Winix 5520 Air Purifier review

About the Winix 5520 Air Purifier

The 5520 is a four-stage purifier. Air passes through a washable fine mesh pre-filter, an AOC carbon filter, a True HEPA filter and Winix's PlasmaWave stage. Winix says the HEPA filter captures 99.99% of particles from 0.1 to 0.3 microns. The HEPA and carbon filters are each rated for 12 months, and an LED tells you when to replace them.

Winix lists clean air delivery rates of 252 for dust, 247 for pollen and 253 for smoke. The unit is AHAM certified for 392 square feet at 4.8 air changes per hour, and Winix says it can cycle air in a room of up to 1,882 square feet in one hour. It has five fan speeds and an auto mode driven by dual smart sensors. A three-color LED shows air quality, and a sleep mode kicks in when the room goes dark and returns to auto when the lights come on.

The Winix Smart app handles remote control, monitoring and the timer, and the purifier works with Alexa. HouseFresh found that its sensor reads gases (VOCs) rather than particles, so auto mode will not react to dust alone. PlasmaWave can be turned off. Winix says it produces no harmful ozone.

What owners report about the Winix 5520 Air Purifier

Owner feedback we could read for this exact model is limited, so this is a short picture. Retail reviews on a Walmart listing most often credit it for cleaner-feeling air and low noise, and some owners with pets or allergies say they notice a difference.

The most common complaint is the smart side. Several owners say Wi-Fi drops or will not stay connected. A few say the fan could move more air, and one owner saw no improvement in their room.

The one hands-on measurement we found disagrees with the quiet reputation at higher settings. HouseFresh measured it at about 40 dBA on speed 1 at three feet, and about 65 dBA at top speed. Only the lowest speed stayed under its 45 dBA limit for quiet rooms.

Who the Winix 5520 Air Purifier suits

Pick the 5520 for a living room, bedroom or home office of up to about 390 square feet where you want True HEPA plus a carbon filter, auto mode and app control, and where you will run it on low most of the time. Replacement filters are one set a year, and it comes with a 2-year warranty.

Look elsewhere if you need a quiet machine at medium speeds, or if the purifier must react to dust and smoke on its own, since the sensor reads gases only. HouseFresh preferred the Winix 5510 for lower running costs and better quiet-speed performance. The Levoit Core 300S-P is a smaller, quieter option for a bedroom, and the Levoit Vital 200S-P suits a pet home with a particle-sensing auto mode.

Questions about the Winix 5520 Air Purifier