ZERO Compact AAPU500-JLE

I bought the following one last year for my office and hobby room (it's a small room and a really quiet device): [https://www.cleanairoptima.nl/en/product/403/intelligent-hepa-ionizer-air-purifier-ca-502-desktop-smart.html](https://www.cleanairoptima.nl/en/product/403/intelligent-hepa-ionizer-air-purifier-ca-502-desktop-smart.html) And the following one I got for my bedroom many years ago. I wasn't sure what to look for back then and needed something with a sleep mode, but it has worked well so far (I couldn't find an English site for this one): [https://winixeurope.eu/nl/luchtreinigers/winix-luchtreiniger-zero-compact/](https://winixeurope.eu/nl/luchtreinigers/winix-luchtreiniger-zero-compact/) Overall you mainly need to look at what filter they use, HEPA 13 or 14 should be what to aim for as far as I know, and look at the airflow and the room sizes that they support. The first one is for example only good enough for 20 square meters, which is about spot on for that room.

If price is a big concern: Winix A231. Might also be sold under the name "Zero Compact", at least that's what they call it over here in Europe. I have the A332, which is basically the same thing. I paid under €100 for it and an extra filter and I've been using it for a month now. It's doing a great job cleaning the air in my small home office (where I smoke). It's also quiet enough for bedroom use on sleep mode or next higher fan setting, plus is has an auto-mode and an air quality sensor. No connectivity-features though, so if that's what you're after, you'll need to look elsewhere. [https://youtu.be/dw\_srz410Xg?si=1r3m75iMlUtoWYLS](https://youtu.be/dw_srz410Xg?si=1r3m75iMlUtoWYLS) and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzJXiyGCEmw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzJXiyGCEmw) If you're willing to spend a bit more and if odors are your main problem, you might want to also consider slightly larger, more expensive models that come with those honeycomb carbon filter elements that have carbon pellets in them. The more carbon, the better odor absorption will be and the longer it'll take before the carbon is saturated and needs to be replaced. Winix 5510 has such a filter design and is also highly rated - and not too expensive IMO, given its size and power. Its predecessor (if they still sell it in the US), the 5500-2 also uses the same filter. God, the names of these devices are so stupid and confusing... lol. Levoit Vital 200 S (their "square" design, not the tube-shaped Levoit Core 200 S) also has such a filter element plus they offer specialized replacement filters for it, one of which comes with extra carbon as it's meant to be used to get rid of smoke. Project Farm purifier roundup featuring the 5510 and three Levoit models: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQGfO4hNb60](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQGfO4hNb60)

There's this: [https://housefresh.com/winix-a231-review/](https://housefresh.com/winix-a231-review/) and this: [https://www.airpurifierfirst.com/review/winix-a231/](https://www.airpurifierfirst.com/review/winix-a231/) I've been using the Winix A332, which is, as far as I can tell, just an older version of the 231/Zero Compact but basically the same thing. Only difference other than the color that I can see in Winix' technical specs is that the Compact is rated for up to 50m² rooms, while the 332 is rated for 45. Everything else looks identical to me, even down to the basic design of the two devices plus they both use the exact same filter ("Winix O"). In any case: I'm using mine in a very small home office to combat cigarette smoke and it's been doing a fine job. I've been using it for a little over a month now, so I can't say how long the filter will actually last and, more importantly, how long it'll be able to absorb odors. Those types of filters don't have a ton of carbon in them and once that's saturated, I'm guessing it'll become less and less effective at capturing odors. I'm not sure how big the room is exactly where I use the device, but it can't be more than 10m²... probably a little smaller than that. And for this size it seems just about perfect. I'm currently looking to get something larger for the kitchen/living-room area like the Winix 5500-2, and I doubt that thing would even fit into my little office. I can't measure the air quality in this room, but I will say that the air started to "feel" better already 30 minutes after I had first hooked up the device. The cigarette smell is almost completely gone - I've had visitors make unprompted remarks about the sudden absence of the smell when they passed by the office in the hall. Without a means of measuring this, it's hard to tell because I'm sure that objects in the room will still smell of cigarettes and thus the smell isn't completely gone. But I'd say it's a reduction in smoke-smell of about 95 percent or so. I'm also noticing a sharp decline in the amount of sneezing fits I have when I'm in this room now. It is currently spring and there's a tree in front of the office which I'll usually react to pretty heavily during this time of year, but since I've started using the filter, there's been much less of that. The air quality sensor is a nice addition in this price-range (I paid less than €100 for the device plus an extra filter) and while it usually doesn't show anything but "blue" (good air quality) when I sit here and work and smoke at the PC, it does seem to work. Its reactions aren't instantaneous, so in order to provoke it, I'll have to stand next to the device while smoking and blowing a bit of smoke towards it and it'll take 30 to 60 seconds for it to register that and adjust the fan speed. But it did react to a vacuum-cleaner, whose own filter was super dirty, running just outside of the office and with the door closed, so it is doing its job. I've also tried it in the bedroom to check noise-levels and in night-mode and on the next higher fan-setting it's quiet enough to let me fall asleep. On sleep mode it's almost inaudible and the next higher setting is also totally acceptable. Highest and second highest settings will make things quite a bit noisier, but I think that's normal for all purifiers in this size and/or price-class. Overall, I would definitely recommend this thing at this point - though, as stated earlier, I've only been using it for a little over a month now, so I've no idea about its long-term performance or reliability.

