just $145 is excellent value, especially since it contains an activated carbon filter with pelletized carbon within a honeycomb and mesh housing, and not the thin impregnated fabric, which has little absorption capacity and does little. The replacement filters aren’t too expensive when you consider the carbon and pre-screen filters are both washable and will extend the time between filter replacement. The power consumption is low too at only 13.2W on Speed 3, the most practical setting in my opinion (see later). 1kWh of electricity is only consumed after 76 hours, or 3 days, of use. So, in a month, running 24/7, you’ll only consume just under 10 kWh; just over a $1 where I live. Not bad at all..When you first plug the unit in and turn it on, it will start up in AUTO mode and it will cycle through the colors on the air quality LED bar as well as play a little tune. On subsequent uses of just the power button, the cycling does not occur and the chime plays, though the color might change as it samples the air quality. It always starts in AUTO with the PLASMAWAVE function on. You have to manually turn that off if so desired.NOTE: the air quality sensor just senses odors, not dust or pollen particles. It’s very limited in its usefulness. I have a nose to tell me if there are odors! I’d never seen anything other than a blue bar in my living room. Neither the smoke from a single match near the sensor, nor the scent of a candle burning in the room, changed it from blue. However, my wife made a Grilled Cheese sandwich in the kitchen and when I went into the living room, the LED bar was red. Interesting, as the smell was very minimal! I switched to AUTO mode to see if the fan would spool up to Turbo mode, as it should when indicating red. It didn’t. Then the bar changed back to blue. Not sure if it was a software glitch or what. I see little use for the sensor with its limited sensing. 1 Star lost! ☹The lights are very annoying even in a brightly lit room and absolutely blinding in the dark. They are so bright yet cannot be turned off. The only time they do go off is in the dark, due to the light sensor, but only if the mode is on AUTO, or if you manually select SLEEP mode. The Auto and Sleep mode white light indicators remain on all the time and are still bright.In AUTO mode at night, if the sensor doesn’t detect any odor, as mine doesn’t, the speed is at miniscule SLEEP speed as that is the predetermined setting for nighttime, which is basically of little use. So, for effective air purification at night in your bedroom, either enjoy the room-illuminating, blue backlight with the fan speed set at 1 or 2, or place a piece of thick card over the lights. This is a bad design feature and loses another Star in my rating! ☹.For noise levels, Max. level 4 (turbo mode) is very noisy. Just like a simple, cheap window fan. In my living room, it’s not practical to have it running on 4 while watching TV. If you like lots of white noise, this is the setting for you. On setting 3, the TV is watchable and you just get a low-level, pleasant fan hum. My video tries to capture this, and the bright lights. It’s perfectly acceptable at level 3 and has good air cleaning performance. Levels 2 and 1 are very quiet, but of course you are sacrificing fan speed and performance. Speed 3 is half the cleaning power of speed 4. My heating air vents make more noise than speed 3 when the heating is running.I just leave the air purifier on speed 3, with PLASMAWAVE on, cover the LED display with cardboard and run the Winix 24/7. Initially, I did run at speed 4 for an hour, along with teh ceiling fan, to clean the air after vacuuming. This is useful whenever you see lots of floaters, or you have smells in the room you want to eliminate quickly..The exhaust flow from the top vent is biased toward the right, when looking at the front of the 5500-2, by about 30 degrees. This is because the fan is a hamster wheel design, sucking into the center, blowing out radially, and there are baffles inside the exhaust chamber below the top vent, directing the air out of the fan up and to the right side. That is actually useful to develop a circulating airflow around the room, especially on speed 4..Per Airpurifiersfirst, CADR scores for dust are 243, pollen 246, and smoke 232.Fan airflows are… sleep mode 35.3 cfm speed 1 70.6 cfm speed 2 91.8 cfm speed 3 123.6 cfm& speed 4 (turbo) 240.1 cfm.I did not receive the wall-mounted caddy for the small remote. Not happy about that omission, but I wouldn’t have used it anyway. So, no biggie. The remote is limited in its functions (no Plasmawave or timer control), and it’s not that necessary in my opinion. I rarely change the settings and I’m up anyway when I want to. You may like having it..CONCLUSION:.The Winix 5500-2 seems to be working very well. It sits in a 15ft x 16ft x 10ft high (2400+ cubic ft) carpeted living room, with a staircase and a 7ft wide opening into an adjacent 14ft x 14ft x 9ft (1770 cubic ft) hard floor dining room. After vacuuming, dusting and running for an hour in turbo mode, then setting it to speed 3, it’s been running 3 days and the air is actually pretty dust free. This afternoon, the sun was shining in the window and that’s when you see all those particles floating in the air. I saw nothing, literally. Only when the dogs walked through the sunlight did the shedding dander show up in their wake. I could actually see some particles float into the air purifier, some simply landed on the carpet. No air purifier is going to get everything and hair will still pile up on the floor. Turbo mode will get more, certainly not all, but at the cost of excessive noise and energy.The surfaces in the room usually collect a fine dust layer very quickly, one you can write in! So far, after 3 days, I have negligible dust settling compared with before the purifier, and just a few larger particles on the glass TV stand, for example. So that has been a pleasant surprise. 😉Looking at the front face of the black carbon filter, I can see that fine dust is collecting on the mesh. It’s a lighter shade than the back face. That material is really fine as it has managed to get through the pre-screen. It’s good that this filter is washable!At $145 for this level of performance and filtration (go see Airpurifierfirst’s comprehensive reviews), I do think this is an excellent buy. It has its faults with those annoying lights and a limited sensor. If those were addressed, this would be an absolute winner.I might well buy a second unit, but will see how it performs longer term, and report back. Fingers crossed I don’t need to invoke the 2-year warranty!
