Over the past several years, I have been on a search to find the best reasonably priced bedroom air purifier one that works but doesn''t cost a small fortune. I will give you the basics on my experience with the Winix WAC9500 and then you can see how I rank it against other purifiers I have tried. I have tried the Winix WAC9500 for only one week before writing this review, however I will update this review as my experience with the purifier proceeds.
A little background about the environment where the purifiers were used:
I have had a little more than 4-years of experience with four other purifiers besides the Winix WAC9500, all shown below. All of them were used in a medium-sized bedroom in a dusty environment. Except for the Whirlpool, which I used for 3 years in a downtown city-environment with a busy street outside my window, all of the others were used in dry, dusty, desert-environments with the grand title of having nearly the worst air in the country. Plus there is a cat living in the house (mostly the bedroom where the purifiers have been located). If a purifier can control my allergies (sneezing, very watery eyes, sometimes a sore throat) from the bad air and eliminate any odors made by the cat, I know it is working.
Winix WAC9500
*My overall grade: A
*Replacement filters: $$$
*Replacement needed: Annually
*Overall annual cost of filters: $$ (Update April 14, 2012: We got 322 days [46 weeks] of use before the change filter light came on. Based on the current replacement cost on Amazon.com of $98.00, the daily filter cost comes to around $0.30/day.)
*Effectiveness: A
*Deal breaker: Includes a remote, which is a really nice feature. The most effective, quietest, and cost-effective purifier I have found. Consumes only 15 watts on high. Filter and Plasmawave feature are very effective at cleaning the air and neutralizing odors.
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The Winix WAC9500 purifier is superior to almost any other air purifier I have tried. The closest comparison I can find is to the Surround Air XJ-3800 Intelli-Pro Air Purifier. Both of them have pretty good odor control, however I think I found that the Winix WAC9500 has superior odor and dust DETECTION. While both do pretty much the same with the odors once they are detected, the Winix WAC9500 was better at detecting odors and kicking up the fan speed in "auto mode" to eliminate them. I think I have found that the Winix may have the slight upper hand at eliminating the odors more quickly, but this advantage may come from the better and faster odor detection.
As for noise, I think the Winix is slightly better than the Surround Air XJ-3800. The "high" setting on the Winix, which is less powerful than the "turbo" mode available, is quieter than the highest setting on the Surround Air XJ-3800, yet it seems just as effective at cleaning the air. The Winix WAC9500 has better fan settings. For me, there is barely a noticeable difference between the "low" and "medium" settings.
One area where both the Winix and Surround Air purifiers lack is in the "auto" mode. In "auto" mode, the purifier detects dust and odors and adjusts the purifier to handle the smell or "contaminated" air. But there is inherently a defect in the way that this is designed. The purifiers automatically move to the lowest setting once the air cleaned. This by design reduces the amount of air that is moved. This affects how quickly the purifier can draw new "contaminated" air to determine that it needs to kick up the fan speed to handle the new "contaminated" air and clean. The result is dirty air in one part of the room until the purifier can draw enough of it over to the purifier to detect that it needs to increase fan speed. It takes a long time if the purifier moved to the "low" setting in "auto" mode. It would be a much better if they allowed you to set "auto" mode to the "medium" speed and it would kick up a notch or two when it senses dirty air. Because this is not possible, I have found that we tend to keep the purifiers on high, except for nights when peace and quiet is desired. Set this way, the purifiers are most effective at cleaning the air, but they consume more energy than the "auto" mode it''s a trade off.
The energy efficiency of the Winix WAC9500 signficantly outperforms the Surround Air XJ-3800. The high setting on the Winix (which I believe is as efficient as the high setting on the Surround Air) uses only 15.5 watts versus 45 watts. These numbers came from a Belkin Conserve Insight F7C005q Energy-Use Monitor:
Setting/ Winix WAC 9500 / Surround Air XJ3800
Low/ 6 watts / 31 watts
Medium/ 10 watts / 35 watts
High/ 15.5 watts / 45 watts
Turbo/ 64.5 watts / 55 watts
Pretty amazing that the high on the Winix WAC9500 only draws slightly more than a 60-watt equivalent CFL.