If price is a big concern: Winix A231. Might also be sold under the name "Zero Compact", at least that's what they call it over here in Europe. I have the A332, which is basically the same thing. I paid under €100 for it and an extra filter and I've been using it for a month now. It's doing a great job cleaning the air in my small home office (where I smoke). It's also quiet enough for bedroom use on sleep mode or next higher fan setting, plus is has an auto-mode and an air quality sensor. No connectivity-features though, so if that's what you're after, you'll need to look elsewhere. [https://youtu.be/dw\_srz410Xg?si=1r3m75iMlUtoWYLS](https://youtu.be/dw_srz410Xg?si=1r3m75iMlUtoWYLS) and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzJXiyGCEmw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzJXiyGCEmw) If you're willing to spend a bit more and if odors are your main problem, you might want to also consider slightly larger, more expensive models that come with those honeycomb carbon filter elements that have carbon pellets in them. The more carbon, the better odor absorption will be and the longer it'll take before the carbon is saturated and needs to be replaced. Winix 5510 has such a filter design and is also highly rated - and not too expensive IMO, given its size and power. Its predecessor (if they still sell it in the US), the 5500-2 also uses the same filter. God, the names of these devices are so stupid and confusing... lol. Levoit Vital 200 S (their "square" design, not the tube-shaped Levoit Core 200 S) also has such a filter element plus they offer specialized replacement filters for it, one of which comes with extra carbon as it's meant to be used to get rid of smoke. Project Farm purifier roundup featuring the 5510 and three Levoit models: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQGfO4hNb60](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQGfO4hNb60)

There's this: [https://housefresh.com/winix-a231-review/](https://housefresh.com/winix-a231-review/) and this: [https://www.airpurifierfirst.com/review/winix-a231/](https://www.airpurifierfirst.com/review/winix-a231/) I've been using the Winix A332, which is, as far as I can tell, just an older version of the 231/Zero Compact but basically the same thing. Only difference other than the color that I can see in Winix' technical specs is that the Compact is rated for up to 50m² rooms, while the 332 is rated for 45. Everything else looks identical to me, even down to the basic design of the two devices plus they both use the exact same filter ("Winix O"). In any case: I'm using mine in a very small home office to combat cigarette smoke and it's been doing a fine job. I've been using it for a little over a month now, so I can't say how long the filter will actually last and, more importantly, how long it'll be able to absorb odors. Those types of filters don't have a ton of carbon in them and once that's saturated, I'm guessing it'll become less and less effective at capturing odors. I'm not sure how big the room is exactly where I use the device, but it can't be more than 10m²... probably a little smaller than that. And for this size it seems just about perfect. I'm currently looking to get something larger for the kitchen/living-room area like the Winix 5500-2, and I doubt that thing would even fit into my little office. I can't measure the air quality in this room, but I will say that the air started to "feel" better already 30 minutes after I had first hooked up the device. The cigarette smell is almost completely gone - I've had visitors make unprompted remarks about the sudden absence of the smell when they passed by the office in the hall. Without a means of measuring this, it's hard to tell because I'm sure that objects in the room will still smell of cigarettes and thus the smell isn't completely gone. But I'd say it's a reduction in smoke-smell of about 95 percent or so. I'm also noticing a sharp decline in the amount of sneezing fits I have when I'm in this room now. It is currently spring and there's a tree in front of the office which I'll usually react to pretty heavily during this time of year, but since I've started using the filter, there's been much less of that. The air quality sensor is a nice addition in this price-range (I paid less than €100 for the device plus an extra filter) and while it usually doesn't show anything but "blue" (good air quality) when I sit here and work and smoke at the PC, it does seem to work. Its reactions aren't instantaneous, so in order to provoke it, I'll have to stand next to the device while smoking and blowing a bit of smoke towards it and it'll take 30 to 60 seconds for it to register that and adjust the fan speed. But it did react to a vacuum-cleaner, whose own filter was super dirty, running just outside of the office and with the door closed, so it is doing its job. I've also tried it in the bedroom to check noise-levels and in night-mode and on the next higher fan-setting it's quiet enough to let me fall asleep. On sleep mode it's almost inaudible and the next higher setting is also totally acceptable. Highest and second highest settings will make things quite a bit noisier, but I think that's normal for all purifiers in this size and/or price-class. Overall, I would definitely recommend this thing at this point - though, as stated earlier, I've only been using it for a little over a month now, so I've no idea about its long-term performance or reliability.

