This post is our Winix HR900 review. Winix air purifiers have come a long way. With time, refinement of design and introducing new features is the natural progression in product lifecycle. Winix HR1000 is the newer version while HR900 is now the smallest in the HR-series after HR950. These days brands have also started bringing out specialized models for allergies, smoke or pet problems. Mostly pet dander and odors are what trouble pet owners the most. Winix too has a couple of models like Winix 9500 Ultimate Pet Air Purifier or the Winix HR900 on which our spotlight is on today. Anyways, Winix HR900 is the successor of Winix 9500 so it deserves greater attention.
WINIX HR900 AIR PURIFIER REVIEW
Homes with dogs, cats or any furry animals as pets often overlook this owing to their love for them. But, having pets who cannot be as clean as humans no matter how often you bathe them has its own share of problems. Pet dander and lots of hair everywhere especially during their shedding season should not be taken casually. Besides causing allergies in even healthy people, these unconventional pollutants of sorts can make things worse for chronic patients.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN : South Korea. Check the labels though.
Whats Included In The Package
- Winix Air Purifier HR900
- 4 different filters. (1 HEPA, 12 replaceable ultimate pet pre-filter, 1 washable Pre-filter and Carbon Filter each)
- Owner’s manual
WINIX HR900 PRICE
Sometimes, I feel that is having a double pre-filtration all that makes the Winix HR900 the ultimate air purifier for pets? I have written a Winix 5500-2 Review before and it works exceedingly well against pet hair too. Infact, all of its users have photos of choked pre-filters laden with dirt and pet hair to show. Winix HR900 has even done away with any sort of WiFi or App support (not as if Winix 5500-2 has them). But, Winix 5500-2 does come with a remote control. Even though they are similarly priced, I’d still suggest to prefer Winix HR900.
In subsequent models of the Winix Ultimate pet series, there’s an additional anti-microbial coating as well. I am talking about the likes of Winix HR1000 here. This is what is missed and should have been there. We are dealing with pets here after all. Hence, we need to have a mechanism to keep the filter in sanitary conditions.
CHALLENGERS
I would pitch Honeywell HPA200 or the HPA204 models against the Winix HR900. The reason for my choice is that their coverage area of 310 sq.ft. is comparable. And this coverage area rating is so for 5 Air changes per hour. What I like about them is that they even come with a mobile App which pairs through Bluetooth. Also, I won’t forget to mention the great air suction and filter quality. All this at a lower cost than the Winix HR900. Ofcourse there would be a few tradeoffs, nothing comes cheap. Winix HR900 has an air quality indicator, plus 12 extra count of replaceable pre-filters!
HPA200 model is just a tad smaller than the ultra popular Honeywell HPA300.
Levoit Core P350 is a clone of the mighty popular Core 300 but with special pet filters.
DESIGN AND LOOKS
The white body of Winix HR900 looks elegant and is non-glossy. No questions should be raised about the quality of the build. The control panel is steel grey colored with various buttons as well as the odor and light sensors. The print may not be very distinctive due to the poor contrast of black over a gray console. From an Airflow perspective, a bottom to top mechanism is followed. Even the side vents have a metallic hue.
I consider it a better design when the front panel of an air purifier has perforations to take air in. Side slits work fine but tend to leave the middle portion of the filter under utilized. After reviewing models like the Winix 5300-2 and 5500-2, Winix HR900 was a pleasant sight. The looks have been greatly improved especially the colors. Also, the front panel now has scores of pores to pull the room’s air through. Not only do its panel perforations pull air but also the side vents. Strangely, Winix has again reverted to a closed front panel design in its HR950 and HR1000 models. Ok, as they like it!
A prominent bar of air quality indicator with Blue, Yellow or Red lights of the air quality indicator denote Good, Fair or Poor air quality. The AQI lights accentuate the looks glowing neither too brightly to be distracting nor too faint. The Winix favorite PlasmaWave technology is present in this model as well.
DIMENSIONS
Winix HR900 is around 2 feet tall much like other air purifiers from the company. Even Alen BreatheSmart 45i which is also a great air purifier for pets have similar dimensions. It is way costlier and better in multiple ways including its more than double coverage area. The good thing about Winix filter design is their generous size. It is always good to have a larger filter surface area. We all thank the filters when after a few weeks upon inspection we find them all dirty and choked. The filters trap all that could have ended up in our bodies. A 360° air intake and cylindrical filters pack more filter surface area than what meets the eye.