591 people found this helpful
Rated 5 out of 5
GinoGino –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Bang For Your Buck
I’ve been looking for a new air purifier for almost a year now, doing research here and there trying to find a unit that meets all the requirments I’m looking for. I need a unit that’s for a larger room, has an auto feature, has good priced replacement filters, and looks good to match my home decor. A recent 80,000 acre fire hastened my research due to the thick blanket of smoke that blanket the area (and still is) every morning. With all things considered, the Winix 5500-2 met all my requiements.The unit arrived promptly and unpackaging was an ease. I literally had it set up ans running in about 5 minutes. The body is a hard, matte black plastic that feels sturdy and durable. The front panel is easy to remove, and secures to the unit via a clever magnetic clasp that is secure, yet simple to remove to access your prefilter for bi weekly cleaning and hepa/carbon filter replacement. There are 3 filters in total, and they fit snugly inside the filter chamber, amd ate secured in with the prefilter that snaps firmly into place.The control panel at the top is intuituve and user friendly. The buttons are clearly marked and visual ques explain what each button does taking out any guesswork as to what they do. A stylish indicator light bar runs along the bottom of the control panel indicating the level of air cleanliness with a 3 color scheme…green for clean, orange for okay, and red for bad. You can manually run the machine on 4 fan settings, or choose auto mode and let the machine choose the settings based on the data colected from the sensor. This means hands off operation. There’s a night mode that will set the fan to its lowest setting to cut down on noise, and also dim all lights on the panel. This night mode will set automatically if you have the auto mode set on the unit, a light sensor will detect (or not detect) any light in the room and go into night mode. A filter change indicator light also is on the control panel. According to what i’ve researched, the hepa filter should last approx 1 year. It also comes with a remote control with a battery preinstalled. I dont plan on using it, but if that’s your thing, it’s there.This is the quietest air purifier I’ve ever owned. On level 1, it’s almost undetectable, and even on level 4 turbo mode, it’s no louder than a standing floor fan on high. This was a very pleasant surprise.It cleans the air well. I’m currently using it in my 350 sq ft bedroom. I don’t have the equipment to test it, but per their website I should be getting at least 4 air changes per hour which is the amount of air exchanges you need for allergies and serious air purification. I’ve had no smoke smell AT ALL in the bedroom when I run this with the door shut to the rest of the home and it was initially startling to walk from the bedroom into the rest of the home after the first night of using it.This unit has more than exceeded my expecations ans meets all the things I was looking for in an air purifier. I plan on purchasing 2 more of these when money permits for my combined kitchen/dining/living room area that totals 700 sq ft. I can place these at opposite sides of the area and get more than ample coverage. I would highly reccomend this unit. For the price and the feature list, this just can’t be beat. The cost is low, the replacement filters don’t cost an arm and a leg, it covers a large area, and you get a lot of features.09/28/20192 years later and this machine is STILL going strong. Besides the occasional vacuuming of the pre filter and the yearly filter changes, I’ve had this guy quietly working away in the house keeping my air clean. Can definitely say at this point that it’s a durable machine!08/20/20203 years later and still working! I’m only posting this update because I find myself in ANOTHER horrible fire season for California, and I’m in a zone getting insane amounts of smoke. Besides regular cleanings on the pre filter, and my yearly change out of the hepa and carbon filter, not much else to report. I really hadnt expected this thing to last this long as I run it 24/7, often on its highest setting to get maximum results. I own 2 now, I bought another one last year to get more coverage throughout the house. I would highly recommend this until to anyone.01/03/2022I was buying a new filter today on here and remembered that I actually had a review for this product. I’ve owned this air purifier for 5 years now. I just added 2 more photos (should be the last 2 in my string of pictures) just to show that I STILL own this device. 5 years of literal CONSTANT USE. I’ve had it set on the 3rd setting, just 1 below it’s highest setting, for nearly this entire time. I have absolute confidence stating that this is a solid piece of machinery. I’m actually shocked that this guy hasn’t given up on me yet! If you’re worried about durability, at least in my case, yes, this is a very durable air purifier. Winix created a home run product with this one. I think that this may be my FINAL update on the product (unless of course it survives for 10 years, in which case I may throw a party for the thing!)***I also want to add to those who say this device produces harmful amounts of ozone. That’s simply not true. You can go to the California Air Resource Board, specifically to the section under California Certified Air Cleaning Devices. This will show you a list of air purifiers that have been tested by the state and produce under 0.050 ppm of ozone. This device, and all others from Winix, are on the list. That means that this device is at, or below, the levels indicated as safe. Make sure when reading reviews you guys do your own follow up research on an item. It’s insane the amount of bad information that’s out there! Dont take anyones word, look up what they claim!***
3,140 people found this helpful
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jessica h –
Breath of Fresh Air – Truly a Game-Changer!