If you consider that the WAC9500 uses ~15 watts on high, at $0.106/kwh, the cost to operate this purifier 24-hours a day is $13 for a year. Over 5 years (assuming that is an average lifespan for an air purifiers), the cost to operate on the high setting (which is not the highest) 24-hours a day is $65. However, if you look closely, many purifiers in this class use a minimum of 35-watts, some as much as 112 watts in turbo modes (like the Electrolux Oxygen Ultra Air Cleaner, EL500AZ). Over 5-years at 35-watts for 24-hours a day, that is $153, assuming the same electricity cost above. The difference between 15-watts and 35-watts over 5-years is $88.
There is an "auto sleep" feature on the Winix WAC9500 that I was never able to get to work correctly. Once activated, it is supposed to set the purifier on low mode when the room is dark and return to the previous settings once the room gets light again. However, every time I activated the "auto sleep" function, the purifier just went to the lowest setting regardless of how much light was in the room (I removed all of the plastic films from the front of the purifier). I think it may need a better light sensor for it to work as designed.
The shipping information on Amazon indicates that the purifier is over 50 lbs., however, the actual weight of the purifier is more like 20 lbs.
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Other notes about purifiers in the same category I have tried before the Winix WAC9500:
The first purifier I tried five years ago was this model based upon a Consumer Reports top pick:
Whirlpool AP45030K Whispure Air Purifier, HEPA Air Cleaner (used for 3 years)
*My overall grade: C
*Replacement filters: $$$ (you have to buy HEPA and pre-filters separate)
*Replacement needed: pre-filters every 3-4 months, HEPA every year
*Overall annual cost of filters: $$
*Effectiveness: C
*Deal breaker: No means to eliminate odors, while the Winix WAC9500 and Surround Air XJ-3800 have electronic odor control (which really work), and the filters became stale before the annual filter change. Required frequent vacuuming of the pre-filter. A lot of unsightly dust would accumulate on the grille, which the Winix WAC9500 and Surround Air XJ-3800 do not have.
Two Hunter 30067 Hepatech Air Purifier for Medium-Size Rooms (placed on opposite sides of the room) (used for 6 months)
*My overall grade: D
*Replacement filters: $$ (you have to buy HEPA and pre-filters separate)
*Replacement filters are cheap and thin.
*Replacement needed: after 3-4 months
I found that even though these purifiers have a pre-filter, the HEPA filter was filthy and the indicator indicated that they needed replacement after only 3 months of use. (This model does not have an automatic dirty-filter alert. You have to look to see how dark the filter is and compare it to a strip on the filter.)
*Overall annual cost of filters: $$$
*Effectiveness: C
*Deal breaker: Noisy because we had to run them on high to be effective. Medium-speed was better as far as noise, but not effective at cleaning the dust. One of the two started to make a terribly annoying whirling-sound not even 3 months after starting to use it. We had to keep that purifier on low. These purifiers also have no means to remove odors. Required frequent vacuuming of the pre-filter. Having to replace the HEPA filter and pre-filters every 3-months was excessive and costly. Dust would also accumulate on the front grille. Rather than deal with the warranty for the defective purifier, we changed to the 3M below (for worse).
3M Ultra Clean Bedroom Air Purifier FAP02-RC (used for 2 months)
*My overall grade: F
*Replacement filters: $$$ (only one filter to change; contains no other filters)
Replacement filters are cheap and thin.
*Replacement needed: after 3 months
Since there is no pre-filter, this purifier requires more frequent replacement of the HEPA.
*Overall annual cost of filters: $$$
Notes: The replacement filters were nearly impossible to find. I bought this purifier because others said they could find the filters at Target, but I couldn''t. On Amazon, the filters are only available through third-party sellers. No effective means of odor elimination like the Winix WAC9500 or Surround Air XJ-3800. One single thin filter and that''s it.
*Effectiveness: D
*Deal breaker: The single-filter design is so antiquated. The fact that dust, which would normally get trapped by a pre-filter ends up in the main HEPA filter, decreases the life of the HEPA significantly. Don''t waste your time with this purifier...you''ll just be purchasing countless filters.
Surround Air XJ-3800 Intelli-Pro Air Purifierr (used for 6 months)
*My overall grade: C(Initially B when writing this review, but downgraded to C-. See last update at bottom of review.)
*Replacement filters: $ (you only have to buy one filter the HEPA; all others are washable)
*Replacement needed: after one year
*Overall annual cost of filters: $
Notes: The lights on the front of the unit are terribly bright at night, unlike the Winix WAC9500, which dims in "sleep" mode. We ended up putting black electrical tape over the lights.
