Fellowes AeraMax100/ DX5 Air Purifier Review: Less than $100!

Last updated on April 19th, 2021

The starters

One of the best cheap air purifiers without much compromisation. At 7.3 inches in depth, 27.3 inches in height, and 8.5 inches in depth, Fellowes AeraMax DX5/ 100 is a modern designed, slim tower air purifier that takes up very little interior space. The plasticky-built body is well fitted with no uneven gaps found in some cheaper models. The air inlet is located at the side that offers comprehension purification without impeding the airflow distribution. At only 9.9 pounds, you can easily grab the back handle and carry it around for room to room purifying.

Moving to functionality, Fellowes AeraMax DX5/ 100 is super easy to use thanks to the front blue digital display. Simply press the button to select your desired fan speed, Auto or Aera+ mode that removes greater allergens, germs, bacteria, and viruses in the air. There is also an air quality indicator and filter change indicator that will remind you to replace the filter when the time is up.

To recap on Fellowes AeraMax DX5/ 100 specification, you have a 4-stage PlasmaTRUE filtration with True HEPA filter, 3 fan speed with Auto mode, AeraSmart Sensor with filter change indicator, and digital display with AQ indicator. Fellowes AeraMax is also UL listed, allergy and asthma-friendly certified, AHAM/ CARB approved, and comes with 3 years warranty that covers all manufacturing defects.

Airflow, speed, and CADR

Being a tower air cleaner, Fellowes Aeramax 100 /DX5 comes with a modest air cleaning output that is suitable for all types of room. At max speed, it can cover up to 100 square feet of space with decent air changes per hour. For small spaces, you can adjust the 3 fan speed to get a balance between the air performance and noise level. Unlike most cheap air purifiers in the segment, Fellowes Aeramax 100 support Auto mode thanks to the built-in AeraSmart Sensor. In auto mode, the air cleaner will automatically set to higher fan speed when high airborne pollutants are detected and revert back to low when the air is clean. No sleep mode is available due to the lack of a light sensor. Like the airflow delivery rate, Fellowes AeraMax100/ DX5 can swiftly remove allergens in tight spaces. Clean air delivery rate or CADR shows how fast the air cleaner can clean the air within a specific room size. Anticipate a clean air delivery rate of 65 cfm for dust, higher 75 cfm for pollen, and 68 cfm for smoke. Best used in small room sizes like bedroom, kitchen, walk-in wardrobe, office, or studio.

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What’s inside count

Despite having a smaller tower body, Fellowes AeraMax100/ DX5 is fitted with a conventional 4-Stage purification system. The first stage charcoal pre-filter traps large contaminants like dust, hair, lint while also remove smoke, toxic fumes, and smelly odor. Next, the True HEPA filter captures 9.97% of fine particles as small as 0.3 microns i.e. mold, pollen, pet dander, bacteria, and viruses. The HEPA filter is also coated with AeraSafe antimicrobial treatment that prevents microorganisms' growth on the filter. Finally, the PlasmaTrue ionizer can generate an ionized field that merges positive ions. The diffuse ions will merge and pull positive ions pollutants down for the filter to capture. During our test, the comprehensive filtration mange to improves our indoor air quality within a few hours of runtime. Not bad for an air cleaning device that costs less than 100 bucks.

Keep it down

Fellowes AeraMax 100 air purifier is fairly silent given its moderate airflow output. Expect virtually zero noise at low speed, bearable noise at medium speed, and white noise at high speed. Since there is no sleep mode available, we suggest leaving the air purifier in sleep mode for a peaceful night sleep. For general use, set it to auto mode and let Fellowes AeraMax 100 decide what is the best mode for you. As for power usage, Fellowes AeraMax 100 consumes 37 watts of electricity at low speed and 51 watts of electricity at high speed. With 12 hours of operation, the average electric cost will be around $0.07 dollars per day, $2 a month, or $24 a year. Not Energy Star Rated but Fellowes AeraMax 100 will not stack up much on your electricity bill if Auto mode is enabled by default.

At what cost

For around 120 after discount, Fellowes AeraMax100/ DX5 tower air purifier is quite a bargain as it comes with a True HEPA filter and a dedicated carbon filter. Most competitor models will cost more yet bundled with a poorer filtration. As for the upkeeping, the filter replacement cost is on the lower tier at around 60 dollars annually. We highly recommend replacing the filter according to the service internal to maintain the filtration performance.

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