Winix 5300-2 Air Purifier with True HEPA, PlasmaWave and Odor Reducing Carbon Filter

We bought this purifier in 2019 to help improve the air quality in an apartment. The building was older and had a ventilation system that, during the winter, would pull cooking smells, smoke, and other odors into our living space. The overall timing turned out to be fortuitous since we ended up spending a lot more time indoors when the pandemic kicked off a year later. The immediate effect of the purifier was noticeable. Unwanted odors were improved, there was less dust in the air, and we experienced fewer allergy symptoms. Especially since we were in a smaller space (~600 sq ft), this thing really did a great job, even staying on its low setting. It was great piece of mind knowing the air quality was a bit better for our newborn, too. We’ve since moved into a larger house and this thing is still humming along in our living room. I’m sure it’s less effective in such a large open space, but it’s positioned near our A/C air return, so it’s cleaning up a lot of the air as the A/C circulates air through the whole house. It has remained quiet and effective. I just vacuum out the dust shield every couple weeks, replace or vacuum out the charcoal filter every few months, and change the HEPA filter out annually. Overall, I don’t think you can beat this for the price. I like that it doesn’t have a remote, an app, and other extraneous things when all I need is cleaner air. I’ll likely upgrade to something larger at some point, but I’ve been super happy with this little guy for over 5 years now.

This thing works! Like many other users, I regret not having invested in a air purifier until now. Being that my little room is right next to a public parking lot and near the street roads, a lot of dust gets collected. A lot. I'm not sure even I have allergies or whatnot (as I don't have a need to take any medicine) but I do find myself sneezing a lot more often prior to getting this purifier. This would often lead to a decrease in my mood and often times even very frustrated. Definitely not good. The Winix 5300-2 is one of the best rated air purifiers on Amazon but I actually had intended to go with its bigger brother, the 5500-2, instead. However, due to shipping restrictions, Amazon was not able to deliver it to my state. The major difference between the two from my recollection is that the 5500-2 actually incorporates a different type of carbon filter that is stronger than the 5300-2 and is therefore able to absorb odor a lot better. After having used the 5300-2 for about two months with it working nonstop 24/7, I am happy to say that it definitely helps in minimizing the dust in my room as evident in my screenshot along with many other reviewers. The amount of dust captured in the pre-screen filter is insane. Prior to the purifier, there would be a thick coating of dust on my glass computer table and I'd have to wipe it every two weeks or so if I wasn't too lazy. With the purifier, I have wiped the table just once these past two months! The difference made is incredible. Be forewarned that the purifier will not be able to capture every single mote of dust. My glass table along with other furniture items still have dust sitting on them but it is nowhere near the level it was prior and that's okay with me. I now no longer sneeze as much which in turn allows for me to be in a much more positive mood as I'm less irritated. It's hilarious when someone mentioned the lights on the unit turning color when they farted in the room. Suffice it to say, yes, this unit pass the fart test for me as well. Farting in the room will have the unit usually picking up the bad air fairly quickly and the color will change to orange. If it's really bad, it will turn red. Quite hilarious but I'm relieved to know I have a quick trial on hand to test if the unit is still working properly! What this unit doesn't do too well is masking or filtering bad odor. I have a neighbor below me that likes to smoke in the balcony. While I personally don't mind the smell of cigarettes wafting into my room, the 5300-2 did little to mask the odor. So although it is able to detect bad odor due to the light changing colors, I'll have to trust whatever technology it is using to clean that air for me because it doesn't really get rid of the actual smell itself. If you're looking to eliminate foul odor, you'll definitely want to pickup the 5500-2 instead. The little extra money spent should be well worth it. The 5500-2 comes with a 1-yr supply of carbon filter replacements so that was very generous of them to provide. The pre-screen filter is washable. Also, my electricity bill only jumped a little with this guy running 24/7 for a full month and I'd say its worth every single penny!

8/24: I'll be updating this over time but thus far, I'm very happy with this purifier. I had finally redecorated my room, but with new bedding, curtains and other various textiles, off gassing became a problem. I didn't have a problem until I opened windows on a damp cooler night...that's when it became apparent. I also have two cats and live in a 100 yr old home. Though I like to keep a clean environment throughout (weekly cleanings), and clean litter boxes several times a day (you see cats but don't smell them), one could easily see all the dust sparkles in the sunshine that float around. Despite changing the furnace filter monthly, dust still happens. I needed help with both dust and off gassing. Not all purifiers offer both. After doing A LOT of homework with research and reviews, I purchased this. It has helped immensely with getting rid of the smell and I'll launder items again to hopefully put a stop to t it as I can smell off gassing once home. However, it clears up with this on. I use this in my bedroom and after 24 hours of use, I woke to see barely any sparkles in the sunshine. I literally had to search for them! I couldn't believe it! I love the sleep option as well since I like the room dark. Also being a light sleeper, I appreciated this being whisper quiet. Set up was a breeze and it was up and running within minutes. I also ordered a pack of filters at time of purchase to have on hand. I plan on ordering a second purifier for the first floor in the near future. I've no opinion on durability as of yet, only had this a matter of days. A big thank you to those before me who wrote very thorough and extremely helpful reviews bringing up information I had no knowledge of with purifiers. They helped me to decide which color (model) to get. So far so good....will update as time goes on.

