REVIEW – I have allergies and sinus issues 24/7 365 days a year. My nose is almost always a little sniffly. TMI? Sorry. But I know that I’m not the only person who has these types of issues. While several people on the team have reviewed air purifiers, the Airdog X5 is the first one I’ve tried and the first one I’ll be reviewing. Why have I waited so long to do a review in this product category? I didn’t want to deal with replacing (and buying) HEPA filters. The Airdog X5 has no consumables so I was happy to accept the offer to review it. Let’s check it out.
What is it?
The Airdog X5 is an air purifier for your home or office that uses ionic wind filtration technology to filter pollutants like pollen, pet dander, hair, allergens, bacteria, and viruses out of the air that you breathe.
Hardware specs
Can purify a 300 square foot room in 20 minutes
Size: 22.5(H) x 10.7(L) x 10.7(W) inches
Item Weight: 22.5 pounds
Shipping Weight: 28.9 pounds
CADR(PM2.5): 200CFM
Noise Level: <63dB(A)
Power: 100-240V~ 50-60Hz
What’s in the box?
- Airdog X5 air purifier
- Collecting plate
- IR remote
Design and features
The Airdog X5 air purifier is a free-standing unit with a white and black plastic housing that stands 12 x 12 x 25 inches tall. The top of the unit has a fan grill and there’s a display area on the front that shows an air quality index reading with a green, yellow, or red LED below it while the unit is powered on and not in sleep mode.
Unlike many air purifiers on the market, the Airdog X5 does not use a HEPA style filter that has to be replaced on a regular basis and offers better filtration than traditional HEPA air purifiers. The X5 removes microscopic particles (down to 14.6-nanometers) from the air including viruses like the flu virus.
Instead of replaceable filters, the X5 has a large module with metal fins. This is the collector plate.
This collector plate module slides into the back of the unit.
The cool thing about the collector plate is that it can be washed either by hand or in your dishwasher when the front display shows a C which means it’s time to clean it.
The top surface of the Airdog X5 is where the clean air comes out. It’s also where the power button and panel of status LEDs are located.
The Airdog can be controlled with the included remote control or you can use the multi-function power button on the unit itself. Either way, you can control the airspeed, toggle the child lock, and toggle WiFi on and off if you want to use the mobile app.
App
The app will let you see the air quality status of the X5 no matter where you are and you can control it via the app by turning it on/off, putting it sleep mode, auto mode, change airspeed, or toggling the child lock. You can also set timers of when to run it and see a graph of the air quality index readings over the last 15 days. Since you can do everything with the included remote control or on the device itself, (except setting timers) I don’t find the app all that useful.
Take a nice deep breath of clean air
Setting up the Airdog X5 is quick and easy. All you have to do is find a wall outlet, plug in the power cord, and press the power button on top of the unit. After a minute or two, the front display will show the AQI (air quality index) reading that is based on the particle numbers that the sensor inside the X5 measures in the air (range is 0-500).
AQI less than 50 is Excellent (green)
AQI between 50 and 100 is Good (yellow-green)
AQI between 100 and 150 is Moderately polluted (yellow)
AQI more than 150 is Hazardous (red)
I’ve been testing the X5 air purifier for a few weeks and have not seen any numbers over 50 thus far. Most of the time the readings hang around 7-12 or so.
The unit doesn’t make a lot of noise. You can hear it in a quiet room but it’s not going to bother you or disrupt the ability to hear a TV or others talking. I’ve been testing the unit in our basement living room and haven’t had any issues noise wise. You can set the unit to sleep mode which runs the unit at a lower fan speed and turns off the display. This is a good setting if you use the X5 in a bedroom as it won’t disrupt your sleep.
In auto mode, the unit is very power efficient compared to traditional air purifiers and only uses about 0.5 kWh per day.
What I like
- Easy to use
- Relatively quiet
- Makes the air smell clean
- No filters to replace on a regular basis
- Can wash the collector plate in the dishwasher
What needs to be improved
- Longer power cord
Final thoughts
The main thing I noticed about the Airdog X5 after only an hour or so using it is that it does make the air smell cleaner. It’s not a forest after a rainstorm type of clean smell, but the air has an obviously cleaner smell to it. I hesitate to say it smells like a hospital because that doesn’t sound like a good smell. But it does smell clean and healthy. That said, my house apparently has pretty clean air as indicated by the AQI readings and LED status light on the front. I’ve yet to see anything other than a green light. That’s good though, so I can’t complain that I haven’t seen bad readings.
After using the X5 for the past 3 weeks, I took the collecting plate out of the back of the unit to see if it looked dirty yet and so far it looks exactly like it did when I installed it. I plan to continue to use this unit and will report back after more time has gone by so I can include a picture of the collecting plates to show what they look like when they are ready for a cleaning.
You might be wondering if my sinus and allergy issues have cleared up while using the Airdog X5. I really can’t say that they have. Does that mean the X5 is useless? No, I don’t think so. I can’t expect that sitting in the same room with an air purifier for a few hours a day will be the antidote to my sinus and allergy issues. I will say that while I’m in the same room as the Airdog X5, that I feel like I’m breathing easier and better. Placebo? Could be. But as I mentioned, the air just smells better while it’s running, so it has to be better too right?
Update 12/28/18
I have been running the unit non-stop for the past 4-5 days and just checked the collector plates and I can see some build up. It’s minimal though. Check out the image above (click it for a larger view) and you can see the circled area where I’ve rubbed my finger to dislodge some of the gunk.
Updates 03/12/19
It took about 2.5 months of use, but I finally saw a C appear on the display to alert me to clean the collector plates. It was easy enough to pull it out and put it in the dishwasher to clean it. The “hard” part was waiting for it to completely dry (over night) before putting it back in the unit.
