Winix - 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.

Costco has this Winix one you can buy other places, but often goes on sale for $99. I like it because it came with TONS of replacement filters. At least 2 years worth. I have three of them - one living room/kitche for food/smoke smells, bedroom, and office. I have three dogs and live in an old af house, and it helps a ton with dust. [Winix True HEPA](https://www.costco.com/winix-true-hepa-4-stage-air-purifier-with-wi-fi-and-additional-filter.product.4000093012.html)

I guess it depends on the size of the air purifier you need or how often you need to change the air in the entire space. I have a couple of the [IKEA Starkvind tables](https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/starkvind-table-with-air-purifier-stained-oak-veneer-dark-brown-smart-30501958/#content) and a [Winix C545](https://www.winixamerica.com/product/certified-refurbished-c545-air-purifier/). I linked to a refurbished Winix because that's what I bought. I think the Winix is too expensive at the regular price for its size and the IKEA tables are priced decently considering they're functional furniture. In both cases they clean smaller areas, but will eventually change the air in a large space with the Winix doing I think 1700 sq ft in an hour. The Winix integration is cloud based which isn't for everyone but the integration works well. the IKEA models are Zigbee and can work with the IKEA integration if you have their hub or with a generic Zigbee dongle. The filters for the Winix model are inexpensive enough with multiple choices on Amazon, the IKEA filters don't have a generic and you have to get them from IKEA. I think they're about $60 a set delivered, a few bucks less if you have an IKEA nearby.

I have 4 cats and a dog. I have two Winix c545 purifiers, a Winix 5300, and Whirlpool Whispure 510 in various rooms. They're all pretty solid.

I own the 5300-2 and 5500-2, about 7 units total. No noise on any of them running continuously. I can't say the same of the smaller C545 - they're noisy and sound scrapey and unbalanced after a while. I have 3 of those and two are significantly nosier than the rest. They also have a higher pitched sound profile, which is easier to drown out but more annoying if you aren't drowning it out over something else.

Avoid Mila....horrible longevity and I have trashed 8 units that failed so far (5 purchased + warranty replacements). Plus their filters are very expensive. I replaced them all with 5 Winix C545 units a year ago and couldn't be happier. Slim in size, noise is non-existent when I'm on calls, and I have them scheduled to run at higher speeds at times of the day/night when I am not in those rooms. They suck up all kinds of dust and cat hair, and the replacement filters are very affordable, especially if you get off brand replacements that look/act 100% identical.

They really are the best option for immediate poop stink removal. I gave a Winix C545 unit with PlasmaWave odor removing technology in every large room, and it is shocking how much dust and cat hair they pull out out of the air.

I have found that an air purifier with charcoal can really help with the immediate poop odors. I have a Winix running in the cat litter box room with the PlasmaWave turned on.

i use winix! (specifically model C545)

We have a Winix C545, works great. The Costco near us sold literally thousands of them during the forest fires a couple years ago.

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.

You just solved a mystery for me. I couldn't figure out why our electric bill was so much higher this time. We've have our c545 filters running on high or turbo for a month now because of allergies and illnesses. Bummer that it sounds like the new version isn't much more efficient. 

Thanks for the info about this my c545 tends to either fall off the wifi or need app intervention more frequently than I like, we use ours as a white noise generator at night, which usually results in the wife attempting to turn the fan speed to 100% it not working and then me half asleep trying to resolve the issue. Off to see if woot or Winnix has refurbished units on sale.

