Fellowes Allergy UK Approved AeraMax DX55 Air Purifier with True HEPA Filter, White

2 Reviews For This Product

1. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   02

   by clavius September 11, 2022

   I can only write about my own experiences with the (mid-range) DX55. It seems a shame the ratings for all 3 units are lumped in together as the DX95 seems to get more bad reviews than the other two, leading to an unreliable score for all of them.
   What does seem to be the case is that reviews here are often very positive or very negative – meaning some of these units work great and others don’t at all, or people have either very high expectations (that aren’t met) or low expectations (that ARE met).
   People don’t buy these things for fun – they buy them for allergy reasons or for dealing with smells (cooking and animals are mentioned most). People can tell if they work or not because the allergies lessen and/or the smells go away.
   So, if someone says the DX55 is useless and does nothing I’d suggest you try another unit. I have one and it absolutely works.

   I’m not sure exactly what my expectations were, and the number of variations of air purifiers available meant I had to spend a lot of time comparing various models and researching the differences. Fellowes don’t even explain what their PlasmaTRUE mode actually does (which they should, some people would want it), and the other manufacturers all have things they don’t explain about their products that you have to investigate…

   I figured that this was one case where you would get what you pay for (there are many re-badged cheap Chinese models that are not to be taken seriously as air cleaners), and I was able to get one of these at a very good price.
   I had a specific problem. A while ago my apartment was flooded and as a result mould sprung up in various places. Most of it was dealt with and the whole place was dried properly and cleaned, but the mould still clung on someplace. I’d wake up with sore eyes and there was an ever present musty smell. Basically I wanted to wake up in the mornings without red, stinging, eyes.
   I bought one of these and the problem stopped overnight. The smell has gone as has the occasional smell of people smoking cigarettes outside or neighbour cooking smells – all of it. For the record, I have the unit ticking over on the 2nd speed setting. I read that it’s better to have your purifier running at a constant rather than rely on auto settings because then you can be sure it’s doing a steady job and not getting triggered only when there’s already a problem.
   Only buy a machine that has a “TRUE HEPA” filter, this has one. Advertising this means the filter has been made to proper specifications. If it just says “HEPA” it features the contents of a proper filter but it’s likely to be cheap junk. Manufacturers can only use the term “TRUE HEPA” if the filter is properly constructed and tested; if it’s missing this description it’s a cheap/bad filter. They will still likely use the “captures 99.97% of airbourne particles” line, but it’s here that you should look for accreditation from a relevant allergy concerned foundation or similar (“TRUE HEPA” isn’t just about collecting particles, it’s a guarantee that the filter will kill certain germs and other contaminants). This has the necessary seal of approval in the UK and the US.
   I’ll just explain that PlasmaTRUE function and then I’ll talk about people’s criticisms of this machine and what I would maybe change about it.

   PlasmaTRUE comes with a description of how it creates an “ionised field”. How is this different from a normal ioniser? If it’s a ioniser why not just say so?
   Basically, normal ionisers attach negative ions to particles. This makes the particles heavier and bigger. If you just just had a ioniser it would just drop these particles on the floor and surfaces and then you’d clean them up. But here the smaller particles become bigger and heavier and then get caught by the filter on the next cycle of air.
   There’s been a tiny health scare about this, not rooted in reality. This process creates a tiny amount of ozone, something you do not want to breathe in great quantity. But home ionisers produce only a tiny trace of this, completely harmless. Anyhow, some manufactures want to keep to usefulness of ionisers but stop a few people freaking out, so instead of…
   – oh man, I now know too much about ionisers –
   … so instead of using normal negative ions, they use Plasma Streamers. Instead of just attaching negative ions to particles it also uses positive ones. They even each other out and the process produces virtually no ozone at all. Fellowes are one of the few manufacturers to use Plasma Streaming and I’m surprised they don’t market it properly.

   The criticism that it doesn’t have a remote control seems to be a non-issue, at least to me. It’s supposed to just be on a low setting, just ticking over and the times you need to really crank it up and cycle some serious air should be pretty rare.
   Despite me not using the AUTO function I’ve got to say the auto-detect feature seems decent. Even in normal modes the circle at the top of the functions panel will glow orange or red if the purifier has detected something it doesn’t like and is dealing with. One time I sprayed disinfectant in another room and immediately walked into the main apartment and the DX55 was already on red alert. It was down the other end of the room.
   I occasionally see it jump to red as it deals with some small outside smell or some pollen, but I never know what triggered it because it’s already scrubbing the air.

   Another criticism I’ve seen is that the 4th (the highest) setting is pretty noisy. It kind of is, but the machine is not meant to run at this speed for any length of time. In the literature they talk about a use for this setting being if you’ve been away from home for a few weeks and you need to cycle/clean the air for the whole apartment/house quickly and several times. It is not a mode meant for normal use. Evidence of this – when the machine is in AUTO it will never go higher than the 3rd speed setting, even if you’re testing it by spraying deodorant directly into the back. 4th speed is manually triggered only and only for use if you need to cycle extreme amounts of air very quickly. As a result (I can’t test this unfortunately) I’m guessing the normal 3 speeds are pretty economical to run, power-wise. Power draw for speed 1 is actually given (9 watts), 2 must be something like 25 watts and 3, 40 watts. The highest power draw is given as 67 watts, and the noise and speed of the highest setting is much louder and faster than 3rd speed.