I also trust that it can detect when the air quality is bad because we’re currently remodeling a bedroom upstairs and have torn off all the dry wall and carpet. If you’ve ever done work like that in your home, you’ll know how much dust it can kick up. I forgot to close the air vents in the basement and when I came home the Airdog’s air status LED was red the display was reading 200 something which is bad. I closed the vents and within a couple of hours the air quality reading was back down to 10.
Update 7/23/19
About a week ago, I got my 2nd “C” on the display to let me know that it was time to wash the filters. The main collector plate and the other two “plates” were really dirty due to all the remodeling that’s been going on in my home this year.
I really like the Airdog air purifier because I don’t have to buy new filters. I can just put the big main collecting plate in the dishwasher and rinse the other plates in the sink. Easy peasy!
Update 3/13/21
Yes, I’m still using this air purifier. I am convinced that it makes the air in my basement smell fresher and I would purchase a replacement if this one ever stopped working because I like it that much. It is still using the original washable filters which is something most of the air purifiers that we review don’t have.
Update 4/19/22
A week ago it was time to clean the filters. When I put everything back together like I’ve done many times over the past 4 years since reviewing this device, it would not power on. Actually, it did power on but with a continuously flashing status light and beeping sound. I wrote to Airdog and they told me that meant that the electronics had fried. 🙁 To say that I was sad was an understatement. We have a lot of power outages where I live so I think it was a power surge that killed it.
Price: $549.00
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Airdog.
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After 3 weeks the filter element was just like the new means, either you live in a super clean air or this filtering unit is not working at all.
As mentioned, the AQI on this unit rarely shows numbers over 10 when I check it. Once in a while, I’ll see a high number but just for a minute or so. I have been running the unit non-stop for the last few days instead of turning it to sleep mode at night. I plan to check the collector plates again later today or tomorrow and I’ll report back what I find.
Have you been able to test how well it removes odors like the smell after cooking bacon or the smoke from blowing out a candle?
Also, does the sleep mode turn the display on, or is that just a typo? Thanks!
Hi Aaron, it does really well at removing odors and yes while in sleep mode, it turns down the fan and turns off the AQI display. I’ll go fix that typo to change on to off. Thanks!
I’ve added an update to the review along with a picture of the collector plates that do show some build up.
Julie this a great in-depth review and very helpful! Have you tried the Airdog in your room while you sleep? You said its relatively quiet so I was just wondering if it would disturb you while you are sleeping?
I haven’t tried it but I can tonight to see what I think and will let you know. However, there is one issue with the test. I sleep with someone who uses a CPAP machine, so the room already has some noise in it.
I am wanting an air cleaner to help with forest fire smoke – although we are not in a fire zone, the smoke hangs around – last two summers have been bad in July, August and Sept. from fires ranging from 50km – 500km, Thanks, Ernestine
Hello! could you please tell me. I have iqair health pro plus and xiaomi mijia kj-800f-x7s (m). My apartment is clean enough. The purified air after iqair feels much simpler and lighter than after xiaomi. they both work and fulfill their function, but after iqair it is more noticeable. the fact is that in the room where xiaomi is installed, a humidifier is installed and automatically maintains humidity in the room. so, when the humidity in the room is 30-40%, xiaomi shows no more than 10 PM2.5, and when the humidifier is working 30-40 units. and most importantly, at normal humidity of 50%, xiaomi makes noise and crackle. I think this is due to the principle of its operation and the high-energy field of 2-4 million volts. after washing the filters and drying, as well as when the humidifier is off, silence. a direct dependence of the increase in humidity and PM2.5 I installed. But why humidity affects the noise and crackling in the cleaner has not yet been understood. noise and crackling is not constant. maybe make noise for 5-10 minutes, and then 2-3 minutes of silence and again. I would appreciate comments.
Yuri, This review is not for the Xiaomi air purifier. It’s for the Airdog. I have no information about your product. You’ll need to contact Xaiomi for answers to your questions.
I have been using Air Dog purifiers for quite some time now. I have a indoor Labrador retriever that contributes to my home air problem. She is truly a member of the family so finding her a new home was not a solution for me however, I am also an asthmatic so I was searching for an air purifier that might help.
I started using an air dog air purifier by purchasing one for my living room. Later I purchased two additional units…1 for my bedroom and another for our 2nd floor.
I have found that my asthma is much better and our air feels and smells clean and fresh after using this wonderful air cleaner. That led to spending the money for the additional units. It is worth every penny we’ve invested in these units. They are easy to clean and make little noise.
Please check this dissenting view. Wheezing and coughing in my workplace declined dramatically after we turned off the ionizer in an “air purifier” and used the fan and HEPA filter only:
https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/air-cleaners-ozone-products/hazardous-ozone-generating-air-purifiers
Another reviewer noted that the Airdog emits a plastic smell and it puts her off. Family is very sensitive to odors and I was wondering if you noticed this as well.
Vincent, I do notice a smell when running it after the filter has been washed, but I actually like the smell because it smells clean. It kind of reminds me of the clean smell after it rains outside. Sorta. It’s not unpleasant at all and only lasts a day or so with my unit until I wash the filter again which is every few months.
Hi, did you find a way to fix your airdog? Mine also beeps and flashing. Im really upset
Vi, the only way to fix it was to send it to Airdog to repair. I declined to do that.
My airdog also quit working after cleaning the filter. Was the filter absolutely dry? Yes, it was completely dry. It did run fine for about 5 years, but the front display began to be hard to read the last year. The dog just got tired. I don’t think I’ll get another one.