The Coway 150 or the Winix C545, with some caveats. But I recommend upgrading from the Coway 150 to the Coway Airmega 200 (which I have) or Coway Mighty (a little harder to clean the front panel of the Mighty than the Coway 200) to provide flexibility of moving it to a larger room. Depending on the merchant, the 200 isn't much more expensive than the 150. [Wirecutter](https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-air-purifier/#our-pick-coway-airmega-ap-1512hh-mighty) rates the Winix C535 as performing as well as the Winix 5500-2, so presumably the Winix C545 would be good. I don't recommend the Winix 5500-2 (which I also have) for ***bedrooms*** because you can't turn off the annoying display light--not good for sleeping. But I consider the 5200-2 to be better than the aforementioned Coways only because of its charcoal filter with charcoal pellets--not the charcoal filter pad that the Coways use. Also, it's easy to forget to turn off 5500-2's pointless "PlasmaWave" feature when you turn on the machine--probably not good to have that activated in your baby's room. Other than that, Winix 5500-2 and the Coway Airmega 200 have the same specs (airflow and coverage). I don't know if the Winix C535 and the C545 lack a light shut off feature similar to the Winix 5500-2's lack of that feature. Levoit Core 300 seems ok but it has some quirks mentioned in this video of the Levoit Core 400: [https://youtu.be/h-keLXkIKI0](https://youtu.be/h-keLXkIKI0) (I like that guy's reviews of air purifies--he really knows what he's talking about. And he rates the 5500-2 as the best one on the market). An air filtration expert did all types of tests on the Levoit Core 400 and the results were impressive. I don't know anything about the Smart Air Sqair. But I notice that unlike the Levoit Core 300 and seemingly all Winix models, the Smart Air Sqair doesn't have an AHAM Verifide certificate (to be fair, neither does any Coway model). [https://www.ahamdir.com/room-air-cleaners/](https://www.ahamdir.com/room-air-cleaners/) Smart Air Sqair also doesn't specify what its clean air delivery rate (CADR) applies to--smoke, dust, or pollen (smoke is always the lowest of the 3)--which to me is red flag on honesty/openness. What's the height of your ceiling?

Yes. It looks like the C545, like the Coways, uses a charcoal filter pad, unlike the 5500-2's better charcoal pellet filter. The Winix 5500-2 is much more equivalent to the Coway Mighty/200 in terms of capes. Do you mean they're roughly equivalent in terms of noise?

Had a Winix C545, the bearings went bad recently so I replaced with an Airfanta 3 Pro.

I don't have this model, but I've got a bunch of reconditioned Winix c545 models in my house, basically one per room. Got them off Woot whenever they have a sale. They run most of the day. We do weed dabs all day, occasionally smoke weed, and vape. We blow them into the Winixes and our house stays fresh smelling.

It usually goes on sale for less than $100 every now and then. Great form factor.

The C545 appears to be discontinued and this C610 replaces it. Reading the box it seems to have all the same features as the 545. The box says up to 2 years of filtration, not sure if that is with 1 filter or if it simply includes 2 years worth of replacements like the 545 did. This new unit appears to be somewhat copying the shark unit with the cylindrical design which some may find more attractive. It's $129.99 which is the same price as the 545 was, I wonder if it will get the same $99.99 bi-annual sale. I have a couple C545 units still going strong after 3 years and I'm very happy with them.

Are you sure it was the air purifier raising your bill? I just checked my C545 and even running on high it only uses about 10 watts which adds up to ~$3.65/month running 24/7, and thats at 50 cents per kwh.(California prices) On turbo the C545 uses 47 watts and the tag on the back of the new 610 says 45 watts so probably similar energy usage.

It'll definitely help your allergies. I'm not sure about this new model but the C545 I have in the living room runs on high 24/7 and it's just barely audible even 5 feet away, on low it's virtually silent. 

The C545 is just like a thin piece of charcoal foam not even a plastic frame.  But yeah the replacement filters for the 545 you get a HEPA filter and 4 carbon filters so you can replace the carbon every 3 months. 

I had a couple of Winix... uhh... C545, I think the models were, in the house in Texas. They collected a huge amount of dust every month, which is dust that is NOT deposited in the house. I'm not sure it made that much of a difference in the house, given that Texas has a LOT of shit in the air. Now that I'm in a cleaner environment (Seattle), I ended up with a BlueAir 211+ (cheaper HEPA filters, lower energy consumption for something that runs 24/7, and of course, excellent filtration by all tests), and it doesn't clog up as much, but I still notice that I dust the house less when I run it. Also, it's amusing (or terrifying) to see the blue light (good air) turn red (bad air) when I make bacon in the kitchen. I can't tell if the air is better - it doesn't smell different or anything. I just noticed a bit less dust on shelves and tables, etc. That also means less dust in the carpets when I vacuum.

Winix C545 2-pack from Costco.

The one Costco used to sell was the C545 which was networked. [Local control](https://github.com/mill1000/esphome-winix-c545) involves soldering an ESP32 to the control board. Since the hack is intercepting commands and statuses sent to their servers, the device needs to "believe" that wifi is working fine. So you would either block it at your router from reaching outside your network or solder the wifi reset pin to ground. As far as I'm aware, no component has been made for the C610 yet.

Yeah I'm specifically talking about the C545, don't know what they had before then. Fwiw, you can just keep them disconnected from the Internet and they'll work just fine still.