The air purifier is normal in its shape and size. The size cannot be termed as superfluous nor is it extra compact. As compared to Winix 5500-2 its a little deeper. In summary, its air intake from front and sides give you extra flexibility in its placement. Following what Winix specially instructs the users dictates that we leave atleast 4 inches space on the sides. The side is where the particle sensor is located which is crucial for the working. Furthermore, keep the air purifier a little distant from TVs, radios and other frequency-driven appliances.
Even direct exposure to sunlight has been called out as something to avoid.
PORTABILITY
Weight can be something you should take notice before you take a liking for the Winix HR900 review. It weighs an appreciable 8.5 Kgs and doesn’t have any caster wheels. To make things worse, no recess or niche is provided to pick it up for moving around or similar. Advantage of a good weight is that your pets and even kids won’t topple it playfully.
WINIX COVERAGE AREA & ACH
Your room size governs which air purifier would suit your need of achieving perfectly clean air. A 300 sq.ft. sized area can easily be catered to by Winix HR900 air purifier. This size is more than the average size of American bedrooms or close. An air purifier can even be used for larger areas if you agree that it can then clean the air fewer times per hour. For an area of approximately 300 sq.ft. AHAM has tested and certified the Winix HR900. You can expect it to clean the full volume of such a room 4 times per hour. Hence, its ACH equals to 4 for 300 sq.ft area. Experts state that to combat allergies and pollutants, 4 Air Changes per Hour (ACH) is the bare minimum.
SMALLER BUT POPULAR : LEVOIT CORE 300
WINIX HR900 CADR
Winix 5500-2 has greater CADR values than the Winix HR900. In a way, this means that the former is a better air purifier. Didn’t I say that Winix 5500-2 is a very good air purifier? CADR is also tested and published by AHAM, an independent but highly trusted 3rd party testing and ratings agency. The CADR of Winix HR900 is 200 Dust/ 194 Smoke/ 220 Pollen (cfm).
WINIX HR900 FILTERS
Air purifiers for pets ought to have better pre-filters and carbon filters. Thankfully, Winix HR900 has 5 stages of air treatment with a 5th PlasmaWave stage. The extra layer is courtesy the 10 replaceable and non-costly pre-filter. Its called the Ultimate pet filter in Winix’s lingo. The pre-filters should be capable to stop pet hair and fur from reaching the inner and dearer HEPA and carbon filters. Its better to look for such air purifiers which have carbon pellets instead of mere coating of it. Activated carbon pellets are way more effective in eliminating odors. Below is a brief introduction to the Winix 5500 filters.
4 FILTER LAYERS
- ULTIMATE PET FILTERS – These are the replaceable U-type filters which are the first in line. You get 12 of these along with the air purifier. You must replace the ultimate pet pre-filter once a month. Thus you got a full quota for a year from day 1! I really like this concept of use and throw, helps maintain hygiene. Additionally, the load on the inner filters is greatly reduced.
NOTE: These pre-filters are to be pasted and superimposed over the main pre-filter. There is an adhesive along the four sides of it that becomes fused to form ONE great pre-filter.
- PRE-FILTER – Forms the 2nd layer of filtration and captures larger dust particles, pet hair and dander. Due to the ultimate pet filter, this one generally remains usable for longer times. It is washable too incase you feel the need to clean it. Don’t expect the filters to act like a vacuum cleaner. They are not! You would still find pet hair here and there. But, having the Winix HR900 would definitely help the air get rid of them and dander.
- TRUE HEPA Filter – All of Winix air purifiers have a True HEPA filter as the last filtration layer. It can filter out 99.97% of particles of size 0.3 microns and above. You cannot and shouldn’t try washing any HEPA filter as it would spoil it completely. In normal scenario unless you are living in a dust bowl, it would need a change every year.
- AOC FILTER – The Advanced Odor Control (AOC) filter is one of the T-type filters, the other being the True HEPA filter. It needs to be replaced every 12 months along with the HEPA filter.
REPLACEMENT FILTER
Both the main filters of Winix HR900 are available as a set @ around $100. Look for “Winix 1712-0093-00” Replacement Filter online or on Amazon. Hope you are liking this Winix HR900 review?
