Winix finally retired the crazily famous Winix 5500 in favor of the 5500-2 Air purifier.
And the early signs indicate that they have again gotten it right.
Here is our thorough Winix 5500-2 review.
The Winix 5500-2 air purifier: At a glance
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The optional plasma wave setting, granulated carbon filter, and air quality sensor (auto mode) headline its solid list of handy features.
Others include the excellent turbo mode which gets rid of stinking irritants like farts swiftly and the convenient remote control.
I’m particularly pleased with the sleep mode- it helps you sleep soundly by adjusting the light and the fan speed.
It employs a 3-stage air purifying system and dazzles in capturing pollen, dust, pet hair, mold spores, chemical vapors, nasty odors, and more.
It’s easily one of the most accomplished air filtration units for medium and larger spaces I have come across.
Comprehensive Winix 5500-2 Review
Let’s now dig deeper into this air cleaner, yet another shining star from Winix.
Win 5500-2: Design and construction
For the most part, the construction is very sturdy and of superb quality.
The design is contemporary- thin and rectangular- and it looks great wherever you fit it.
It measures 15 x 8.2 x 23.6 inches and feels lightweight enough – weighs just 15.4 lbs- and you can easily move it around.
Plus, it has a neat built-in handle at the back, further enhancing portability.
You’ll find the first-time setup simple as well and it comes with a magnetic cover attachment to help you change filters easily.
There’s one glaring oversight by the manufacturer though: You won’t get many color options here.
Win 5500-2: Performance and operation
For a very long time, the Winix 5500-2 was the real deal in the medium-large air purifier space.
And the Winix 5500-2 air purifier with true HEPA, PlasmaWave and odor-reducing washable AOC carbon filter is just as good and an upgrade in other ways including being more versatile.
The triple-stage filtration system comprises a mesh pre-filter (terrific for pet hair), charcoal filter (awesome for smells), and HEPA filter (traps residual pollutants/ allergens – as fine as 0.3 microns- with 99.97% efficiency).
Better still, you can turn on the plasma wave option to neutralize pollutants that filters struggle to clean out including pesky microbes and viruses.
The fan provides magnificent airflow and you can set 4 speeds-low, medium, high, or powerful turbo.
You move the fan speeds up/down using the remote or the digital control button- both work well.
And you can tell if it’s working by observing the color change on the front LED light.
You can also switch to auto mode.
Here, the purifier automatically shifts into top gear immediately after the smart air quality sensor detects increased pollution.
Moving on, the first 2 settings are silent and you get gentle white noise at the third set.
Turbo offers maximum airflow and is unsurprisingly louder.
Finally, the filters will save you some bucks as you’ll be replacing the HEPA filter only– and just once yearly.
You wash the other 2.
Win 5500-2: Power rating and comparative energy efficiency
So, is this a disaster when it comes to energy bills?
Well, it draws 70 Watts at the turbo setting but it’s much more conservative when on auto but for when it senses more bad air.
It thus topples the Coway AP-1512HH (78 watts) but trails the Honeywell hpa100 (48 watts) though the latter works for smaller spaces.
Having said that, it’s energy star certified so it has passed all the standard energy efficiency thresholds.
Win 5500-2: Room capacity
You can deploy this air purifier practically anywhere- your kid’s bedroom, living room, kitchen, home office…you name it.
It’s actually one of the best air purifiers in the market today for medium and larger rooms.
But ideally, your rooms shouldn’t exceed 360 sq. feet to achieve the best air quality rapidly.
It has formidable CADR ratings of 243 (dust), 232 (smoke), and 246 (pollen) CFMs against 246 (dust), 233 (smoke), and 240 (pollen) for its close rival, Coway AP-1512HH (361 sq.ft).
Both maintain 4 air changes per hour.
Winix 5500-2: Warranty and support
Like other Winix air purifiers, this comes with a 2-year warranty.
In comparison, the Honeywell HPA300 comes with a 5-year warranty while the Germguardian ac4100 comes with a 1-year warranty.
Reassuringly, you can access very kind, helpful telephone support from the Winix support team.
What I like about the product
- Absolutely quiet.
- Nice features like auto shutoff and remote control
- Looks so stylish.
What I don’t like about the product
- It feels a bit heavy.
- No automatic shutoff
Conclusion/my opinion
The winix 5500-2 air purifier exhibits a smooth, reassuring operation and outstanding efficiency on the job.
The design looks modern and it gives you nice options like the plasma wave setting and a functional light sensor.
The size looks slightly over the top but that aside, it could be a great choice for any room.
Winix 5500-2 filter replacement
If you want to replace Winix 5500-2 filter, go for this.
Where to buy
We are almost concluding our Winix 5500-2 review and it’s only fair that I mention where you can buy this.
Now, you can get this from any of the leading online stores and in some brick-and-mortar stores.
Here are some sellers:
- Amazon.
- HomeDepot.com.
- Walmart.
Online sellers tend to offer discounted prices.