*Effectiveness: B
*Deal breaker: No remote. We continued to sneeze despite running this purifier 24-7 and cleaning the unit far more regularly than recommended. The cleanings can be time consuming but the overall annual cost is the lowest because it only requires the replacement of one reasonably priced HEPA filter.
After all of these air purifiers, the winner for me is the...Winix WAC9500. Even though it is not perfect, it is the best I have come across so far. The light sensor may not work correctly and the "auto" feature may lack, but I found that it is better than all of the other alternatives I have tried. It is quiet, the filters only have to be swapped annually and it''s energy-star rated consuming only 15 watts on high. I would recommend this purifier.
Update August 27, 2011:
Everyday we are impressed more and more by this air purifier. It has honestly exceeded any expectations I had. And it still outperforms any air purifier we have tired before. The only maintenance we''ve had to perform is to vacuum the pre-filter occasionally. This purifier does miracles cleaning up after our smelly cat. And on days when the air quality has been in the unhealthy range, it has made such a difference in the room where its located. I still can''t recommend this enough.
Update April 14, 2012:
Just two days ago, our change filter light came on. Based on my calculations, the filter lasted us 46 weeks. This has pleasantly surprised us and we have not noticed an negligible difference in air quality over the life the filter. We regularly vacuum the filters, however, we have never washed them even though I know it''s possible to wash the carbon filter. When I last checked, Amazon.com is selling the replacement filter set for around $98, which makes the filter cost a little over $2 per week, or $0.30 per day.
Update November 28, 2012:
This purifier is still going strong. In fact, I am on here to buy another for the bedroom. I''ve been shopping around to see if there is any new, good competition, but I am going to stick with this one because it has been such a reliable workhorse over the past 18-months. The Surround Air XJ-3800 we have in the bedroom just doesn''t cut it any more. I have noticed an improvement when I have moved the Winix WAC9500 into the bedroom. The Surround Air CJ-3800 doesn''t do anything with the dust or cat hair. It''s hard to believe the mess that accumulates in a week. In fact, I would downgrade the Surround Air XJ-3800 to Cif I were to write my review again today. It is not awful, but it is not nearly as effective as this Winix WAC9500, at twice the cost to operate. The Winix WAC9500 been such a pleasure to have. It might be overkill in size for the bedroom (175 square feet), but it will be perfect on the medium setting.
Update December 17, 2012:
I ordered a second unit a while ago and it''s been running about for a little more than two weeks now. The second unit definitely has a slight sound when the Plasmawave feature is engaged. I now know what the other reviewers have mentioned. The original unit makes a much less noticeable sound. Now, since I have two units to compare, I notice a very, very slight sound too from the first (quieter) unit when I turn the Plasmawave off and on. The sound of the new unit is very slight and since it is not in the bedroom, it is not bothersome. I now have the quieter original unit in the bedroom.
Out of curiosity I called and asked the manufacturer in Chicago what they thought. They told me the sound is normal, but they did not have an answer why one unit would be louder than the other. They informed me that the sound is partly determined by the quality of the air. I do not believe that has been my experience. The second unit has been consistent in the sound that it produces, whether the air is clean or contaminated. I am sensitive to noises so I think the sound would bother me if the louder unit was in the bedroom and I was trying to sleep. However, we barely notice it in the living room. It seems the noise does not affect the performance of the units. They are both equally good with cleaning the air. If you are sensitive to noise (and I mean it is very, very slight), you might not want the Plasmawave feature on when you are trying to sleep. The feature can be turned on and off using the remote control (only).
Update January 28, 2013:
Now both units are quiet. Something changed with the newer unit that we received, but I am not sure what. Whatever happened has caused the noisier unit to quiet down. Maybe it just needed a "breaking-in" period? We love these purifiers. They are about as "green", earth-friendly, as you can find while being very effective. We don''t notice any change in our electricity bill with the addition of another unit. We still get some dust, but not nearly as much. This will not magically solve all of your dust problems, but it helps tremendously.
Trying to research air cleaners is very, very time consuming. I spent a week doing it. I recommend you google "air purifier power". A second source is to google "allergy buyers club". The first source does not compete with Amazon because they do not actually sell anything. But Amazon still wanted the www address deleted. One important thing to note, if you google "air purifier reviews", please be careful. Many so called review websites are really owned by one particular company brand and they are pushing their brand over all others. But they try to disguise their web store as a place to check out reviews and ratings. Some websites do sell a variety of brands, but if you ask them for assistance, of course they are going to point you to the brands they sell and they are not going to mention other, better brands they do not sell. It was difficult finding unbiased assistance.