I would try to up your budget a bit. The Winix 545 is $129 right now at [www.winixamerica.com](http://www.winixamerica.com) and could be a good choice. You can also buy a filter for it that's designed for smoke removal.

I'd go with the Winix because it has a real HEPA filter and its AHAM certified. Having said that, if the units don't have enough power for the size of your rooms, they won't do much. You can get a much better C545 on Winix Americas website for $130 right now, and if that would put you over budget, refurbished C545s are only $90 (also on Winix America's website). I purchased a few refurbished C535s (the older model) years ago and they served me well.

In Cali everything got a Prop warning on it :) We have four Winix 545’s and could not be happier!

Same. Been using the c545 for a while with no problems. You gotta remember to login to the winix app once in a while or it will deregister the device but otherwise everything works flawlessly.

Winix C545 on sale at Costco for $99. Replacement heap filters from Amazon are usually on sale. Best value 100%.

These are great, have one in basically every room running 24/7 lol

I have a Winix (model C545 i think) air purifier that I got on sale at Costco. My cat has had some wheezing issues that we were concerned were asthma but all testing and x-rays showed that he just seems more sensitive to air quality. Our vet recommended an air purifier with a HEPA filter (this one has a charcoal filter layer as well that gets replaced more often) and to make sure he gets enough air moisture (humidifier or letting him hang out while i take a hot shower). He went from a wheezing episode 2-3 times a week or more to currently maybe that many in an entire month, and they're shorter and less severe. Only time it increased again was when the filters needed to be replaced, and he got better immediately after. Only change was adding the purifier.

I went down an air purifier black hole for MONTHS when trying to figure out what to get. Ended up getting the Winix C545 and it has done wonders for our allergies and such. Just got a dog so am planning on purchasing the +pet guard filter when our current one needs replacing. Ended up looking specifically for purifiers that had AHAM verification and all Winix ones fit the bill. Super happy with my purchase

I use two different ones: Winx C545 (Costco) and Blueair 411 (Amazon). The latter one served as the forced-air exhaust on my old DIY litter box.

I’ve got one of these and the Coway Airmega 1512HH as recommended in another comment. Both work very well, but the Winix makes noise on all speed settings, while the Coway is silent on low, near-silent on medium, and makes a much more pleasant air rushing sound on high than the Winix.

Anyone know how this compared to c545 in terms of the electricity consumption? I’ve found C545 to significantly increase my bill. If this is made more efficient, I’d return and buy this at $30 more, because that could easily pay off in a few months on electricity cost.

The winix is great, I bought a second one. It really kicks in fast. Also... Why the hell is there a razor propped up there? 🤣

Now back to your question, return it and get the same or a winix :)

Yep, I was having allergy issues and bought one for the bedroom, went so well I bought another one for the living room/open kitchen. It also came with many replacement filters (both the filter and the carbon pad) Also love that it has schedules you can use so it goes to sleep mode at night and then back to auto mode in the morning. Also works with Google home which is a plus for me. I have two cats and have noticed less cat hair/dust when vacuuming with the Dyson (it has a green light that will show every speck of dust like a MF), so I can vacuum less now. The first layer in the filter is a very fine plastic mesh so you can wash that with soap which is useful for example in the kitchen one as it will collect some grease overtime. The ones I have are the C545, in case they changed the model.

2nd the winix. 5500 isn’t terrible at $133, if you are strapped for cash keep an eye out for factory reconditioned c545 models

I have been perfectly happy with a much cheaper Winix C545. It even allows me to control it via an API on my home network. The replacement filters are easily found on Amazon and are very affordable by third party sellers.

I actually use a couple of C545 units at my house, and having taken real-time measurements at the 0.3 and 2.5 micron levels, for the past 2-3 years - they work really well. As for asthma, it really depends what kind of asthma we're talking about - is it triggered by dust mites, pet dander, exercise, etc? The cause, as well as the symptoms can vary, which is why it is a "syndrome," as opposed to a singular disease. It might be a good idea to get allergy testing done to figure out what it is that you are allergic to. And then change your environment accordingly.

I have the same one and I guess I got unlucky because the front clips on both sides got broken on mine within like 6 mo. To be fair, I had it in a place where I or my cats would sometimes bump into it so I know that didn’t help.

