Review: Honeywell HFD320 AirGenius 5 Air Cleaner & Odor Reducer

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Flu season, dry air from the heater, pollen, cat dander and the constant fluctuations in temperature are some of the principal reasons why people get allergies or stuffy noses this time of year. When my toddler seemed to have a hard time breathing properly in his sleep despite having a humidifier going all night, I realized it was time to bring out the big guns, a proper air cleaner was needed.

I first learned about the Honeywell HFD320 AirGenius 5 Air Cleaner & Odor Reducer during a media event where Dr. Dave Greenberg explained the reasons why it is easy to get the flu. The HD320 was among the highest rated prodcuts in that event so It was timely when I had the opportunity to try it out.

The Honeywell HFD320 AirGenius 5 Air Cleaner & Odor Reducer is straightforward and easy to use out of the box. All the filters are already installed so all you really need to do is find the place where you want to use it and plug it in.

I like that the AirGenius works like an electric fan in that in sucks in air from one side and blows it out the other way. Operation is extremely silent and unobtrusive, it has a nice oscillation mode and even a blue night light. 

The AirGenius 5 features five air cleaning levels (sleep, germ capture mode, general cleaning, allergen capture mode and max cleaning power). There's also a 5-12 hour timer which makes it convenient to set-it and forget-it.

The tower design of the Honeywell HFD320 is stable, understated and easily fits anywhere it needs to be placed. I live in a larger one bedroom apartment and found that within a few hours of use, the AirGenius 5 seemed to improve the overall air quality.

We have a small window, our floors are mostly carpeted and we have two fluffy cats, so you can imagine that getting good air circulation is an issue. Add the need to have the heater on overnight and breathing easy becomes an issue with the dry air.

The AirGenius 5 won't solve the dryness, we have humidifiers for that, but it does a great job filtering the recirculated air we're forced to breathe.

The biggest feature here is that can capture up to 99.9% of microscopic particles at 0.3 microns from air that passes through the filter. The effects of this are something that you would feel right away if you deploy the AirGenius in a room.

Aside from an intial ozond-ish odour that comes when you first turn the AirGenius on (odour isn't unpleasant and disspates in a few hours), you're soon feeling the air is cleaner. The first night we used the air cleaner, I already noted that we were less congested and my son seemed to sleep more soundly and did not get up as often as he did when he was coughing.

The effect on the quality of air and more importantly, the quality of rest we got from cleaner air was not imagined, the AirGenius 5 really cleans air quality. I was so impressed with this that I quickly put it in my Christmas list as I would like another one for my home office.

The Honeywell Air Genius 5 HFD320 features a permanent ifD filter that effectively removes up to 99.9% of microscopic particles from the air that passes through the filter and smart controls that do the thinking for you, helping you enjoy cleaner air indoors.

The  unique touch screen smart controls are easy to use and intuitive.

A permanent filter does not to be replaced and can be easily cleaned by simply removing and washing the filter which is great since no one enjoys having to hunt down replacement filters.

You can also get optional pre-filters or you choose from a permanent washable foam pre-filter that captures larger particles or an odor and VOC absorbing pre-filter that also captures larger particles, but will need to be replaced every 3 months.

Designed for large rooms, the HFD320 air cleaner circulates the air up to 5 times an hour. It will also help in deodorizing rooms specially after cooking smoky food like steak.

Honeywell hits all the sweet spots with the HFD320 AirGenius 5, it is highly recommended for anyone needing to improve the quality of air in their homes or offices.

Rating: 5 out of 5