C545

Best value buy hands down! Solid CADR (clean air delivery rate) scores in all categories even on lower speed settings; quiet, energy efficient, cheap maintenance/filter replacements. That said, I believe that specific model only has a mesh charcoal filter. If filtering out VOCs and odors is important for you, consider a model that has a charcoal pellet filter instead like the Winix 5500-2. Has on/off settings for plasma filtration (plasma can produce trace amounts of ozone, so I specifically wanted a model that does not have it or can be turned off during operation). Higher cost upfront and in filters, but I personally find it to be worth it for the much improved VOC filtration.

I use a Winix C545 and IKEA starkvind purifiers. They’re decent and the Winix filters aren’t very expensive. Still RabbitAir makes some of the best purifiers out there and they’re expensive but Google says there is a HA integration for some of them. If I could spend the money I’d buy one for sure.

I have a Winix C545 and I have two IKEA Starkvind tables. Both quite nice and the Winix filters are inexpensive.

Winix C545 for the win! Best one with auto mode and app support. Also costco gave year worth of free filters.

I run four Winix 5000 / 545 series filters with aftermarket honeycomb carbon filters in a \~1200 sq ft apartment with a rangehood that plumbs outside. Two of these filters are within 15 feet of the range. Even when I'm cooking with the air being blasted out, the Winix cannot keep up. If i'm burning oil or let the pan run too hot when searing steak - my smoke alarms still have the potential to go off. Do they help with particulate? Absolutely. But they were never ever intended for an active source of particulate. Smell? VOCs? Even less so. The VOC removal on these units are essentially there for marketing. They're basically ineffective, period. Especially after a week of use, or less. (Genuine carbon filter or not). As for lessening smells - this falls more in line with those who have pets waste and thinking it'll improve the smell. If the source is there - no - the filters won't really fix it. The smells - since they're not being ventilated - will quite literally settle into fabrics - the sofa, couch, bedding, clothes (close your closets!), shoes, bath mats, dish rags - and continue to off gas and lift off the fabrics as they move, as people walk past and its wafted. If its not being blown out of the home, its sitting inside your home. The source needs to be removed - full stop - and this is for any source of smell. Given that burnt pepper smell is still evident after about a day of cooking WITH filtration on for me - i'd say it would absolutely improve the situation, but there's no way people are walking into the home/apartment with no cooking ventilation and not immediately smelling the food. It's already settled into the home. tl;dr A good range hood is the absolute clear solution. Work a way to ventilate out - consider window mounted fan sucking air out close to the cooking source Consider fresh air in - another window providing positive pressure bringing in non-cooking-air Filter stale air (air purifiers) as a final step.

I would match all three for ease of filter stocking and replacement. I don't know any of these filters personally except the C545. The C545 is ... wasn't on my recommend list. I own, probably at least 3 across various apts and homes? My issue with it, is it basically was advertised as a replacement for the (now refreshed) Winix 5500-2 - even sporting a similar price point with added smart-wifi features. Except its slightly cheaper feeling, higher pitched wind/fan noise thats harder to block out, and many arrived with misaligned fans that clanked around. All three of my first batch were refurbs for $59 or $69/each and did not suffer from those problems. (Edit: I suspect Winix has a ton of refurbs that were repaired returns). Its been over \~6 years and they're still running great. But I basically only want to get 5500-2's or the costco C535 instead. I can't recommend them purely because there were better options in Winix's own lineup at the time - but if its the one on sale, I can say that my 3 have held up to dog hair and cat hair just fine. (HIGHLY recommend placing one right next to the cat bed - i mean literally on top - it will suck everything instead of letting it linger on the floor and get kicked around). The C545 also has great 3rd party filter availability on amazon - with upgrades available to replace the useless carbon sheet with a slightly less useless carbon pellet pre filter. Again - if you can find the 5300/5500-2 or C535 - go for those instead. And just match the filters. Don't bother getting a different one per room.

I say about 1/3rd of my Winix's have a bit of a smell that dissipates quite quickly.

Go straight to the Winix site and get a refurb C545 refurb if possible. I bought 3 of them for $89.99 each.

I 2nd the Winix recommendation. I replaced 5 pricey Milas that all broke after a year with 5 Winix C545 US units 2 years ago...best decision ever.

I went through 11 or 12 Milas (originally bought 5) that all had bearings issues or capacitor failures. I finally broke down and bought 5 Winix refurb C545 units for $69 each 2 years ago....best decision ever! They are super easy to clean, I can get off brand filter refills that are a bargain, I love the app scheduling options....they just WORK in silence and it's so great to actually forget about them because they aren't constantly breaking. It felt like I was actually cheating on Mila when I finally threw in the towel. However, I wish I had done it sooner instead of just prolonging the torture. Coways are great machines...I'm sure you'll love it.

I have had 6 Winix C545 units for 2.5 years that I have been super happy with. I purchased 5 of them as refurbs directly from Winix...[they currently have them for sale for $60](https://www.winixamerica.com/product/certified-refurbished-c545-air-purifier/) which is a fantastic deal. I have replaced the filters with generic replacements from Amazon for about $18/year for the HEPA filter and 4 carbon filters. I just replaced the carbon filters and the HEPA filters today. Note the super dirty carbon filter in the upper right...that is from my 99.9% dust free cat litter. 😩 Btw, I have these for my allergies, but my pets benefit as well. https://preview.redd.it/suy0v3fng9ag1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d8a7ac356203455a672b2691df2a7cbc400d36a5

You're welcome! FYI that the Plasmawave can be turned off this unit if needed.

We now have 3 Winix units. Bought a 5520 a couple months ago when it was on sale on Amazon and liked it so much got a c545 and c909 refurbished from Winix direct which just arrived. The 5520 has pellet type carbon filters which I understand last a bit longer than the other types. We use that in the open concept kitchen and it does a great at odors (so far) and filter replacements are inexpensive and lots of 3rd party options very cheap. The c909 I put in the basement where its higher filtration capacity will be handy but it’s more power hungry. The c545 has known bearing failure issues but we plan to run it on low in the kids bedroom area due to allergies. I have been very happy with the auto air detection setting in the 5520 where it automatically cranks up the fan when cooking.

I have one and it's not quiet anymore. There's a sound similar to a bad belt on an engine.

The most common recommendation is the one that Costco has sold for years, the Winix C545. They put it on sale for $100 multiple times per year and sell the replacement filters for cheap. I have it and it’s great. Quiet, has smartphone controls, looks nice, etc.

I bought 4 of the Winix C545 directly from Winix on the refurbished portion of their site. They have a prefilter and a charcoal filter before the HEPA filter. I run them on full blast all the time because I live in an old house and I have dogs. They pick up a lot of dust. I'm pretty happy with them, they've helped my allergies a lot.

I bought this model directly from Winix refurbished, it was 69.99 at the time, not sure about now. I have 4 of them, they work great.