Air purification is something that you should be able to count on especially if you live in the city and the air in your apartment is heavily polluted by smoke, or if you’ve got a lot of pets at home that tends to release a lot of bad odor. It’s something that you might also need if you tend to have any kind of mild respiratory conditions like asthma, and can be easily triggered by the mildest impurities in the air. The 5500-2 Winix air purifier could be a great option to consider, (although not the best air purifier around) especially since it is manufactured in Korea where the air quality is not so good, and because it relies on plasma wave technology to keep your air clean. Could it be the most highly-acclaimed air purifier with a washable filter for you? Let’s find out.
Why We Like It – Winix Plasmawave 5500
Hands down, the Winix Plasmawave 5500 is one of the best air purifiers on the market. Its use of carbon filters for odor control, a HEPA filter, and plasma wave technology to purify the air is quite robust, but you must be careful enough to get replacement filters every 12 months for proper functioning.
- 4-stage filtering process
- Air quality indicator
- Sleep mode & Auto mode for autonomous functioning
- Large and bulky in size
Power/Speed
The Winix Plasmawave air filter is best suited for a room size that’s up to 360 sq ft, making it far more capable compared to the Blueair Blue Pure 411 air purifier which only works in a room size of between 100 to 170 square feet. It’s also got a comprehensive 4 stage filtration process: In the first stage, the air gets through a washable fine mesh pre-filter which eliminates the largest airborne pollutants. It then goes through the washable AOC carbon filter to get rid of any household odors. After going through the carbon filter, it then passes through the True HEPA filter to eliminate any airborne allergens, then lastly, ionization happens courtesy of Winix plasma wave technology to neutralize bacteria and viruses.
Efficiency
Given the 4 filtration stages that the air purifier Winix has, it’s pretty easy to assume that it probably takes up a lot of energy to get things done. But, compare Winix to Coway to see which one is better. While this might be true, there are ways that you can mitigate and reduce this high energy use, and one such way is by running it on sleep mode during nighttime, or on auto mode so that it uses an air quality sensor to gauge what fan speeds to run on. Unlike the Hamilton beach 04386a air purifier, the unit is actually energy-star certified, so you should trust that it won’t spike your electricity bill too much once you start using it. You can also check out our Winix Air Purifier C535 Review for an air purifier that does not produce ozone.
Versatility
Like the Trusens air purifier, the Winix 5500 is a True HEPA air purifier and definitely assured to rid the air of even the smallest particles, since the True Hepa filter captures allergens as small as 0.3 microns (such as pollen and pet dander). Its odor-reducing activated carbon filter rids the air of all the bad odors that you might’ve been taking in, and with an air quality indicator on the control panel, you’ll always have an idea of how pure the air in your 360 sq ft room is in real-time – something you won’t find on the Hamilton Beach 04386A air purifier. Go through our Wynd Plus Smart Personal air purifier review if you’d love a personal air purifier with air quality sensors.
Durability
Like most home appliances, the duration of time that you’re going to be able to use them depends on how well you’re able to maintain and take care of them in the long run. This includes doing things like filter replacement for the activated carbon filter or the HEPA filter whenever it needs to be done, and cleaning and reusing the air purifier filter, if applicable. The opportunity to sign up for filter membership is also worth thinking about since Winix can send you a replacement filter every year. Aside from that, the Winix 5500 also comes with a two-year manufacturer’s warranty, which is far better than the 1-year warranty that you’ll get with the hamilton beach true air purifier.
Value
With 3 fan speeds to choose from, you’ll be able to decide how fast the fan needs to operate, or just switch it to auto mode for it to decide for itself. It’s also got a light sensor that detects the amount of light in the room, and automatically switches it to night mode when it senses low light levels. The unit also comes with a remote control so that you’re able to control and adjust it from a distance. Aside from all that, the Winix Plasmawave 5500 has a decent Clean Air Delivery Rate, and is AHAM verified, so you shouldn’t have any doubts about its efficiency.
Winix Plasmawave 5500 Wrap Up
The Plasma wave technology used by the Winix 5500 is quite unique, and is not something that you can expect to find in most air purifiers. Most of the customer reviews left by customers who purchased the unit are positive, so if you have an extra $160 to spare, it wouldn’t be a very bad purchase to make.
