Winix XLC Dual 4-Stage True HEPA Air Purifier Review

Recently updated on May 28th, 2022 at 05:11 am

Undoubtedly, Winix is among the top air purifier brands in the US, and rightly so as their air purifiers pack both power and durability while also being highly user intuitive. 

If you’ve been looking for an air purifier that packs the power to be a whole-house air purifier while also being efficient, then the Winix XLC might have caught your attention. So what sets the Winix XLC apart from the competition?

The Winix XLC can cover up to 3000 sq. ft. of space in under an hour while offering excellent air purification against particulate matter, VOCs, and odors. 

Its dual 4-stage filtration process ensures up to 99.99% efficiency against air contaminants and a plethora of features and certifications make it hard to overlook.

This guide will help you gain an insight into the functioning of the Winix XLC, the different features it brings, and its performance. So without further ado, let’s get started.

Winix XLC Specifications

Features	Specifications
Filtration Technology	Mechanical + Ion Based Mechanical • Fine Mesh Pre-Filter • AOC Activated Carbon Filter • True HEPA Filter Ion Based • Winix PlasmaWave Technology
HEPA Class	H13 Medical Grade HEPA
Filter Life	• Fine Mesh Pre-Filter (Permanent) • AOC Activated Carbon Filter (12 Months Approx.) • True HEPA Filter (12 Months Approx.)
Room Coverage	• 620 sq. ft. – 5 ACH • 1800 sq. ft. – 3 ACH • 3000 sq. ft. – 1 ACH
Fan Speeds	5
Automatic Mode	Yes
Rated Power	90 W
Weight	30.6 lbs
Dimensions	14.6 in(W) x 14.6 in(D) x 30.6 in(H)

Winix XLC – Features

If you’re coming from a flatter rectangular design of the Winix 5300-2 and the Winix 5500-2, you would be surprised at how much different these two can look. We’ll cover the design aspect later on in detail but the boxy design has all the bells and whistles that you would expect from a whole-house air purifier.

The Winix XLC can be conveniently controlled through the Winix App that can control your purifier using Wi-Fi. 

There is an option for smart assistant pairing as well, which means you can control it using voice commands and set automatic routines for the purifier.

You’ll be surprised to find the amount of tech Winix has packed in a rather compact air purifier. The dual smart sensors detect the air quality in real-time and the auto mode triggers the fan on. The 5-step speed is adjusted automatically depending on the indoor contamination levels.

The users don’t have to be worried about random changes in the fan speed as the bar on top shows the current air quality. 

The color is shown on the bar depends upon the current air quality in the room with blue showing excellent and red showing poor air quality.

The Winix XLC also brings a sleep mode that is on par, if not better, with the competition. 

The ambient light sensor on the top detects the decrease in ambient light and triggers the sleep mode where the fan is switched to the lowest fan speed and the lights are turned off for a more immersive and fulfilling sleep.

The thing that we liked about the XLC is the attention to user convenience, you don’t have to turn off the sleep mode as the purifier will automatically it off when ample light is available in the surroundings. 

The user convenience does not stop with the sleep mode, the purifier also features a filter replacement indicator that notifies you when to change the filter with a red light. You won’t have to replace it very quickly though as the activated carbon filter on the XLC is washable and periodically maintaining the filter can extend the life of all filters in the purifier.

The bottom of the Winix XLC has hidden caster wheels that allow you to move the air purifier around conveniently.

Design

Winix did not take any risk of trying something new with the XLC design. The design is a cuboid that stands 30” tall and is uniform from top to bottom. The rectangular shape allows the air purifier to have 2 sets of air purification filters and the purifier pulls in air through two different sides thanks to it.

The single fan but dual intake is not only good-looking but also helps the air purifier achieve a higher CADR.

Contaminated indoor air is taken in through the front and back and clean, safe-to-breathe air is pushed out through the top. One can argue that the design is too bulky but we’ve seen some very heavy and larger whole-house air purifiers so the 14.6 x 14.6 x 30.6-inch design is welcome.