The Winix air purifier has completely transformed the air in my home! Within just a few days, I noticed a huge reduction in dust. The air feels noticeably cleaner, fresher, and healthier to breathe.It also does an amazing job at eliminating odors. Whether it’s cooking smells, pet odors, perfumes, or even wildfire smoke, they have been no match — we can’t even smell the smoke indoors anymore, which is a huge relief during fire season. Everything disappears quickly and quietly. The difference is honestly incredible.The unit runs quietly, is easy to use, and has a sleek, modern design that fits in anywhere. If you’re looking for a purifier, this one is a total winner. I didn’t realize how stale my air was until I experienced the Winix difference — now I can’t imagine living without it!
3 people found this helpful
Mike O. –
Does the job but don’t believe the colors. Well worth the purchase though!
I have extremely narrow sinus passages so it takes very little to irritate them and plug them up. It took years for me to figure out that air pollution has a lot to do with it. This purifier has definitely helped. I keep it on the 3rd speed throughout the day in between the living room and dining room. A half hour before going to bed I move it to the bedroom and set it on turbo. When I retire for the night I turn the speed down to the second from the lowest. I have found that the bedroom door needs to be shut or it doesn’t do the job but turning up the speed isn’t an option since we’re both used to quiet. It isn’t that loud but just a bit more than we can sleep with. In the morning I put it back in the main area and turn it on turbo for at least an hour to catch up again to the pollutants. I also bought a pollution monitor at the same time so I can see the actual results in the levels of pm2.5. The reason I don’t trust the amber or red colors which are supposed to be an indication of moderate or unsafe levels is, if I move it to an office at night the level shows red even when the monitor shows very low levels of pollution. After about 20 minutes it changes from amber and back to blue. When I move it back to the main living area again, after just the 20 minutes, it goes to red again and then amber and about 15 minutes later it’s back to blue. In those 20 minutes the furnace has not come on, a door hasn’t been opened and I have been the only object that has even moved, and that was just moving the purifier. The pollution levels also haven’t changed in those 20 minutes according to the monitor. Also, certain smells can change the color to red and that includes good smells like fresh baked bread. In summary, I’m glad I bought it because it definitely does as advertised and easily for the 360 sq. ft. but due to the warning colors not making a lot of sense and the auto setting based on that, due to my condition I’d never leave it on the auto setting. One last thing, I was thinking the first filter didn’t need to be cleaned for 3 months but when I looked at the instructions again I saw where it was supposed to be cleaned every month. I was shocked at what this filter had collected. It reminded me of a lint trap on a clothes dryer. A lot of this was what we had been breathing in. I have a second smaller purifier coming for the bedroom so I don’t need to keep moving this one back and forth.Update: After more than 1 1/2 years it still performs flawlessly and easily does the job. I have not had to change a filter yet. I just vacuum both sides of all the filters and I’m good to go.Update: I have been using this purifier for almost 5 years and this year it has really been invaluable with the smoky air from the Canadian wildfires. I live in SW MN and we have had days where the AQI has been in the red zone with pm2.5 readings well over 160. This thing has 4 speeds and I typically leave it in the 3rd due to it still being quiet but with the air as bad as it was lately, it wouldn’t keep up. The pm2.5 level got up to 144 in the house but after running the purifier on high for 8 1/2 hours, it was reduced to just 5. This purifier works great for the dining room, living room and kitchen and we have a different smaller one for the bedroom. I do have a monitor for checking the pm2.5 levels. Also, I have not had to replace a filter yet. The only thing I do is vacuum the filters whenever I feel they need it. If this thing dies anytime soon, I will be replacing it with the same one.Update: I’ve now had mine for 5 1/2 years and it’s still working like new. I’ve never had to replace or wash a filter. I just vacuum out all 3 filters about once per month. I don’t live in a smog filled city so that might help but we did put up with the heavy and unhealthy smoke from the Canadian wildfires last summer and it handled it just fine.
144 people found this helpful
Sherry GGGGGGG –
A real lifesaver!
I bought new lr furniture last summer, of course it was made overseas, and I immediately began breaking out from the VOCs in the manufactured wood used (fyi this wasn’t cheap furniture). I am very very allergic to formaldehyde, gel candles, essential oils, all those volatile organic compounds. I itch like crazy, which leads to infections and even IV antibiotics…it is really a problem. It usually takes @ 6 weeks for items to offgas enough that I’m not bothered, however I had problems all last summer from this furniture (which are super comfortable recliners so it’s where I spend all my time!). I did get a furnace filter with a charcoal layer but it didn’t help. I left for the winter and figured it would be dissipated when I came back this May, but after a few days I started reacting again. My allergy meds help, but I don’t want to be exposed to the pills or the chemicals. We had some cool weather so I opened a lot of the windows and that helped a lot, until it got hot and they had to close. I was considering putting the furniture in storage for a few months, or selling it and bringing my 30 yr old formal living room La-Z-Boy suite (pristine) back up from the basement, but then started looking at air purifiers. The ones that do VOCs use activated charcoal and are really expensive but the reviews were good for this Winix 5520, it was reasonably priced, plus it was recommended on some allergy sites. I took a chance, and within a few days I was not reacting at all! I got it on June 8 and have waited until now (July 21) to make sure that my problems wouldn’t recur, but it is still working like a charm. My house also smells much better and I’m seeing less dust, but that isn’t as important as the chemical reduction. Most people don’t react to the VOCs like I do, but they are still being absorbed into your body.So I very very thankful for, and highly recommend this air purifier.