I was looking at the Levoit, but couldn't find it anywhere in my part of the world (it was sold out, even on their own local webstore). So I bought a Winix A332 instead, which fits into the same size/power category as the Levoit. Very happy with it as it has reduced the smell of cigarette smoke in my \~10m² office significantly and the air in here generally feels "cleaner" now. I also used it at night to check noise-levels and it's totally fine on auto or night/sleep setting. It does get a bit too loud for that on medium and certainly on high, but that's probably going to happen with almost all air purifiers. Caveat: I've only been using this thing for 10 days now, so I cannot say if the filter's ability to remove odors will last. At this moment, it clearly does work in that way, because I've had others comment on the sudden absence of cigarette-smell. Also: It doesn't have any "smart" features. So if you want connectivity, this one's not for you. I did order the Winix from their own store, but I think the 332 is an older model that's been superseded by their A231 - though almost all their technical specs (size, power draw, etc) are identical and they use the exact same filter element. If you're in Europe, you'll find it under yet another name: "ZERO Compact". I think the 231/Compact is rated for a maximum of 50m² whereas the 332 is rated for 45. Though I don't see either as realistic unless you're willing to use them at full blast all the time. 10 - 20 m² is what I'd use these things for. My main reason for getting the 332 (other than sheer availability) was price. I paid €79 for the unit itself and €19 for an extra replacement filter. Which was less than what the Levoit Core 300 without an extra filter would've cost me.

Definitely Winix

I bought an air purifier and was shit on for 2 full days by my family.

Winix mini Cost 9k

Just bought a Winix Zero S and really working wonders! It stopped most of my dust-related morning allergy. Would 100% recommend for the price. I know I’m gonna get flamed for this but my Dyson TP09 does an okay job too in my office. Just takes longer to clean the room (and it’s more noisy). At least it clears the high levels of formaldehyde that my office seems to have. (With severe allergies stay away from Dyson though)

My Winix Zero S has made wonders for my stuffy nose. I used to wake up and spend the morning blowing my nose. Now I’ll just do it after waking up and be good for the rest of the day (most of the time). The important thing is you have it running at full speed at least 30m before you enter your bedroom, then you can switch it to lower levels for the night. I have a Dyson TP09 running in my office as well, that might be helping too (this one starts running at full speed 2h prior to my arrival to the office, since it’s a big room with high ceilings).

I have a Dyson tp09 and a Winix Zero S. The Winix destroys the Dyson in every aspect. The only thing the Dyson has over the Winix is the fancy meters and cool app. If you are still gonna go for a Dyson I can sell you mine for cheaper (so that I can go buy more Winix purifiers).

If its just 1 room and youre on a budget you can try the winix zero (s). The zero was less than 100 pounds in the netherlands. No smart. But filters are very affordable compared to other air purifiers + good cadr. It wont help much with smells, but you said you care less about that.

The winix zero will be great. It is for bigger spaces, but that means you dont need to run it on max speed to keep your smaller room clear(less sounds than a smaller one). If there are a lot of VOCs everyday the filters will need replacement more often, but that is the case with every air purifier. There's many off brands that sell cheaper filters because its a popular brand.

UK here, I got a Winix Zero a year or so ago. It has a carbon filter and HEPA filter and it hasn't flagged it needs its filter replaced so far. It has an air quality sensor and you can turn off the "plasmawave" if you wish. Very good, would get one again.