   The only thing I would really like that is missing is a timer. I’d like it on AUTO during the day when I’m out, and then to kick up a setting in the evenings and nights. But it’s a small thing (that would make this machine more expensive) and I can kind of half do it with a Smart Plug (manually set it at night, then in the morning have the plug timer turn off and then on puts the machine into default “Speed 1” mode until I get home again).

   Oh, it looks really classy too.

   So, I got a good one. If you get one that doesn’t do the things I’ve described, try another. It would be worth the hassle, because a DX55 that works properly is a very decent machine.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   02

   by Mr. T. White October 2, 2022

   I own both the ‘Fellowes AeraMax DX55’ (hereinafter – DX55) and the over half as costly – ‘Puremate Hepa Air Filter’ (Puremate), and since no one else has written a review to date, comparing what appear to be Amazon’s two most popular air purifiers, it’s time to compare them both for you. The DX55, after all, is significantly more expensive to buy than the Puremate. But I wanted to know, before buying it, was it really worth the extra? In short, the answer is that I’ll be keeping mine without any question and here’s why:

   Indeed, if you can afford it, there’s no need to read any further, the DX55, despite coming with no remote control, is definitely better than the Puremate. Its quieter in operation, we’ve found that it chills the room less (a bonus in cooler months) in its default auto mode; it has British Allergy Association seal of Approval (which the Puremate currently doesn’t); and my wife swears that when we were sleeping in a room with the Puremate running on its default settings, she always woke up with a blocked nose and dry mouth. No such problems with the DX55!

   The fact too is that the DX55’s a lot better at *effectively* clearing smoke – as it not only has a Hepa filter *and* a Charcoal based filter, but it also features inbuilt sensors which aren’t a gimmick and do indeed detect air quality, before adjusting air speed (when necessary) for optimal clearance. The Puremate, by contrast, works solely on a Hepa filter and therefore is less ideal at clearing smoke from the air. Truth is the Puremate will *appear* to clear smoke from an average sized room in about 10-15 minutes, however the fact that it has no Charcoal based filter means that it will just *not* be as effective at clearing the very smallest smoke molecules (and arguably the most dangerous to human health) PAH’s, the PCB’s etc., – from the air. I would think, yet stand corrected if wrong of course, that that was one of the reasons why the British Allergy Foundation did not award an approved status to the Puremate.

   The Puremate does, however, have some comparative pluses to take into consideration – its far lower cost – being the most obvious, but also as it requires only one change of filter – as opposed to the DX55’s two different filters, means its running costs long term, I know will be lower. Nevertheless, please just remember that that second filter is definitely ‘there’ for a very good reason… Also, the Puremate has its own, ostensively advantageous, and ‘mini sized’, remote control – which the DX55 lacks. So you, in theory at least, could change it from your seat. The reality, we’ve found, was that we ended up spending more time just looking for its diminutive remote control, so we most usually ended up simply controlling its operation from the unit itself. YMMV of course… For bedroom usage the Puremate does not illuminate the room as much as the blue lights of the DX55. But we just apply some black gaffer tape, to the DX55’s blue lights, for night-time usage. Not an ideal solution, of course, but one that works! However, and in all fairness, Fellowes really ought to have considered allowing users the opportunity to turn off, at least temporarily, the DX55’s lights for all night usage. Let’s just hope they read this and take heed for their next generation of purifiers! One other way in which the Puremate pips the DX55 is that it has a timer function, which is admittedly basic, and rather limited in scope as it can’t be set, e.g., for a whole week’s worth of varying days in advance. Nonetheless, even a basic timer is something the costlier DX55 lacks and, quite frankly, ought to have… Lastly, the Puremate might actually be more useful in the few warmer months we have in England, at cooling the room at its default setting – which is definitely breezier than the DX55 is at its default. But then again, the opposite is of course true in wintry months. And surely a higher default fan speed means the Puremate’s long term electrical running costs ought to be comparably somewhat greater? Hmmm.

   A system of lights warn you of the air quality in the room, which are not present on the Puremate. So you just have to trust that the latter is measuring air quality correctly. Not that I had any reason to believe it wasn’t. Just that the DX55 has, IMO, one more, and frankly excellent way, of showing users that it is working correctly.

   Then there are the respective warranties to compare. Some have already reported here, that Fellowes have excellent customer service, and I have no reason to doubt that. Nonetheless, the DX55 now comes with three years ‘parts and labour’ warranty – that is, if the warranty that comes with mine is to be believed. I do nonetheless believe that earlier sold units may have shipped with a shorter warranty. Whereas the warranty which currently accompanies the Puremate is only of one year’s duration. Which is another reason to pay the extra for the greater peace of mind!

   From our experience it’s definitely worth spending the greater sum on the DX55, and all the more so if you can stretch to buy it, particularly if ultimate air quality is what you’re seeking. I was sceptical at first, whether it would be worth over double the cost of the equally popular Puremate, but in this reviewer’s considered opinion, I have to confess now, that it most certainly is.

   – – –

   Lastly, as ever, I will continue to monitor both units for any signs of trouble and report back here of my experiences. But if this review is unchanged, you can confidently take it, that there are no changes in my very positive experiences with the DX55 and the (in all honestly) less impressive Puremate. Should you have any questions about either then please ask me below. Thank you for reading.