3 people found this helpful
Samson Wick –
Quiet, powerful, feature filled, but has some drawbacks
The Winix 5510 is a powerful air purifier that’s quiet, easy to operate and packed with features. However the app and documentation leave something to be desired.The 5510 seems to be some kind of one-off middle model that doesn’t appear on any of the company’s main brochures. I usually see this sort of thing when a model is made for a specific retailer like Costco, or when it has a unique or experimental feature not common to the rest of the product line. If you go to the Winix website, you won’t find this one by browsing – you have to put the model number into the search to bring it up. Why is this relevant? If you search for replacement filters using this model number, you won’t find many that match, but as far as I can tell the filters are identical to the ones used by the 5500.The packaging did a great job securing the cleaner and it arrived without any damage or issues. No assembly is required for setup, but you do have to remove the cover, the dust mesh and the two filters so you can take them out of their plastic covers and reinstall them.The machine is easy to operate, but the instructions provided are terrible for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the instructions don’t actually tell you how to use the device. They explain how to install and replace the filters, and they explain the function of “Auto” and nighttime mode, but they don’t tell you how to actually set auto and nighttime mode. It’s not difficult to figure out, but the instructions have one job to do, and they spend more text on compliance garbage that users don’t read or need, and none telling you how to operate the device. There’s a light on the front center of the device. The diagram that labels the various features does not tell you that this is the air quality indicator. There’s one sentence that mentions the air quality light in relation to something else, but absolutely nothing to tell you what the different colors mean. Again, it’s not hard to figure out that red is bad and green is good, and other colors are something between, but the instructions have a single job and completely fail at it. Lastly, the instructions do not tell you want replacement filters are compatible. Instead they show you in about three different places how to contact the manufacturer to buy the filters from them.A huge part of the reason that I bought this Winix 5510 is because popular brands are easy to find replacement filters for. There’s a huge secondary market making knockoff filters that will work mostly as well as OEM.The practice of gatekeeping replacement parts is kind of underhanded in my opinion. I get that low quality replacement media might diminish your opinion of the whole filter, but when you pay half price for something you should know what risk you’re taking.For the record the HEPA filter provided is labeled “2522-058-01 Rev.01S” and the carbon pre-filter is labeled “2523-0053-00” Replacements are sold on Amazon, but the Amazon search won’t bring them up for some reason. If you use google and search for “116130 5510” it will bring up links back into Amazon for replacement media.The filter has an app control instead of providing a remote control. On the one hand I can understand that having a remote control is just another object that’s a hassle to keep track of or to lose and an app can fix that because you’re much less likely to lose your phone, and even if you do, you can always install the app on a new phone. Unfortunately Winix decided to take advantage of the app to force you to create an account. At best every account you create for an app like this is a security liability and widens the attack surface for identity theft. When an account gives you significant benefits in return for the sacrifice of your privacy, I can understand it, but when it’s just so you don’t have to walk across the room to push one of four buttons, it is definitely not in your best interest to create it. The manufacturer should have made the app without a login or account requirement – many manufacturers do. For this reason I have not used the app and cannot recommend its use.The primary reason I purchased this air purifier was to clean the pet smell from a room in my house. I have not had it long enough to say how well it performs, but I will say that the air quality filter went from red to green after a short while but had not significantly reduced the smell. I will update the review after I have had more time with it, to confirm whether it does significantly clean the air in the room.The filter is very quiet unless you crank it up to “Turbo”, and even then, all you really hear is the rush of air.For some reason the cat is very attracted to it and keeps reaching up to try to look into the air outlet.With sturdy construction, easy configuration, quiet operation, automatic air quality detection, replacement filters that are likely to be available even after a couple of years and light detection to automatically enable night mode, this filter has all of the features I could ask for except for an app that doesn’t require a wholly unnecessary login.
80 people found this helpful
Ava B. –
Considering a Second Unit
A few weeks in, I’m happy with the purchase and considering getting a second one to accommodate a larger living area. I chose this unit after a lot of research because based on its CAD rating and filter life expectancy and cost, it provides one of the best values available and also because I wanted an air purifier with separate HEPA and carbon filters (many of the composite 2-in-1/3-in-1 provide a more compact filter altogether, with less thickness at each level and less surface for air to be filtered through). I live downtown and have pets, so both dust and smells can be an issue. It’s been running on turbo most days and sometimes overnight.PROS:arrived quickly and on timeeasy/no setup out of the boxdoes what it’s supposed to – upon inspecting the filter after running for about 10 days, there was already a layer of dust/particles on the reusable filter that I was able to easily vacuum offtakes a minute, but will reduce lingering lysol smell (if I spray anything indoors, usually it takes hours for the smell to go away, but with this air purifier running, the intensity of the smell is immediately reduced and gone faster than it would otherwise)very quiet, unless running on turbodoes ok job in a space much larger than recommended (around 480 ft^2 instead of the indicated 360 ft^2, but I’m on the market for a second unit because if you want really clean air/”great” performance in that kind of space, this alone will not do it)takes little spacevery easy to move around (minus power cord limitations)CONS:direction matters – I find myself rotating it around the room somewhat frequently, changing which way it’s facing will often trigger the sensor and turn the indicator from blue (clean) to red – it maybe worth trying one of those 360 degree units, however, their filters tend to be “all in one”, so it’d be a trade offdirection matters x2 – sometimes even if it’s in the immediate kitchen space but “facing” outward, it doesn’t start to capture and reduce smells until rotated 180 degrees to face exactly the area you want cleanedthe sensor is a VOC/odor sensor, meaning it doesn’t get triggered by amount of particles/dust – while I don’t think this is a con for everyone, it’s the main reason I’m running it on turbo most of the time – I can’t get a measure of dust in the air, and with pets in the house, there is always dust to go aroundhas Plasmawave feature and turns it on by default upon starting, which I don’t want to use due to ozone by-product concerns (but you can easily turn this off with one push of a button)turbo fan level noise – while it’s not “loud” by any means (I doubt any other machine of this size and comparable power would be much quieter, I have a tiny one that can be louder than this one on max speed!) the noise is audible and can get annoying after a few hours, however, when running it on a lower fan speed (even on 3 and turbo would be 4), you can barely tell it’s workingNOTES:no intrusive air blown in one direction, but makes the room cooler overall (same effect like running your hvac on “fan” instead of “AC”)needs to run on turbo to really get the air moving around the room – as long as the motor doesn’t mind this, I don’t necessarily consider it a con
41 people found this helpful
Kevin L –
Good value, well made, works as advertised.