The Feedback of the first site ultimately led me to purchase this machine, even though they did not recommend it as the absolute best choice. They actually preferred the Rabbit BioGS and the Sharp I talk about below, in this price range. I think any of these 3 would work, but you will still benefit from reading the below points.
Most Important Things To Know Going In:
1) COST
A really good air purifier is going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,000. I cannot afford that, so going in I know I am not buying the very best here, I am going for a good compromise on price and ability. Most air cleaners in the $300 range will have some flaws, so you are really looking for what you can live with. When I started searching I thought I could get a top of the line cleaner for $300. That is what you might think if you shop at Big Box stores, like me. Doing the research opened my eyes to the truth about how much an excellent air purifier really costs. This is my second air cleaner purchase. Just like most consumers, my first purchase was an air cleaner in the $50 price range. That unit was fair, but left me wanting much more and I started reading about air cleaners.
2) PLASMAWAVE, GREAT TECHNOLOGY, BUT DON''T EXPECT MIRACLES
If you want to see how Plasmawave works, go to the Winix company website, which is WINIXINC. One of the links is about the technology of Plasmawave. They have a nice informative video lasting about 4 minutes about the technology. Before watching, just be advised that they are of course overly optimistic about the capabilities of the machine. But I like the information presented. What customer reviews and professional reviews have said about plasmawave.....
A) It kills viruses and germs that it comes into contact with, but it won''t sterilize door knobs, sink handles, etc. In other words, it helps but isn''t a miracle worker.
B) It neutralizes VOCs and harmful chemicals in small, reasonable amounts. However, you cannot paint a chest of drawers and then put the Plasmawave in there and expect it to neutralize the huge volumes of chemicals in the air. In fact, one reviewer warned you might get a hydroxy radical mess as the machine tries to bond with the VOCs in the air.
C) Plasma Ion technology has had some critics who say that it''s process may dry out the air somewhat. At worst, it may make your nose stuffy if you sleep next to the machine. Everyone seems to agree the Winix is not as bad at drying the air as the Sharp. The Sharp''s positive and negative ion maker is rated as stronger than the Winix machine. I personally cannot sleep next to my Winix 9500 on the night stand, because it will make my nose dry and stuffy. Maybe just because of the circulation of the air over my face as I sleep. However, I sleep just fine if it is 6 feet away from the foot of the bed. So it is not a problem. I am actually testing it now, just for fun, using instruments that measure humidity, to see if the humidity in the room with the Winix 9500 changes at all.
The Plasmawave technology was started by Sharp in Japan. Years ago, when people said the Sharp Plasmawave dried out the air, Sharp addressed the issue by adding humidifiers to their Plasmoclaster machines. This website posed the question that if the plasmawave needs water vapor to work, does it work poorly in low humidity environments. I don''t know. The company does not list any minimum levels of humidity that I have found. Go to air purifier power website mentioned for more explanation.
D) You will see many reviewers saying they want to be able to turn off the plasmawave part of the machine at times and just use the HEPA and other filters. Winix 9500 does have the option to turn the Plasmawave off, which is nice. However, the owner''s manual suggest that you should leave it on at all times.
3) SLEEP MODE
You have to know that many people seem to have issues with the automatic sleep mode. The light sensor does not seem to work well. This goes back to my first point, you are in the price range where you cannot expect perfection. I ordered one knowing the automatic sleep mode is flawed. Most manufacturers seem to miss the point that people don''t want a huge glowing readout that is going to light up a dark room when you are trying to sleep. So, if this is important to you, make sure you purchase a brand that offers the ability to turn off lights or dim them. Most units do not offer this, especially in the less than $200 arena.
