I’ve had an air purifier for the last few years and it has really helped improve the air quality in our house. The only issue I have with my own air purifier is that the model I bought is too small for my room. I didn’t realize that you need to buy an air purifier to fit your square footage, so I was happy to test out the much more efficient Insignia medium room air purifier.
The Insignia medium room air purifier will purify the air in a room as large as 380 square feet. It’s HEPA certified and will remove allergens, mould, dust, dander, pollen, and smoke. I’ve had it running steadily for over a week and we can all tell that the air is fresher and cleaner in the living room.
Here’s a quick look at the features of the Insignia medium room air purifier and how well it works.
Features of the Insignia medium room air purifier
The Insignia medium room air purifier (NS-APMWH2-C) is a 5 kg (11-lb.) air purifier that measures 52.4 cm (20.6 inches) H x 26 cm (10.2 inches) W x 26.3 cm (10.4 inches) D. It’s packaged with one HEPA-certified carbon filter and you can buy replacement filters as needed. There is also an Insignia Large Room Air Purifier with filter if you have a larger room.
- HEPA filter captures 99.97% of particles in your home’s air
- Carbon filter removes odours from chemicals in your air including ammonia and nicotine
- Pre-filter removes large irritants like hair and dander
- LED display to show you air quality in the room as well as filter life
- Choose from 3 fan speeds and sleep mode
- Timer will run for a preset time of 1, 2, 4, or 8 hours before it turns off
- Child lock to prevent children from accessing controls
Testing the Insignia air purifier
Setting up the Insignia Air Purifier was as simple as opening the box, removing the packing tape, and plugging it in. The filter is already installed. Before I share a few details on what it’s like to use the Insignia medium room air purifier, you’ll want to know exactly what it is it will remove from your air.
What is PM 2.5 on an air purifier?
The Insignia medium room air purifier will display the PM 2.5 rating right on the LCD on the front of the unit. PM 2.5, or Particulate Matter 2.5, are air pollutants that can affect your health when levels get high. These particles are too tiny to see, and they are usually as small as or smaller than two microns. Indoor particulates include those emitted from smoke, cooking, space heaters and fireplaces, dander, dust, and more.
PM 2.5 particles can affect your health, both short-term and long-term. You breathe these particles deep into your lungs without even knowing they are there, and they can cause runny noses, sneezing, and wheezing. Long-term, constant exposure can result in you having breathing issues like chronic bronchitis or make you more susceptible to diseases.
LCD screen on Insignia medium room air purifier
The Insignia medium room air purifier removes up to 99.97% of PM 2.5 particles, and you’ll see exactly what your air quality is in real-time thanks to the readout on the LCD.
I absolutely love how this air purifier displays the air quality. This is by far the best feature I’ve seen on any air purifier, and it settles the question of how polluted the air in your home is and how well your air purifier is working.
Air quality rating in real-time
I had the Insignia medium room air purifier running in my living room and bedroom. The living room is about 200 square feet and has high ceilings.
I placed the air purifier on the floor by one of my cat’s favourite chairs. The display consistently showed a PM 2.5 rating of 5 to 6. That’s good according to most air quality charts. My cat walked past a few times, then flopped down on the floor near the air purifier and began cleaning himself. The PM 2.5 rating shot up to 15. Clearly, he was stirring up a bit of dander.
The same thing happened when I began dusting my bookshelves. The PM 2.5 rating shot up when I was vacuuming too. I have a son with allergies so it’s great to have a visual when I’m cleaning, and I told him to stay out of the living room until the air purifier had a chance to work.
Depending on how much dust I stirred up, it took a half-hour or so for the PM 2.5 rating to drop back to normal levels. The bottom line – it works fast and it does a great job.
Timer and fan control
There are several different options for setting a timer on the Insignia air purifier. You can set it to run for one, two, four, or eight hours. Once the time is up, the air purifier will turn off. It’s a good option for anyone who wants to let it run during the day and have it turn off at night, or run it at night and have it turn off in the morning.
There are three fan speeds. To change them you just tap the control panel. The green indicator lights move up when you increase speed, and you can see right on the LCD what fan speed you are using.
Compact shape and size
While the Insignia medium room air purifier will clean the air in a room up to 380 square feet, it’s not so big and bulky that it will take up a lot of space. The shape reminds me of a tower fan, and the entire lower half is the air intake. I like the design because it means the air purifier can work quickly and pull in a lot of air to clean at once.
Replacing your Insignia air purifier filter
There is a filter included with the Insignia medium room air purifier, and you get approximately 2000 hours of use from one filter. The machine will let you know when the filter needs to be replaced.
Should you choose the Insignia medium room air purifier?
The Insignia medium room air purifier purifies the air quickly, quietly, and you’ll see at a glance exactly how great of a job it is doing. Now that I know there is an air purifier available with a real-time air quality display, I can’t imagine choosing any other model.
Winter is almost here and we’re all in our homes more often, so it’s definitely time to pick up one of these amazing air purifiers. You can find the Insignia medium room air purifier on Best Buy right now. If you have a large room, make sure to check out the Insignia large room air purifier.