When it comes to the weight, the XLC weighs 30.6 lbs making it a heavy air purifier and Winix completely understood that. The company has equipped the air purifier with caster wheels at the bottom that is nicely hidden within the body adding to the aesthetic appeal while also making it easy to move around.

The design is simple and minimalist that won’t look too awkward in any room. The height is arguable but the flat control buttons up top combined with the 30” height make it easy to operate when compared to other such purifiers.

Filters

The XLC is the purifier to beat when it comes to air filters. The purifier has 6 air filters placed in an excellent manner that improves the efficiency of the air purifier to 99.99% of airborne contaminants.

The Winix XLC uses:

1. Fine Mesh Pre-filter – The XLC starts the defense against airborne particles with the fine mesh pre-filter. This filter blocks out larger particles like fur, dander, human hair, dust specks, etc before passing the air onto the activated carbon filter. It is recommended that the pre-filter be cleaned one every fortnight.
   
   
2. AOC Carbon Filter – While the pre-filter stops large particulate matter, the AOC Carbon Filter on the XLC is meant to handle all kinds of common household odors, including cooking odors and pet odors. It can also neutralize VOCs and other dangerous gaseous components found in the indoor air. Winix has listened to the user feedback and to extend the life of all the filters, the AOC Carbon Filter is now washable. Periodic maintenance (cleaning once every 3 months) can extend the life of all filters to 12 months.
   
   
3. True HEPA filter – The tried and tested H13 True HEPA Filter makes the cut and the combination of all the filters boost the mechanical efficiency of the XLC to 99.99% for ultrafine particles.4. Winix PlasmaWave Air Cleaning Technology – The PlasmaWave technology does not qualify as a mechanical stage of filtration but the proprietary tech releases negative ions into the indoor air that latch onto or react with airborne contaminants. This kills the microbes in the air and makes other airborne particles too heavy to stay in the air.

The unique thing about the Winix XLC that sets it apart from the competition is that the air purifier uses a mix of two different intakes and each intake has a separate set of filters. While users might think that this drives up the filter replacement costs unnecessarily, the inclusion of two sets decreases the burden on one set significantly and extends the life of the filters.

Performance

The Winix XLC cruised through the testing thanks to its superior filtration. The PM2.5 particles are filtered out of 95% of the indoor air in a 200-300 sq. ft. room in under 10 minutes.

With an ACH of 5x, the Winix XLC can cycle the indoor air in a 620 sq. ft. room 5 times through the filters making the indoor air 99.99% safe to breathe in. The efficiency is further improved if the space is smaller but the purifier can also bring down 95% of the airborne contaminants in the indoor air in under an hour even for a 3000 sq. ft. room.

This statistic was impressive as very few air purifiers can filter a room larger than 1000 sq. ft. At the peak settings, the fan speed switches to 5, and the purifier can provide a very attractive purification/power consumption ratio even at the top settings.

Winix XLC Operation

Throughout our testing and research, we found the XLC to be quiet and rated it among the very top when it comes to the user-friendly button layout. The purifier is not quite at the top settings and is consuming close to 90 watts at it but for most of the time, it is both efficient and quiet.

The buttons up top allow controlling the purifier effortlessly and the button layout is easy to understand.

While the purifier is rated at 90 watts, it is still energy star certified meaning the purifier is as efficient as any other top offering from any competitor and will not be wasting energy when on standby.

Final Verdict

Winix is known for its superior build quality and user-intuitive designs, and the XLC is no different. Throughout our testing, it proved to be an extremely capable air purifier that does not cut corners when it comes to air purification. So should you buy the Winix XLC?

If you have a space that is upwards of 1000 sq. ft. and you want commendable performance then the XLC is your go-to air purifier. For smaller rooms, we would recommend taking a look at other air purifiers that don’t cost as much here because you will not be needing the excessive power that the XLC offers.