Works well. It is very sensitive to air quality and automatically speeds up when it senses higher particulate levels and/or odors. The sleep mode works very well, unit runs at night but is so quiet it can’t be heard. It usually runs at the lowest speed during the day and even that is almost unnoticeable. Replacement filters are a little pricey but filter life seems pretty good.
4 people found this helpful
Johanna W –
Great function and value
Excellent air purifier at this price point. I observe that it quickly removes odors from chemicals, cooking, and wood smoke coming in from outdoors.I have pollen allergies, and Winix provides improvement in my breathing and itching eyes.I have a unit in the Parrot Room, and it cleans feather dust from the air, along with gasses and particulates which could cause serious health damage to these extremely sensitive little family members.Filters are easy to clean and replace, and the entire purifier is lightweight enough to easily move around the house without being flimsy.I had older Winix models from about 7 years ago. One developed motor noise (bearings?). I hope that has been corrected as it was the only shortcoming.A very good value and investment in health and quality of life.
8 people found this helpful
David –
Fantastic Machine, Automatic, Very Quiet, Great looking
** 3-week update **After a few weeks a clicking noise developed in the fan when running on the sleep (lowest) speed. Looking at the fan it appears there maybe an imbalance that over the weeks developed into a motor shaft tapping. Make sure to inspect your unit for a balanced fan. I just issued a replacement on the 5500-2 so we’ll see what happens.** Original **I spent weeks comparing units on Amazon and elsewhere. I didn’t want to spent > 200 on an overbuilt fan, or be stuck buying overpriced filters. I ended up buying the Winix 5500-2 and Renpho AP002 and first impressions with the two units are that they both appear well built, quiet, and have the automatic mode I really wanted.TL;DR;Winix 5300-2 – Quieter w/Smarter hands off Automatic technology & Ionizer – Set and Forget!Winix 5500-2 – Identical in Black w/Remote & washable carbon filterRenpho AP001 – Incredible unit, Amazing filters, Low cost ownership!Renpho AP002 – Almost identical, slightly more air volumeFILTERSThe Renpho filter has a price and feature advantage over the Winix. Both units have H13 Hepa filters, both have the honeycomb active carbon filters (for capturing VOC), and both have a washable pre-filters for catching large particles. The Renpho however has 2 bonus layers, a microbial coating on the Hepa filter, and an additional charcoal filter sitting before the carbon filter to collect larger particles. The Winix does claim the active carbon filter is washable – Renpho does not make this claim, however both appear similar so it maybe purely marketing. The Renpho filter is shorter and fatter – if you ran the numbers they both likely have similar surface area, thought the Winix is CADR rated for 360 sqr/ft while the Renpho is 330 sqr/ft. They are close.Renpho OEM filters sell for $25 for a full replacement. Winix OEM filters sell for $50 for a full replacement. Renpo claims the filter should be changed every 6 months, Winix claims every 12. I assume this is reflected in their price strategy, however since the filters are so similar, I doubt both claims can be true – and this all depends on how dirty your air is! So cost of ownership is likely less with the Renpho.AIR IONIZATIONThe Winix comes with an Ionizer (called Plasmawave) and Renpho does NOT. The Ionizer charges any particles passing through the unit so they are heavier and will float to the ground and out of air. If you’re concerned about Ozone gasses, then this is a feature you can disable and is not a feature on the Renpho.SOUNDThis is a real issue for me – I am sensitive to sound and like the home quiet at night. Deciding on a unit for my children makes this even more important, and I don’t want to force them into a white machine for air filtration. In Sleep mode the Winix is significantly more quiet at (advertised) 26dB where the Renpho is at 35dB. With the Winix 10ft from the bed I can just barely hear it. The Renpho is noticable but not “loud”. The Winix appears to have 5 speed modes, Sleep, Low, Med, High, and Turbo. The Renpho has just 3 modes, Low, Med, High, with Sleep mode being the Low mode with lights off. Here’s the rub however – outside of Sleep mode, the Winix sounds “louder” having a higher pitched whine while the Renpho is more of a hum. If I was going to just set this on High in a corner and forget it, then Renpho is the winner. For a quiet bedroom the Winix appears the winner.AUTOMATIC MODEThis was a huge feature for me and the Winix is a much “smarter” unit. Both units have a similar Automatic feature, sensing the air, bringing the fan speed up or down according to the readings. Both have light(s) indicating the current air quality reading. The Winix however had a light sensor that, when the unit is in Automatic mode, will place the unit in Sleep mode when the lights go out (for more than 1 min). In the morning the unit goes back into Automatic mode. This is huge if you appreciate how quiet the unit is. You can set the Winix to Automatic mode and not touch it until your next filter cleaning. If you wish to use the Sleep mode on the Renpho you will need to push the Speed button to cycle through the speed options back to Sleep – and then again in the morning cycle back to Auto. In reality you maybe better covering the lights with black tape and leaving it in Auto or just leave it in Sleep mode permanently.REMOTEWinix has one, Renpho not – for my needs this is a non-issue.CHILD LOCKRenpho has one, Winix does not – this is a great feature if young kids are around!APPEARANCEPersonally I think the Winix looks clean, modern, and the black color blends well into a corner near furniture. The Renpho AP002 like the Renpho AP001 have their signature funky look which is