PLASMAWAVE
PlasmaWave technology produces (OH-) hydroxyl ions from moisture already present in the air. These ions cause the molecules of pollutants to dissociate and are rendered benign. You can turn this function ON/OFF from a button on the console. A blue LED glows when PlasmaWave is ON.
PlasmaWave is not something which you can feel or see in action. However, it does breakdown pollutants into harmless by-products. Oh and yes, PlasmaWave doesn’t emit any ozone. Whether you use it or not, PlasmaWave doesn’t consume any noticeable power.
POWER CONSUMPTION
Winix HR900 is Energy Star rated and as such is power efficient. Air purifiers are not energy guzzlers and even if you run them non-stop would not spike your energy bills much. This Winix HR900 consumes 56 W power which can be called “good but not great”. It all lies in the fan motor whether it is AC or DC and also other factors. We have seen much more energy saving models but you shouldn’t worry much for Winix.
NOISE LEVEL
Awesome performance on this front as the Winix HR900 is very silent. On Auto and Sleep modes you can’t even hear its working. Expecting an air purifier to still be noiseless on Turbo mode is living in a false paradise. Winix HR900 does make some noise in this mode but its still way better than most air purifiers. All in all, this model is very quiet and highly recommended for bedrooms. Yes, if your unit does make unusually high noise there can be an issue and you may want to call for replacement.
WINIX HR900 CONSOLE
BUTTON JINGLES
Each button that you press produces a short musical jingle. The jingle at startup and shutdown are longer. No one should feel the sounds to be disturbing unless they have some health or mental issues. And BTW there’s no way one can shut the jingles down so enjoy the compulsory music!
MODE BUTTON
Winix air purifier 5500 has a mode button on its console. This is a dual selection button for choosing Auto or Sleep modes. By default, the air purifier starts in Auto mode and the PlasmaWave is also ON. To toggle between the modes, you need to press it again.
- AUTO Mode – The air purifier works intelligently cranking up or down the fan in accordance with the air quality. As
the indoor air quality improves, the fan speed will automatically decrease. If the indoor air quality worsens, the fan speed will automatically increase. This is the most economical mode to run your machine in. - SLEEP Mode – Your Winix air purifier needs to be AUTO mode to transition into Sleep mode. The light sensors take notice of diminished light intensity and automatically start the Sleep mode.
- FAN SPEEDS – The mode button itself is to be pressed for selecting the fan speeds. You can set the fan in Low, Medium, High or TURBO mode from the same Mode button.
PlasmaWave Button
PlasmaWave is Winix’s smart sanitization feature to maintain the sanctity of the filters. As I mentioned earlier, the PlasmaWave function can be operated as per your wish. Start or stop the anion generator with the help of this button.
TIMER/LIGHTS OFF
Winix HR900 air purifier has 1hr, 4hr, 8hr timers. Repeated pressing of the button is how you choose from these timers. Pressing and holding the timer button for 3 seconds also works to ON/OFF the LED lights. You can also think of it as the SLEEP mode. While all lights are off, the only light glowing would be the Sleep one.
CHILD LOCK
Refreshing to find a child lock in an air purifier after so many reviews. You need to press and hold the Child Lock button for 3 seconds to apply or release the child lock. The Red LED comes up to indicate a child lock is in effect. When Child lock is ON, no other button works on the whole control panel. Only after you cancel the lock would the other buttons function normally again.
RESET BUTTON
After replacing the filters you’ll have to press the reset button. This would remove the alert lights which it would show once your filters need urgent replacement. This is the last thing what I had for you in this Winix HR900 review.
PROS AND CONS
CONCLUSION – Winix HR900 Air Purifier Review
Its ability to trap and remove dust from the air is awesome. You’d be able to find how much dust and dirt its pre-filter took upon itself. Winix 5500 air purifier is a great option and has better filters than its earlier Winix 5300-2 model. Especial mention of the carbon pellet filter is warranted here. The device is well designed for air filtration and the presence of a remote control wins brownie points. I cannot think of any missing features in it apart from an APP. The light sensor put the Winix 5500-2 air purifier in Sleep mode automatically if light becomes dim. Good customer support and technology from Korea are great to have in this price. Moreover, a 2 years limited warranty is there to rescue if the issues qualifies the terms and conditions.
Overall, from its optimal price and performance point of view, you won’t be disappointed. There can never be an absolute comparative review with each competitor of an air purifier model. Insomuch as pet owners are concerned, go for it without second thoughts!