A good purifier will definitely collect stuff from the air, but only from the area immediately around the air purifier. You will still have a lot of dust and stuff even in the same room as the purifier, but the filters will also be loaded with crap before long, so you can see that it actually is doing something. You may need several for the same room where you're most concerned about the air quality. The small ones don't do much of anything. You would likely need something like a Winix 5300, 5500, C535, C545 etc. Not sure where you're located, but Costco often has some of them at good prices. If you get one without defects, they're quiet, filters are cheap, and they are often mentioned as the most highest rated air purifiers because of filtration efficiency and affordable price. They're also power efficient. I've also had good luck with Honeywell, despite a lot of people not liking them. The quality has gone downhill in recent years, and they use a lot of electricity compared to the Winix, but they are very efficient at filtration because of their higher speeds. They tend to be on the louder side, and they have only a single pre-filter instead of two. Generally you want to get the largest unit you can get. If on the rare chance it ends up being too large for the room, you can just run it at a lower speed. The smaller ones really won't do very much for you, even if they claim to fit the square footage of the room you're placing it in. You should also make sure the vacuum is a high quality bagged vacuum using multi-layered bags, such as Miele or Sebo. Cheap bagged vacuums, and almost all bagless vacuums will put dust back into the air. The Miele bags act as the filter and have something like 9 layers of filter material so you know that what you suck up stays sucked up. My suggestion would be to pick up a Winix unit and put in your bedroom and start there. But first, give it a good vac and damp wipe surfaces and floors to gather dust and dander. Then run the purifier with the door closed as often as possible.

I also have this one and have been very pleased with it- the machine and filters also seem to go on sale at Costco fairly often.

You probably just missed the refurb deal on winix c545 that was on woot for $50. Maybe they will run it again. It's nearly black Friday, look for deals.

Go to Winix site they got the refurbished C545 for $69. I got one it’s still going strong years later.

Winix 535. Just set it and forget it. I've had a couple running pretty much non-stop for 8+ years now. Just required filter changes. I don't recommend the 545 since the filter is smaller. Unless someone has a use case for the wifi connectivity, I don't see a reason why it needs it. I think they would just report back to the company just so they can remind you to buy their filters.

I have the Winix C545. It has a timer and various speeds. It also has an overnight mode, which is extra quiet. Purchased at Costco over a year ago. Bought extra filters online.

There is the Winix C545, levoit 200s. I have both and recommend them but just a fair warning, Winix air purifier motors tend to get coil whine. Mine developed coil whine and became unbearable.

I purchased this air purifier around a month or so ago, ya’ll, look at how much crap it caught. I’ve done my homework and knew this was a good air purifier, but I didn’t think it would build up so quickly in such a small amount of time. For context, I have a very small room (10 x 10 ft), I consistently keep it clean, arriate it, and vacuum, but I wanted to try an air purifier as I still dealt with allergies. It’s always been on ever since on the medium option and I’m pleasantly surprised how well it works. I wasn’t going look into filters because I got it not long ago, but the light was consistently on RED. I turn it off, open it, and this thing is like a vacuum. It caught everything from dust, crumbs, dog fur, and so much hair (I was not expecting that). Also, I liked that the carbon filter caught the smaller white particles. The HEPPA filter was not visibly dirty. The Winix Smart App said the filter life was around 76% which is great. All in all, I think it’s a great buy. A month ago this retailed at $150 on the website, today it’s down to $130. Devices like dehumidifiers and these get you thinking, “Man, all of that was in the air” lol.

Of course! I have the white one, model C545

Model C545

Agreed. The C545 is great.

WiFi is great when paired with [Homebridge](https://homebridge.io), I can use Apple HomeKit (and Siri) to turn on and off all of my C545 air purifiers. Sometimes you want to set the whole house to max if something goes wrong in the kitchen, and it’s great if it’s just a quick toggle away, ya know?

I have a 900 sq foot 1 bedroom apt. Winix c545 in my bedroom on turbo fan mode - i smell no smoke. If i put it in my living room, it wouldn’t be strong enough. But I’m happy just staying in my bedroom. Night and day difference between my bedroom and living room. Costco has it. I also blocked my entrance door by stuffing a rug to prevent the smoke from coming into my apt from hallway. When there’ll days in a row for bad smoke rating, I will be installing plastic insulation film over my window. It’s the one you use during winter to keep your room warm.

i have a winix C545 and i love it. purchased from costco, so it came with replacements. i cant remember the price exactly bc it was a gift, but i think it was under $200.

I've had one of these running for the last month. I like it. The automatic feature works well and I don't have to think about it. I also have one of the models they sold last year (C545) and just replaced the filters on it. They are nice units and really help to keep the air fresh.