fine but not as refined. It’s an air purifier, so who cares, but it is also a visible piece of equipment in your home.For us the Winix seems more appropriate for a bedroom, the Renpho for a living room. Winix higher cost of ownership justified by the features and sound levels, Renpho for lower ownership cost.If the Renpho unit was QUIETER (ahem – hint hint Renpho) then I would just go that route – save on upfront and ownership cost.SIMILAR MODELSThe Winix 5300-2 and Winix 5500-2 are the exact same physical unit in different colors with different filters. The 5300 is gray, the 5500 is black. Only the 5500 has a remote. The 5500 has their “advanced” AOC Washable Active Carbon filter, while the 5300 has a disposable active carbon. The 5300 Hepa filter is slightly thicker (good) and you get 4 disposable filters with each replacement. If you buy the 5500 and don’t like the washable filter it comes with you can buy the 5300 replacement pack and use them instead. For $23 more we went with the Winix 5500-2 to test the AOC filter, and for the black aesthetic. Currently you can get the 5300-2 for $129 (Amazon) and when I purchased the Winix 5500-2 for $152 (now listed at $159 on Amazon).The Renpho AP001 (often found as RP-AP001 or AP-001) and Renpho AP002 are very similar products, both using the exact same filters, having different aesthetic designs, and with the AP002 having more airflow (for supposedly the same sound levels) and covering 30 sqr/ft more space. The AP001 has a dedicated Sleep button while the AP002 Sleep mode is the first option on the Speed cycle button – more daily button work for you. Currently the AP001 sells for $99 (Renpho direct) while the AP002 for $137 (Amazon). I bought the AP002 thinking the newer model maybe more quiet than advertised. If we get another Renpho it will be the AP001 for $37 bucks less.
784 people found this helpful
Allen D. ReineckeAllen D. Reinecke –
One of the better rated air purifiers, but…
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UPDATE 3:.Nov 17 2023, and about 9 months in, I just changed the filters, using genuine Winix filters. The HEPA filter was pretty clogged, as heard from the higher, noisier airflow after changing it. The filter change light had come on a few days ago. I have blown out the HEPA filter several times but I guess a 6-month change is going to be ideal for our home, with all the pet hair and dander..The unit continues to run flawlessly on speed ‘3’, 24/7, and noticeably reduces the amount of dust in the living room. The air quality LED is always blue. I read that the sensor only senses odors, not dust, which is probably why. The only exception is when it picks up my freshly applied cologne!.Definitely a recommended air purifier, though I’m also going to try the Coway Airmega AP-1512HH in our bedroom since there is an Amazon deal. It is also a highly commended and comparable air purifier. It senses dust level, though the carbon filter is inferior..UPDATE 2:.6 weeks in and the purifier is definitely reducing the dust in the living room. I have cleaned the filter elements a couple times and noticed a couple issues. The screen has two snap-in features halfway up the sides. If you don’t ensure they are pushed in fully, dust will bypass the screen, as shown by a gray build-up on the carbon filter at those two areas. Those snaps also cause a problem when removing a dirty screen. The screen vibrates as you pull it out and the snaps disengage with some force. The dust on the screen falls off and makes quite a mess (see photo). You cannot stop this from happening.Other than these, the purifier is working well..UPDATE 1:.It’s been a week and the dust level in the living room is noticeably less, as seen by the much fewer particle count on the surfaces. It’s also helping in the adjacent dining room. It’s been on speed 3 24/7, only on Turbo when I vacuum. I’ve already rinsed the prescreen filter and used a damp cloth to wipe the light accumulation from the mesh on the carbon filter.About 3 days in, I researched the best location for an air purifier. I found some articles that recommended raising the unit 2 to 3ft off the floor. So, I placed my Winix on the side table. It seems to be working well. While I can’t prove it’s any more effective, it will certainly improve the room air circulation, being more in the center of the airspace. This should also capture more airborne particles..The LED bar has only once changed from blue to red. It was because of my cologne!! I had just showered and applied my cologne. As I walked into the room, I saw a red bar. A few minutes later it went back to blue. I got my cologne bottle and sprayed it a few feet from the air purifier and it immediately turned red. The sensor certainly picks up odors!.I’m still very pleased with the Winix 5500-2 and my daily electricity consumption is not noticeable. Being an engineer, I have a spreadsheet to record my daily kWh year-round! ;-).ORIGINAL REVIEW:.We have 2 dogs and a cat, in a 100-year-old home with air heating blown through old wooden and rusty tin ducts and floor spaces. So, there’s lots of dust. In my research, I saw that dust is never eliminated by air purifiers but can be reduced if it’s suspended in the air and near the filters. It never hurts to have clean air to breathe either..The Winix 5500-2 seems to have good performance reviews and at just $145 is excellent value, especially since it contains an activated carbon filter with pelletized carbon within a honeycomb and mesh housing, and not the thin impregnated fabric, which has little absorption capacity and does little. The replacement filters aren’t too expensive when you consider the carbon and pre-screen filters are both washable and will extend the time between filter replacement. The power consumption is low too at only 13.2W on Speed 3, the most practical setting in my opinion (see later). 