4) ANNUAL REPLACEMENT FILTER COSTS ARE WINIX $90 VS SHARP $150 VS RABBIT BIO GS AT $60, ALSO CONSIDER FUTURE AVAILABILITY OF FILTERS THAT YOU WILL NEED FOR YOUR MACHINE
These Winix units are made by a Korean company who used a very similar technology to the Sharp Plasmocaster made in Japan. I wanted the new Sharp model Plasmocaster FP-A80u which is $300. I had a hard time finding one to buy, Amazon only carries the cheaper models that don''t have an automatic mode, as of March 30,2012. The Sharp models are supposed to be better quality than the Winix, but Sharp has had issues with not stocking replacement filters. One website warned that about the time you need a replacement filter, Sharp has discontinued the model and the filters you need. This was a big concern for me, since I was having trouble finding the unit to purchase, what are the chances I can get a filter 2 yrs from now. The sharp replacement filters are supposed to cost about $50 more per year than the Winix filters, so there was an additional annual cost to the Sharp Model also.
Almost every major online seller of air cleaners carries the Winix models. So I feel like finding replacement supplies should be much easier 2 yrs down the road. But there are really no guarantees. That is why the website I mentioned recommends some brands that have a really good customer support and are located here in the USA.
5) ROUGHLY 180 SQ FT AREA IS MAX
Most websites dedicated to allergy sufferers say that any air purifier needs to change air 6 times per hour in a room, to be effective. Of course manufactures of all brands don''t like using this standard because it shrinks the amount of square footage that their particular machine can clean. Using this standard, one website who shows their math on how they figure out the air change rate per hour, adjusted the Winix 9500 to 180 sq ft max. Don''t get the idea that only Winix overstates its square footage ability, this seems to be common to all brands. Manufacturers will use 2 or 3 air changes per hour, instead of the 6 per hour that allergy specialists recommend.
6) CADR Ratings
The Ultimate Pet 9500 is AHAM certified with CADRs (Clean Air Delivery Rates) at 182 Dust, 194 Smoke, 183 Pollen. The higher the number, the better. The Sharp model advertised a Pollen CADR of over 300! The Rabbit Bio GS was very similar to the CADR numbers of the Winix.
The review website I mentioned said the CADR numbers for the Winix 9500 were slightly suspect and may be better in real life. He based this on the fact that the CADR numbers for the cheaper Winix 5300 are actually much better than the top of the line, Winix 9500. We know the Winix 9500 has a better filter system. A lot of people with the Winix 5300 buy the replacement filters for the Winix 9500 and try to use them in their machine. AHAM certified CADRs (Clean Air Delivery Rates) for the Winix 5300 are 248 Dust,235 Smoke,251 Pollen. Doesn''t seem to make sense, does it?
7) NOISE
The over all noise of the machine is very quiet, except on turbo. The low setting is so quiet that I keep turning it up to Medium or High, because I don''t feel like it is circulating enough air.
The plasmawave technology does make a little bit of noise that you may not hear at all, depending on age and high frequency hearing loss. It is a very unique sound. It reminds me of those electric pest control devices that are supposed to operate on a frequency humans cannot hear, but you can hear a little high frequency chattering sound. Again, if you don''t hear it, you probably lost that part of your hearing range. I don''t notice it unless it is sitting on the nightstand and I am trying to fall asleep.
8) SHORTEST WARRANTY IN THE $300 PRICE RANGE--ONE YEAR
The parent company is Korean. They have a short warranty period of only one year. Many units in this range offer much greater warranty periods. You kind of have to balance that with the great reviews here on Amazon. I would have liked for this unit to have a better warranty, but I bought one anyway. It wasn''t a deal breaker for me. I liked that the unit had been out a few years and had a proven track record.
A note on the Rabbit Bio GS, the original Rabbit 421a was supposed to be made in Japan. However, noticing all of the recent complaints on Amazon about quality control problems with the Rabbit Bio GS, I wonder if they have not started making this unit in another country. It seems like the overall quality has declined from the customer complaints. However, their warranty is good and their customer service is supposed to be great.
CONCLUSION: After a week of research, I don''t know that there is really a "perfect" unit in this price range. If you want to drop a $1,000, you can get a unit that seems to have little, if any, flaws.
In this price range, competition is fierce among many companies who are bringing cheaper units out of China or Korea to rebadge and rename and then sell here in the USA. If you don''t like the Winix 9500, try the Rabbit Air BioGS. Rabbit Air BioGS annual filter replacement cost is lower than these Winix units. However, they have their flaws too. You can read those in the reviews here and at other websites. Like I said, the Sharp FP A80u for $300 was supposed to be great, but I could only find it at Best Buy Online and talked myself out of it because of future availability of supplies. It was just introduced in the last few months, so it is possible that the Sharp FP A80u is not fully on the market yet. You may want to check back later. The fact that Amazon carried the cheaper, manual mode only, Sharp FP A60u, did make me worry somewhat about what happened to the A80U which adds the much needed "automatic" clean mode.