> 1 year use everyday Note for frugal: If you are frugal, go on youtube and find home-made Air filter. After researching filters, I realized they are mostly just box fans with a HEPA filter attached. This does have an air purifier that apparently DOESN'T create ozone, however after a year of straight use (no turning off), it has started to VERY quietly hum/click a bit. I keep it off and turn it on when I feel like there is a lot of allergy-inducing particles in the air (window open in pollen season) Summary: This thing works and the air quality is considerably better having it run for just a few minutes on high (small or small-mid size room). The mesh is amazing. The HEPA filter is self-explanatory and great. The carbon filter is worrying (more below) My most important takeaway: After reading a comment that talked about black fuzz from the carbon filter, I looked at dust in my room that had accumulated (much, much, much less than before due to the product). I ran my finger across the dust and looked at it closely. I noticed black fibers that another comment had mentioned. I do not want to be breathing that crap in so I removed the carbon filter leaving the HEPA filter and the mesh. After removing the black carbon filter, and checking spots in my room where dust accumulates. I found there was no more black fibers to be found. The carbon filter degrades or breaks apart and somehow gets around the HEPA filter. Would remove but the product itself is amazing. Extra Info: Sound: 2 is quiet and I am sensitive to noises so 1 should be less than noticeable for users who do not like fan/white noise. 4 is loud but loud also means a lot of air is moving. The range of volume/air movement is great and doesn't leave anything to be wanted. Additional Recommendations: 1. Remove the carbon filter. I am 90% confident it was releasing black fibers into the air in my room and settled with the other dust. I care about my health which is why I got this in the first place so I will not be experimenting to see if black fibers accumulate (read above for more info) 2. I removed the front magnetized panel so that there is less coverage for the air intake and filtering. Keep it on for looks, take it off for efficiency. 3. The mesh is absolutely amazing. 100% recommend for asthma sufferers. This thing improved my symptoms when I was suffering from weird symptoms after running on high in less than 5 minutes.

I smoke cigars and live in a small brick rancher. I run two air filters, one in the back of the house and one in the room where I smoke. This is air cleaner replaced one of my older Hunter air cleaners that died. It is a very nice looking unit, very stylish and the panel displays all of the functions so you know exactly what is going on. There is a light bar on the front that changes from Blue when the air is clean to Yellow when some contamination is detected to Red when heavier levels of contamination are present. Most of the time it will be Blue, but if you are smoking or you fry foods, it will go to Yellow or Red. It is impossible to hear at fan speed 1, it's a slight whisper at 2, at 3 there is a gentle 'whoosh' that is drowned out by conversation or the TV and 4 is like a small jet plane taking off. I find that the auto setting doesn't run at high enough speeds when smoking cigars, so I set the fan speed and leave it at 3. I have never run it at 4 because it moves a LOT of air and is LOUD. Not sure under what circumstances you'd run it at 4, it really is overkill at that speed. I guess if you just smoked a cigar or had string food odors and were going out, you could set it on 4 and leave, but it blows very hard and makes too much noise to sit in the room with it at that level. But don't worry, because 3 is the sweet spot for this machine when smoking/cooking and 2 the rest of the time. Fan speed 3 keeps the cigar smoke under control while smoking and left running overnight, it kills all cigar odor by morning. The prefilter is a very fine, sheer screen. It washes in the kitchen sink in minutes, no soap required. Always remember to point the dirty side down in the sink and spray it from the clean side, that way you are forcing the dirt back OUT of the mesh the way it came in, instead of pushing it INTO the mesh. The carbon filter works well and in a cigar smoking situation lasts about 1.5-2 months. Winix recommends 3 months and in a non-smoking house that is probably about right. I saw someone saying you can vacuum dust off the carbon filter. Yes, you CAN do that but carbon filters work by capturing odors in the microscopic pores of the carbon in the mesh. Vacuuming it will remove dust, but it won't restore the odor capturing properties. Just change out the carbon filter when you notice it's no longer working on odors. Winix (and generic filter suppliers) include 4 carbon pre-filters for each filter. So if you replace the carbon every three months and the HEPA once a year you are set. In a smoking household, expect to change the carbon every 1.5-2 months and the HEPA every 6-8 months. This is because the HEPA filter will eventually absorb enough smoke particles that get past the carbon filter that the output will smell a little stale, even with a clean carbon filter. Filter changes are simple, just pop he panel off, wash pre-filter and swap carbon and/or HEPA; including rinsing the pre-filter you can do it in a couple of minutes. The PlasmaWave works VERY well, beating out my old Hunter for odor removal, despite both using similar HEPA filters and similar 1/4" thick carbon filters. We have a dog and when friends with dog allergies visit they say that their allergies don't even act up, so it's doing a good job of capturing pet dander. During pollen season, you notice relief just minutes after coming inside. I highly recommend this unit for everyone and will be purchasing another when I use up the last of my filters for the Hunter.

