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If you are in the market for an air purifier, it seems as though there are dozens to choose from, all promising to eliminate undesirable particles and irritations from the air in your home. How can you trust these claims?

I put the Vornado AC500 air purifier under the microscope to see what I could find out. I will cover a little bit about the product in general, what I liked about it and what you might want to consider about it before you buy one.

Vornado AC500 Review: A Beauty Revealed

In the looks department the Vornado AC500 air purifier is consistent with the design that Vornado is known for.

Its sleek, contemporary, yet simple design will allow it to blend in well with most decor. Its dimensions come in at 11.5 x 13.2 x 27.4 inches which make it compact enough to be inconspicuously placed in any room.

I like that it has 4 speeds so you have more options and can better control the noise when running the air purifier. The handy light sensor makes the air purifier go into Sleep Mode so you can go to sleep with it on because it quiets down in low light automatically.

One other great feature about this product is that it has a filter replacement indicator light that comes on when it is time to change the filter so there is no guesswork or calendaring to keep track of. The push button electronic controls are easy to use as well. For design, this product gets a solid “A”.

Dust Sensor: Great or Gimmick?

The Vornado AC500 air purifier claims to have dust sensing technology that monitors your home’s air quality and automatically adjusts to meet the demands as needed. This sounds like an attractive feature but raises plenty of doubt to most folks who heard such feature for the first time (even for myself).

I was pleasantly surprised when I read the Vornado air purifier reviews on this product to see that it did just what it claimed. Owners who had purchased this product also remarked that they saw a dramatic reduction in dust on furniture as a result of using this product. The reviews also went to say that this model was greatly improved from previous Vornado whole room air purifier models. The Vornado AC500 air purifier gets another “A” for performance.

I’ve attached a video reference below in case you need to see how it really works.

5-Years of Quality Assurance

As far as manufacturer reliability Vornado stands behind its products. Vornado whole room air purifiers are guaranteed for 5 years or they will repair/replace it. You don’t see that too often for appliances anymore. Although when I tried to find any instances of needing to utilize their warranty I couldn’t find any Vornado air purifier reviews that mentioned any customer service interaction so I have no information on how smoothly difficulties are handled.

B- Grade for Marketing Integrity

Vornado boasts a 99.97% air purity standard for its air purifiers. According to most recent reviews posted online by owners who have purchased the Vornado AC500, this device seems to perform satisfactorily when it comes to tobacco smoke removal but rather disappointingly for dust particles and pollen removal.

When tested against 3 other competitive brands this air purifier came in dead last for quietness. Thankfully it is rated well for a larger room so this would not be as noticeable in more space but it was not recommended for use in a small room because of the noise factor.

Factoring in Vornado’s reputation and the findings of the product tests against the company’s claims, I am going to have to give it a “B-” for integrity of marketing.

Vornado AC500 air purifier reviewTop panel view of Vornado AC500

Filter Replacement

The air purifier has 4 filters contained in this system that need to be changed when the filter replacement indicator light comes on. You can buy the replacements on the Vornado’s website. The company’s website says that you can also buy the filters at a local retailer but a number of zip code searches revealed no retailers that carried the products in my area.

I advise you to go on Vornado’s site to get the filter replacements and save yourself the headache of hunting around for replacement filters. Since the manufacturer takes care of their own repairs there is no need to find a local repair place to take it to which makes it easier on the consumer if any issues arise that require a repairman. For maintenance I give this product an “A” due to ease of filter replacement and repair process.

Decision Time

All things considered, the Vornado AC500 air purifier is a solid product for the money. With air purifiers you certainly get what you pay for and an inexpensive product is not going to do what you need it to. For those with lung issues or allergy problems, quality and reliability need to be heavily considered or you are wasting your money.

This might not be the best air purifier but it is one that is highly rated on consumer purchase sites. I have little doubts that you will be happy with it if you decide to purchase this air purifier for your home.