1kWh of electricity is only consumed after 76 hours, or 3 days, of use. So, in a month, running 24/7, you’ll only consume just under 10 kWh; just over a $1 where I live. Not bad at all..When you first plug the unit in and turn it on, it will start up in AUTO mode and it will cycle through the colors on the air quality LED bar as well as play a little tune. On subsequent uses of just the power button, the cycling does not occur and the chime plays, though the color might change as it samples the air quality. It always starts in AUTO with the PLASMAWAVE function on. You have to manually turn that off if so desired.NOTE: the air quality sensor just senses odors, not dust or pollen particles. It’s very limited in its usefulness. I have a nose to tell me if there are odors! I’d never seen anything other than a blue bar in my living room. Neither the smoke from a single match near the sensor, nor the scent of a candle burning in the room, changed it from blue. However, my wife made a Grilled Cheese sandwich in the kitchen and when I went into the living room, the LED bar was red. Interesting, as the smell was very minimal! I switched to AUTO mode to see if the fan would spool up to Turbo mode, as it should when indicating red. It didn’t. Then the bar changed back to blue. Not sure if it was a software glitch or what. I see little use for the sensor with its limited sensing. 1 Star lost! ☹The lights are very annoying even in a brightly lit room and absolutely blinding in the dark. They are so bright yet cannot be turned off. The only time they do go off is in the dark, due to the light sensor, but only if the mode is on AUTO, or if you manually select SLEEP mode. The Auto and Sleep mode white light indicators remain on all the time and are still bright.In AUTO mode at night, if the sensor doesn’t detect any odor, as mine doesn’t, the speed is at miniscule SLEEP speed as that is the predetermined setting for nighttime, which is basically of little use. So, for effective air purification at night in your bedroom, either enjoy the room-illuminating, blue backlight with the fan speed set at 1 or 2, or place a piece of thick card over the lights. This is a bad design feature and loses another Star in my rating! ☹.For noise levels, Max. level 4 (turbo mode) is very noisy. Just like a simple, cheap window fan. In my living room, it’s not practical to have it running on 4 while watching TV. If you like lots of white noise, this is the setting for you. On setting 3, the TV is watchable and you just get a low-level, pleasant fan hum. My video tries to capture this, and the bright lights. It’s perfectly acceptable at level 3 and has good air cleaning performance. Levels 2 and 1 are very quiet, but of course you are sacrificing fan speed and performance. Speed 3 is half the cleaning power of speed 4. My heating air vents make more noise than speed 3 when the heating is running.I just leave the air purifier on speed 3, with PLASMAWAVE on, cover the LED display with cardboard and run the Winix 24/7. Initially, I did run at speed 4 for an hour, along with teh ceiling fan, to clean the air after vacuuming. This is useful whenever you see lots of floaters, or you have smells in the room you want to eliminate quickly..The exhaust flow from the top vent is biased toward the right, when looking at the front of the 5500-2, by about 30 degrees. This is because the fan is a hamster wheel design, sucking into the center, blowing out radially, and there are baffles inside the exhaust chamber below the top vent, directing the air out of the fan up and to the right side. That is actually useful to develop a circulating airflow around the room, especially on speed 4..Per Airpurifiersfirst, CADR scores for dust are 243, pollen 246, and smoke 232.Fan airflows are… sleep mode 35.3 cfm speed 1 70.6 cfm speed 2 91.8 cfm speed 3 123.6 cfm& speed 4 (turbo) 240.1 cfm.I did not receive the wall-mounted caddy for the small remote. Not happy about that omission, but I wouldn’t have used it anyway. So, no biggie. The remote is limited in its functions (no Plasmawave or timer control), and it’s not that necessary in my opinion. I rarely change the settings and I’m up anyway when I want to. You may like having it..CONCLUSION:.The Winix 5500-2 seems to be working very well. It sits in a 15ft x 16ft x 10ft high (2400+ cubic ft) carpeted living room, with a staircase and a 7ft wide opening into an adjacent 14ft x 14ft x 9ft (1770 cubic ft) hard floor dining room. After vacuuming, dusting and running for an hour in turbo mode, then setting it to speed 3, it’s been running 3 days and the air is actually pretty dust free. This afternoon, the sun was shining in the window and that’s when you see all those particles floating in the air. I saw nothing, literally. Only when the dogs walked through the sunlight did the shedding dander show up in their wake. I could actually see some particles float into the air purifier, some simply landed on the carpet. No air purifier is going to get everything and hair will still pile up on the floor. Turbo mode will get more, certainly not all, but at the cost of excessive noise and energy.The surfaces in the room usually collect a fine dust layer very quickly, one you can write in! So far, after 3 days, I have negligible dust settling compared with before the purifier, and just a few larger particles on the glass TV stand, for example. So that has been a pleasant surprise. 😉Looking at the front face of the black carbon filter, I can see that fine dust is collecting on the mesh. It’s a lighter shade than the back face. That material is really fine as it has managed to get through the pre-screen. It’s good that this filter is washable!At $145 for this level of performance and filtration (go see Airpurifierfirst’s comprehensive reviews), I do think this is an excellent buy. It has its faults with those annoying lights and a limited sensor. If those were addressed, this would be an absolute winner.I might well buy a second unit, but will see how it performs longer term, and report back. Fingers crossed I don’t need to invoke the 2-year warranty!