If you suffer from allergies, this filter is so worth the money. It's made a major difference in my home this allergy season. It shows a color-coded light that identifies when it's sensed contaminates and what level cleaning is underway: Blue, Orange, Red. I know it's accurate, because if I open the door for any length of time it turns orange. I'm a rather poor cook, and when it gets the least bit smokey inside it turns orange. I usually turn it off when I'm cooking. However, one night I filled the place with smoke, and this unit cleared the air in about two minutes, all the while display the bright red "What are you doing" light. When I first powered this up, it was red for a few hours, letting me know how contaminated the air was in my home without this device. If I leave this on for the day, when I return at night the air has a slight izonization smell... sort of like after a nearby lightening strike; which I'm guessing means it's been doing its job. The filers are kind of pricey, but couldn't even watch TV because my eyes were so watery before I got this unit; so it was worth it. First, there's a simple screen to block the big stuff. I just pop-this out and spray it was the water hose and it's clean in seconds. Behind that screen, there's a 30-day charcoal filter. These aren't reusable, but the unit comes with three of them. That's because the third filter is the micro one, which lasts for 90 days. So you use the three charcoal filters for 90 days, then replace the micro filer as well. An new filter kits comes with another three charcoal and one micro filter, so you're good for another 90 days. After about 45 days my allergies were starting to get bad again, then I remembered I hadn't replaced the 30-day charcoal filter. As soon as I did the air improved. It's pretty quiet. I don't really notice it's running unless I've got it on the maximum speed. At that speed it's loud enough to interfere with hearing the TV, but it's really cranking-out the air as well. Most of the time, I leave it in the auto mode. The sensor works very well, knowing when to kick-in and when to stay dormant. I'm considering getting another for the office.

I’ve had the Costco unit which is pretty much identical to this for four years. It’s been great and still runs like a champ. However, it’s gotten a tiny bit noisy so I decided to take it to my office and am using this newer one for my bedroom. It’s nice and quiet and it keeps my air super clean-a must for asthma sufferers. This unit has four fan settings with the option of using the extra plasma cleaning button. I only put it on that when I leave the room because there’s a possibility of ozone. However, we have an ozone blaster for other uses and I don’t smell any ozone coming out of this, ever. If it exists, it’s a minuscule amount. The only complaint I have is that the little display lights are pretty darn bright for sleeping. I’ve had to take black electrical tape and cut it into small strips to fit over most of the little lights to keep my room dark. I don’t keep the unit on automatic as plasma options could kick on while sleeping, I do keep it at level three out of four and it’s a very mild sounding fan. Level four of the fan is super charge when you really want to clean the room out quickly, so it is noisier. That’s when I turn the plasma option on when I want to get everything super clean. Some people talk about filter build up. However, the instructions do state to change out the inexpensive carbon filter every two months. They say it’s not rinsable with this unit, but I’ve done that with great success. I then take a power vacuum cleaner nozzle To clean out the HEPA filter and that works great to extend its lifetime as well. The unit does come with a couple of extra carbon filters as well. I never use the timer as I like to keep air in my room clean at all times so I run it 24/7 unless I’m going out of town and give it a break.

The Winix 5300-2 Air Purifier has been an excellent addition for us! With two dogs in the house and a lot of cooking, we were constantly battling lingering odors, but this purifier has solved that problem. The True HEPA filter does an amazing job capturing dust, pet dander, and other particles, while the carbon filter eliminates any pet and cooking smells. Now, the air feels fresher, and the house actually smells clean! It works quietly and efficiently, even in larger rooms like our kitchen. Plus, it runs so quietly that we barely notice it's there, even at night. Overall, this purifier exceeded my expectations and is worth every penny if you want to keep your home smelling fresh and free of odors. Highly recommended!