In the end, as one Review Website put it, as long as you don''t buy a cheap air cleaner that pollutes the air through one of two methods, you should see some improvement in purchasing almost any air cleaner. The 2 methods of polluting are units that CREATE ozone, which you don''t want. You will see most units claim somewhere that their unit does not do this. The second is in cheap units that let dirty air slip around the edges of the Hepa filter. This creates a problem where small molecules of dirt and bacteria can build up inside the unit itself, causing the exhausted or returned air to actually be dirty, possibly carrying bacteria, etc. That is why I chose the Winix 9500 over the cheaper Winix 5300. Most websites seem to think that having a filter cassette, while increasing cost of filter replacement, may help avoid the leaking of air around a bent or damaged air filter. Some other brands, like Orsani , have addressed this by using a magnetic gasket to hold the filter firmly in place and avoid air leaking around the filter.
I hope this review saves someone a week of valuable time, that they can then spend with the person they love. I felt like after the time I invested, I needed to write something!
ONE MONTH UPDATE
After a month with the Winix 9500, I think I could have been happy with the Sharp FP A60 U, which is manual mode only. I am not really using the fancy automatic modes of operation. I haven''t even turned off the Plasmawave. I pretty much run it in manual mode on HIGH most of the time. Just because I want it to move as much air as possible and I tend to move it around each day, to different parts of the house. On the medium and low modes, I just don''t feel like the machine is circulating enough air to help.
I like the machine, but truthfully, it is hard for me to really tell if it is helping. I just have to hope that it is. Other than getting rid of immediate odors, who knows if the negative, positive ions thing is working? I keep checking the prefilter and I don''t really see as much dust and dirt as I would have hoped. I thought it would be coated by now, but it still looks relatively clean.
If you don''t have to have the fancy automatic modes, purchase one of the cheaper models of Sharp or Winix that still allow the deluxe filters to be used in them. The reviews I had read before I purchased claimed that you really did want automatic mode. But I just haven''t used it at all, because in automatic mode the unit runs at a very low setting until it senses a need to rev up. This might be great if you have a pet and the unit kicks on when they pass close by. Just understand, it is mopping up the immediate threat in a 6-8 foot circle and then cutting back off. I want it to clean the whole room and remove all of the dust in the air. So I leave it on the high setting all day. I could have done just fine with a "Manual Mode Only" unit, as long as I was still getting the same quality filter.
Buy Winix WAC9500 Ultimate Pet True HEPA Air Cleaner Now
(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM) UPDATE: As of the end of November, 2012, it will have been 18 months since I owned this machine. The replacable HEPA filter red light finally went on for replacement. I have been using this machine daily sometimes 24 hours. That''s a long lasting filter!
In the past, I''ve used various air purifiers, mostly due to my cat''s dander and occasional odors (like burning something in the kitchen). Holmes HAP716-U True-HEPA 3-Speed Tower Allergen Remover was convenient and had a thin washable piece of foam, but expensive filter replacements. I used to actually vacuum out the filters to make them last. This Winix True HEPA Filter is an amazing machine.
The Winix cleans through five stages instead of two. Air is also pulled in from two opposing sides with 1" gaps instead of one side and shoots it straight up into the room. The air first travels through the "washable" Anti-Bacterial Pre-filter, then the True Hepa Filter, the "washable" cassette frame, then the "`washable" Nano-Silver Mesh, then the "washable" Carbon Filter before finally getting a dose of `PlasmaWave'', which generates both positive and negative ions to create plasma clusters. This neutralizes viruses, bacteria, chemical vapors and odors. Since this is the Ultimate Pet Model, it actually SUCKS CAT HAIR onto the first "washable" Pre-filter! This is what I have always been looking for.
The Display Panel is very intuitive with a timer button, a function button (low, medium, high and Turbo), Dust & Odor Sensors which actually will rise on a colored grid from green to yellow to red. One day, I burned bacon in the kitchen and the Odor Sensor went into red, even though it was in the next room!
The Change Filter Indicator lets you know when it is time to clean your "washable" filters. In Auto-Mode, the `smart sensors'' sense the amount of impurities and adjust the fan speed accordingly! The entire unit will go into `sleep mode'' when the room is dark, providing filtration without any noise and will readjust with light. There is a sensor for everything. I like the medium setting for sleeping, providing a low white noise.
