If you do a casual search on Amazon for the broad subject “air purifiers” , you’ll quickly come across the Winix Plasmawave pretty fast.
Winix PlasmaWave 5500-2
is the latest greatest air purifier by the company and it generally gets outstanding reviews.
The first thing you notice right off the bat is the fact that it says it creates no harmful ozone.
Now I know that there are air purifier companies that make ionic air purifiers that do not list any type of ozone production simply because the amount of ozone created is below the federal limit of .005 parts per million.
And if it is a negligible amount of ozone and it doesn’t cross over the Federal limit, then who am I to say that there needs to be a disclaimer.
But that’s not the case with the Winix PlasmaWave, It actually says it creates no harmful ozone.
Plasma wave technology is one of the best air cleaning technologies available. But any type of technology that creates ions is going to create at least a small amount of ozone.
And it’s not like you can hide the smell of ozone either. It’s hard to say it doesn’t create ozone when you can smell it pretty easily. And many of the reviews for the Winix PlasmaWave say they can smell ozone coming from the machine.
The keyword here is “harmful”. The Winix plasma wave advertises that it creates no harmful ozone. It doesn’t say it doesn’t create any ozone at all. Just not a harmful amount.
Yes it’s a great technology. But that’s pretty misleading.
I think that’s pretty obvious why, ozone is a word that strikes fear and so many people’s minds that having an air purifier that says it creates ozone is like signing a death warrant for it.
The second thing about the Winix advertisement that is misleading is the fact that it says it has a washable carbon filter.
Activated carbon filters that are used in air purifiers have to go through the activation process in order for gases and odors to bind to them. The problem is that the activation process involves heating the filter to around 1000°.
Carbon filters are very much like a sponge with thousands of pores that adsorb gases and binding them to the walls of the pores.
Once the area of the carbon is used, it can only be replaced and washing it with soap and water will not reactivate it.
The carbon filter in the Winix plasma wave is more like a container that has carbon granules in it. So it does lend itself to vacuuming and brushing any debris off of it.
But saying that it has a washable carbon filter
is misleading and probably is only done for advertising purposes to set the air purifier apart from the pack of HEPA and carbon filter air purifier makers that don’t make any outlandish claim about their carbon filters.
Technically they can say these things, because like I said before, the amount of ozone being generated by the Winix is not enough to be dangerous or cross over the federal limit.
And though you cannot wash the carbon filter in the Winix with water, it can technically be vacuumed and brushed off.
But It’s hard to come to terms with an air purifier company that tows the line of advertising like that.
But then again…There are few competitors that can compete with the Winix PlasmaWave on Performance.
Winix PlasmaWave might have slipped through the cracks being that it is an electronic air purifier with ionic technology that somehow made it to the forefront and is sitting on the front row as one of the best air purifiers available.
Personally, it is the PlasmaWave function that the controversy is about, that would make me purchase this air purifier over the other top Air purifiers like the Levoit or the Blue Air.
There are scores of air purifiers listed on Amazon alone. You can look on the Walmart app and see another huge list that is not on Amazon.
But they all have one thing in common, or should I say Three?
They all use a three-stage filter that combines a pre-filter for large debris, a carbon filter for gases and odors, and a true HEPA filter for contaminants and particles floating in the air.
Winix PlasmaWave also uses the standard true HEPA the filters allergens as small as 0.3 microns and Carbon with a pre filter.
These are hands down the most popular and effective air purifying technologies on the shelf. Almost every air purifier uses these three filters.
But when it comes to viruses, airborne mold, bacteria and germs, Hepa filters can only capture the contaminants and that’s only if they are not smaller than .03 parts per million. Which unfortunately viruses are.
Which kind of makes the true HEPA useless.
The plasma wave function of the Winx 5500-2 will eradicate bacteria and germs as well as viruses.
Plasma air purifiers work by emitting positive and negative ions simultaneously. Polarity causes the ions to snap together instantly which traps bacteria in the air inside of the newly formed atom. This technique is known to leave viruses dormant. You can read more on Sciencedaily.
Having the plasma wave option on an air purifier is the exact reason I want to own an air purifier.
Yes I am aware that too much ozone can cause breathing difficulties in too high of quantities.
But I am prepared to turn the Winix plasma wave function on and leave the house if needed. I’m also ready to let the house air out if I were to need to.
It’s because the plasma wave can do what the other air purifiers cannot do, actually kill the bacteria, not just capture it.
And one of the biggest points is, the PlasmaWave function can be turned on and turned off whenever you want it or vice versa.
There’s one other thing that I like about the Winix PlasmaWave that most of the other top Air purifiers do not have is that the HEPA filter is completely separate from the carbon filter.
I know that the directions state that a HEPA filter cannot be cleaned and I also understand that that is probably true for the most part.
But compared to say the Levoit Core 300 which has a replaceable filter that combines the HEPA with the carbon, which makes it non washable right out,
The HEPA filter on the Winix plasma wave is completely separate which gives me the option of at least soaking it, which may help me extend the life of the filter.
And like I said, yes I know that the filter will not be as effective. But at least I have the option.
Q&A
What is the Winix air quality indicator?
The Winix air quality indicator is a light that shows the quality of air currently in your room.
What are the air quality indicator colors?
The air quality indicator colors on a Winx PlasmaWave are Blue, Amber, and Red. When the light is shining Blue, your air quality is good. When it is shining Amber, you have normal to Fair air quality. Red means poor air quality.
What does it mean when the Winix air quality indicator stays Blue?
Blue is the best you can do. It means your air quality is very good.
Summary
Do I think Winix’s PlasmaWave advertisement is misleading?
Yes I do believe that it is meant to misconstrue on a couple of points. Being that it says it creates no harmful ozone but that’s only when the plasma wave function is not on or they’re really trying to say that it doesn’t create enough ozone to be considered harmful.
And it says it has a washable carbon filter. But washable in this case can only really mean vacuuming or brushing it off. It will still have to be replaced.
But on another level, I have to agree that this air purifier is much better than most of the most popular brands listed at the top of the page right now.
Without exception, all the air purifiers use the exact same technologies: true HEPA, activated carbon, and a pre filter. Winix PlasmaWave actually gives me the option of using Bipolar ionic that the other air purifiers do not. And it’s not like I can’t turn the function off when I do not need it.
And did I mention that the HEPA filter in the Winix PlasmaWave is separate from the carbon filter. A big plus if you want to do a DIY cleaning job on it.