I have 2 Winix C-545. I got them for on sale at Costco for $99 each. I believe normal price $199. I keep one in the master bedroom and one in the living room. They have an app that controls them and shows the main filter life. They have 3 different filters, one that you clean every 2 weeks one you change every 3 months and the other the unit will tell you when to change via the app. They really do work well. I have pets and I can tell a difference in the air in the house since I’ve added these to my home. I also live in an area where smog and wildfires are an issue and it helps in that aspect as well. I am a believer in them. My spouse was skeptical about it as well and after having them for a weekend and going to work and coming home she realized they really do work.

Using winix c545 which has wifi and a hacs integration. Seems to work decent enough and was on sale for 90 bucks at Costco a few times

Firstly, pandemic never ended. People just stopped caring about us "disposable people" (the elderly and disabled) dying 🤷 Having multiple air purifiers around the house would be useful to improve overall air quality. The Costco near me almost always has Winix C545 purifiers on sale for $200 or less (Canadian dollars). They come with an extra set of filters which is convenient. They're affordable, well trusted, and having an app to set them to a certain schedule is really nice. The pre-filter and carbon foam layer help catch a lot of pet hair and dust, as well as the HEPA helping with my allergies immensely. I also have a GermGuardian from Costco, but I don't like their design as much. The pre-filter is insufficient and the HEPA filter gets dirtier much faster. They're affordable though, which is nice.

Winix from Costco - their cheapest model, I think the 545. I run it 24/7 and it's been going strong for 5 years or so now

Actually I'm confused about this because I bought a Winix C545 and the box says 99.97% of particles .3 microns and larger but their website says 99.99% of airborne allergens and other ultra fine particles as small as .003 microns. https://www.winixamerica.com/product/certified-refurbished-c545-air-purifier/

The Winix 5500-2 is better than the C545, and roughly equivalent to the Coway 150. The 150 is newer design and likely quieter. :) Those are the two I'd be looking at.

C545 has the same annoying light. Electrical tape is your friend. I bought LED light blocking tape from amazon for a couple bucks, best investment EVER. :)

I have 2 Winix HEPAs that have been running 24/7 for 6+ years. I clean the screen every week or so, replace the carbon every month, and the HEPA every ~8 months.

Same. One of mine has been going 24/7 for 10 years, now. Clean mech filter every other week, change carbon filter every month, change HEPA every ~8 months.

NY suburbs. Lots of crap in our air. If you live near a big city, you might want to change that HEPA more often. It becomes less effective and more strain on the fan as it catches more of the tiny particles.

Have the same one on right now. Love it. Was around $100 I think?

I like this brand too, I purchased a small one from Costco and then found a great deal on a big refurbished one on the Winix website. 

it’s been about a year and a half since installing a Winix in every bedroom and living room of my home. I should mention that we have hardwood floors throughout the rooms and every room is vacuumed daily if not every other day. Bought 2 to test out when they were on sale and noticed my husband coughing less and his allergies inside were improving. Put one in the main bedroom and the other in the living room and after about 2 or more weeks on Auto Mode (it’s on 24/7 and adjusts is filtration strength as needed) I peeked in and noticed that it was actually physically working. The actual filters are said to last a whole year and the dust cover/collector that goes over the 2 filters was sucking up and collecting the dust and dog hairs. The easy access to the filters makes it easy to vacuum and maintain. So we decided to put one in every room with absolutely no regret. Not sure how the others perform. I purchased during allergy season and Winix was highly recommended talked about a lot on this sub at the time. We really love the WiFi connectivity and the easy to use phone app that allows us to remotely control the devices when away as well as synch it to work with our Google home devices.

I prefer winix products, they do there job , nothing fancy

Yes, they really work. You only have to run it for a week and check the washable filter to know it works. We have winix and levoit, both are relatively inexpensive and pull a ton of crap out of the air.

I like the winix and Levoit ones. Winix I appreciate the color indicator for air quality to know when to turn it up higher. I think it does have the ionizer someone else mentioned but I turn it off now, and I think they have models without it that are probably cheaper.

I have a Winix that we use in the common areas. I like that it has HEPA filtration because my husband has emphysema. I can't say that it helps a great deal with dust though. I think my unit was $300-$400.

I have two Winx filters and they work really well but after 3 years or so the motors start making a ticking sound. I contacted the manufacturer who is not willing to sell me a motor and suggested I just buy a whole new units...