This is a sturdily built HEPA filter and with washable filters, it will last and save you money. The only filter that needs to be changed is the True HEPA Filter and these run about eighty dollars, but I do not anticipate changing this often considering moderate use of three months only suggests cleaning the washable filters.
Considering I sneeze violently at least once a day, I have not had an attack since this machine has been turned on. This unit is a keeper. (I even suspect that when the True HEPA Filter needs to be cleaned I could use my vacuum, but we''ll see how long that takes). There is also a nice small remote control that works all functions and nicely sits in a tray inside the top of the unit.
Read Best Reviews of Winix WAC9500 Ultimate Pet True HEPA Air Cleaner Here
This device seems to be doing what it says it will do. Air quality in our living room is indeed better. We have two dogs and they''re mostly indoors. Their dander and hair go everywhere. I also have an open plan house where living room and kitchen are a part of one space. The 9500 does detect, and control odors, dander, and dust. After a week''s use, my wife says she noticed the difference and thinks it''s now easier to breath and the sinus issue she suffers seem to be letting up.
I also got the smaller PlasmaWave 5300 for the bedroom. While 5300 seems to be doing equally effective job in filtering the air, the build quality of 9500 is way better. But most importantly, the noise levels of 9500 is much much better. In fact, 5300 can''t really be used in a bedroom environment unless you keep it on low fan speed setting. Any faster than low, the 5300 considerably noisier both from the moving air and the fan. The 9500, however, can be used in a bedroom all the way up to high setting, where it merely produces a whooshing white noise. Low and medium speed settings, it''s hardly audible. Spend the extra money and get the 9500.
Dec 27, 2012 update:
It''s been over a year now that we had this unit, running 24/7, and we can''t be happier. I can now categorically say that it helps with allergies and overall upper respiratory issues that used to affect everyone in the family.
Want Winix WAC9500 Ultimate Pet True HEPA Air Cleaner Discount?
Among all the air cleaners I have seen, this one is truly the best. On the very first day that I had it delivered, I decided to try it out and brought a cigarette into the living-room where I placed the WINIX WAC9500 AIR CLEANER. We never allow anybody to smoke in our house but I decided to use cigarette smoke to test this product just for once. The moment this air cleaner perceived the smoke in the room, its air quality indicators started flashing orange and then red and the air cleaner went to work on eliminating the nasty odor of cigarette smoke.
Five minutes later, I asked my husband (who was unaware of the experiment I was conducting) to come downstairs. "Do you notice anything?" I asked. "Yes, the air feels unusually fresh," he responded. The WINIX air cleaner left no trace of the cigarette smoke in the air.
If you have smokers in the family or if people who smoke visit you on a regular basis, this product is a must have. It purifies the air and makes it feel almost dewy in its cleanliness.
The product description says that it is a great air cleaner to place in your bedroom. I''m not sure that this would be a good idea unless your bedroom is really huge and you will be able to place the air cleaner far away from the bed. WINIX WAC9500 AIR CLEANER is a lot quieter than any other air cleaner that I have seen. However, it isn''t completely noiseless. It does produce a certain amount of background noise as it lets the air out. For people who need complete silence to be able to sleep, this will not be an object they will enjoy having in their bedrooms.
At this point, I have used WINIX WAC9500 AIR CLEANER in different areas of our house and for different purposes. To give an example, there is some sort of a moldy spot upstairs which creates an unpleasant, stuffy smell. Until we can get people in to take care of it, I placed the air cleaner in the vicinity of the moldy spot and now this is the nicest smelling area in my house. I have also used it in the kitchen, in the study, and in the living-room. The WINIX WAC9500 AIR CLEANER is light enough to be carried downstairs and upstairs easily by a reasonably healthy person. It also looks a lot more pleasing aesthetically than most other air cleaners that often look like their only purpose is to clash with the decor.
I have been using WINIX WAC9500 AIR CLEANER for over a month now and haven''t been able to find anything I dislike about it.
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I bought this unit as a counter top unit although it can be installed under the counter according to the seller. My wife and I love it! The PH range is excellent as good as another brand we have that we borrowed from a friend used which was 4 times as much money. We have researched all the top names and honestly found this 5 plate unit to be an exceptional value. This will be our second product from this seller and the service and support have been exactly what we expect from an Amazon seller. A really great value.