591 people found this helpful
GinoGino –
Best Bang For Your Buck
I’ve been looking for a new air purifier for almost a year now, doing research here and there trying to find a unit that meets all the requirments I’m looking for. I need a unit that’s for a larger room, has an auto feature, has good priced replacement filters, and looks good to match my home decor. A recent 80,000 acre fire hastened my research due to the thick blanket of smoke that blanket the area (and still is) every morning. With all things considered, the Winix 5500-2 met all my requiements.The unit arrived promptly and unpackaging was an ease. I literally had it set up ans running in about 5 minutes. The body is a hard, matte black plastic that feels sturdy and durable. The front panel is easy to remove, and secures to the unit via a clever magnetic clasp that is secure, yet simple to remove to access your prefilter for bi weekly cleaning and hepa/carbon filter replacement. There are 3 filters in total, and they fit snugly inside the filter chamber, amd ate secured in with the prefilter that snaps firmly into place.The control panel at the top is intuituve and user friendly. The buttons are clearly marked and visual ques explain what each button does taking out any guesswork as to what they do. A stylish indicator light bar runs along the bottom of the control panel indicating the level of air cleanliness with a 3 color scheme…green for clean, orange for okay, and red for bad. You can manually run the machine on 4 fan settings, or choose auto mode and let the machine choose the settings based on the data colected from the sensor. This means hands off operation. There’s a night mode that will set the fan to its lowest setting to cut down on noise, and also dim all lights on the panel. This night mode will set automatically if you have the auto mode set on the unit, a light sensor will detect (or not detect) any light in the room and go into night mode. A filter change indicator light also is on the control panel. According to what i’ve researched, the hepa filter should last approx 1 year. It also comes with a remote control with a battery preinstalled. I dont plan on using it, but if that’s your thing, it’s there.This is the quietest air purifier I’ve ever owned. On level 1, it’s almost undetectable, and even on level 4 turbo mode, it’s no louder than a standing floor fan on high. This was a very pleasant surprise.It cleans the air well. I’m currently using it in my 350 sq ft bedroom. I don’t have the equipment to test it, but per their website I should be getting at least 4 air changes per hour which is the amount of air exchanges you need for allergies and serious air purification. I’ve had no smoke smell AT ALL in the bedroom when I run this with the door shut to the rest of the home and it was initially startling to walk from the bedroom into the rest of the home after the first night of using it.This unit has more than exceeded my expecations ans meets all the things I was looking for in an air purifier. I plan on purchasing 2 more of these when money permits for my combined kitchen/dining/living room area that totals 700 sq ft. I can place these at opposite sides of the area and get more than ample coverage. I would highly reccomend this unit. For the price and the feature list, this just can’t be beat. The cost is low, the replacement filters don’t cost an arm and a leg, it covers a large area, and you get a lot of features.09/28/20192 years later and this machine is STILL going strong. Besides the occasional vacuuming of the pre filter and the yearly filter changes, I’ve had this guy quietly working away in the house keeping my air clean. Can definitely say at this point that it’s a durable machine!08/20/20203 years later and still working! I’m only posting this update because I find myself in ANOTHER horrible fire season for California, and I’m in a zone getting insane amounts of smoke. Besides regular cleanings on the pre filter, and my yearly change out of the hepa and carbon filter, not much else to report. I really hadnt expected this thing to last this long as I run it 24/7, often on its highest setting to get maximum results. I own 2 now, I bought another one last year to get more coverage throughout the house. I would highly recommend this until to anyone.01/03/2022I was buying a new filter today on here and remembered that I actually had a review for this product. I’ve owned this air purifier for 5 years now. I just added 2 more photos (should be the last 2 in my string of pictures) just to show that I STILL own this device. 5 years of literal CONSTANT USE. I’ve had it set on the 3rd setting, just 1 below it’s highest setting, for nearly this entire time. I have absolute confidence stating that this is a solid piece of machinery. I’m actually shocked that this guy hasn’t given up on me yet! If you’re worried about durability, at least in my case, yes, this is a very durable air purifier. Winix created a home run product with this one. I think that this may be my FINAL update on the product (unless of course it survives for 10 years, in which case I may throw a party for the thing!)***I also want to add to those who say this device produces harmful amounts of ozone. That’s simply not true. You can go to the California Air Resource Board, specifically to the section under California Certified Air Cleaning Devices. This will show you a list of air purifiers that have been tested by the state and produce under 0.050 ppm of ozone. This device, and all others from Winix, are on the list. That means that this device is at, or below, the levels indicated as safe. Make sure when reading reviews you guys do your own follow up research on an item. It’s insane the amount of bad information that’s out there! Dont take anyones word, look up what they claim!***
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