Winix Plasma Wave is an affordable effective unit. I used three when I lived in a polluted area. I now use it sporadically to clean up the plastic dust and other crap that accumulates in a home

I love my Winix! Ended up buying one before Costco had them as they were much cheaper than most brands, but actually had really good specs and certifications from everywhere, while also having a large AHAM verification for their square footage. I think I will be buying the Costco one soon for our spare bedroom though! Also if you need a larger size, they have a bigger unit available on Costco's website.

https://ausclimate.com.au/blogs/air-purifier-posts/what-is-winix-plasmawave#:~:text=In%20short%2C%20yes%3B%20Winix',and%20Drug%20Administration%20(FDA). Don't fear monger, Winix even passes California's extremely strict Ozone requirements. Also to the person below this comment, most UV light actually also creates Ozone, and is also not very effective in helping clean the air at all. At best UV light only kills the bacteria on the filter, provided it's actually exposed.

I’ve been really impressed by my Winix. I have a huge one that really seems to do the job. I change the filter once the year but vacuum it all out more often than that to keep it running really well.

Did you try turning off Plasmawave? I found that was the cause for my Winix models rather than a mechanical fan issue.

I’ve been using my Winix with Plasmawave since 2019 without issue, and that includes moving about once per year. These units have held up to that. I can tell you they really work. I have a mold allergy, and mold is literally everywhere in outdoor or indoor air with spores just waiting to land in a suitable environment for growth, but I have no symptoms at home with my two small Winix. I also have pets. These reduce any odors from that, and they are at what one might consider end of life for a typical air filter system. 5 years is typical. 10 is incredible. I am not washing the pre-filter nearly as often as I should and am slow to replace the carbon and HEPA filters sometimes, so 5+ is just astounding in my case.

The PlasmaWave I looked at used an ionizer which is a huge no for me.

PlasmaWave is just a glorified ionizer. I personally cannot stand the scent of ionizers, it gives me headaches.

You want a HEPA filter and actual activated carbon granules-sometimes the activated carbon is just a paper thin layer-not doing much. For cost, consider replacement filter costs not just up front ones. I also like ones that have a sensor so you can leave it on “auto” and it will kick on when you cook or air gets worse without you having to keep track of it. Also don’t splurge on plasma ion or ozone or whatever else-mixed studies show it can react with chemicals to form more dangerous ones at worst and generally not much better at best. Right now you may want to sacrifice optimality for actually having something going to clean your air since it’s a time of high uncertainty. What’s in stock at home depot may be superior to the “best” air purifier that arrives in 2 weeks. Those caveats-no one can give better advice based on “feel” than what’s tests show-and wirecutter actually tested performance https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-air-purifier/ . If you prefer anecdotes, here are some of my experiences: Winnix has been in stock at home depot. I evacuated with my air purifier and I needed something to leave during cleaning to try and detox my pasadena apartment. It was in stock and had hepa+carbon-it seems to be working. Oransi is the one I evacuated with, love the looks, it really seems to work well, lots of aftermarket filters available-downside is that sleep mode sets fan speed to auto, I want it to just turn lights off and leave the fan mode. But It has lasted at least 6+ years. Levoit is what was at the apartment I evacuated to. It seems a little less powerful per dollar spent than my oransi, but it’s night mode turns off the lights while still letting you set the fan speed. My roommate left a Coway going in his room and that thing worked very well to prevent any smoke smell from settling, and it’s highly recommended by wirecutter. If I had to buy right now and I could get one in a reasonable timeline, it’s how I would go.

Any filter with a charcoal filter layer will help some (Winix is one brand commonly available at Costco…I also have a more elaborate Rowenta)…my Winix came with multiple charcoal layer replacements. Dealing with total incontinence here, and not to criticize your MILs efforts, but you might want to look into the actual sources of the odors. Chairs, clothes that sit around waiting for wash, previously soaked furniture or carpet? If bedding or fabric furniture smells and you can replace it, do so. I use a combo of Depends on my father, and all his sleeping or seating surfaces have a first layer of puppy pee pads (Costco has large ones that work well and are cheap), and then a fabric layer on top (whether sheets or a chair cover or towel, tucked into the sides of the chair). Once he’s wet, after I changes his pants all clothes and chair covers and bedding goes in the wash (3-5 loads a day).  For the mattress you can find on Amazon washable mattress covers (the whole bed ones don’t work that well but that’s my base layer and then a thicker more absorbent one that I fit across the middle section of his bed, and on top of that layered dog pee pads).  So again, not sure if any of this advice helps but this method works for me.