Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr Air Purifier: Trusted Review & Specs

In times of many wildfire smoke threats, the Austin Air HealthMate Plus is deployed as the ultimate solution, which makes the position of Austin Air more solid in the high-range market. That’s why the brand couldn’t miss the chance to release the compact version right after, and here is the Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr. Being the budget version, what could you expect from this air purifier? Get your answer in our Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr Review.

However, the Austin Air Pet Machine is discontinued, so we recommend you look for the Austin Air HealthMate instead, which has a close price to the old Junior series. Or you can shoot for the Austin Air HealthMate Plus for better performance.

Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr ranks C in our air purifier ranking list. We give the biggest and most thorough database of air purifier reviews in the world.

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Austin Air is one of the most familiar names in the U.S. air purifier market. Since 1990, this company has been mentioned again and again in lots of government campaigns to deal with chemical weapons, gas leaks, and natural wildfire smoke. But back to the main topic: you are here to read our Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr Review, right?

Other Austin Air’s Air Purifier Reviews:

Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr Price

The Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr may look similar to previous air purifiers from Austin Air, but it packs a punch and is perhaps the best small-form-factor True HEPA device around right now, making it a great choice if you want an amazing device for a small place.

The Austin Air HealthMate Jr created a great legacy for the Junior Series. It maintains the powerful air filtration process and high-quality housing of its bigger brother while featuring an iconic compact size. And thankfully, Austin Air can keep up with the next Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr.

Yes, it is capable of just about everything its larger sibling, the most popular Austin Air HealthMate Plus, is, but in a smaller, more energy-efficient form factor that won’t cost you much every day.

The Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr also uses one of the most progressive Activated Carbon filters in the world. And you will love it because it can deal with the widest range of airborne pollutants, including chemicals, smoke, and VOCs.

This Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr only costs $465, just $50 more than the previous standard version (compared with a $120 difference from the bigger models). If you want to add the casters to the air purifiers, you need to pay $30 more. It is also the most expensive in the Junior product line.

The Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr. has been discontinued.

That price range is not for many competitors, and you can only choose from the Medify MA-112 or Oransi Max instead. They both have much more features than our today’s Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr, but I still… love the performance of one air purifier more. Personally, I’d go with the Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr, but what about you?

Related post: Best air purifier 2023.

Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr Design and Size

If you buy the Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr, you will have an air purifier that looks exactly like any other Austin Air machine. It still features the all-steel housing to prevent any off-gassing of chemical vapors, both within the clean air stream and in the unit’s end-of-life phase. The Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr has a baked-on powder coat paint finish.

And just like the previous model, the Austin Air HealthMate Jr, this air purifier is only 16.5 inches in height and 11 inches in width. This is the standard size of every Austin Air compact device, and it seems just half the size of its bigger brother, the Austin Air HealthMate Plus.

The felt gaskets will seal the filter chamber to maximize air filtration performance. This is a must-have feature on any portable air purifier, and out of all the devices I’ve reviewed, the Austin Air family is undeniably the best.

Again, like any other air purifier in the Austin Air family, the Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr has received the exact same signature 360° air intake system, which is only achieved by having a strong fan. Of course, the grill is perforated to improve the performance of its double pre-filters much better.

Just like any other machines of this company, the Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr is CSA (Canadian Standards Association) approved, the highest certification for any electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and gas products that meet the strict requirements to be safe.

There are 4 main color options for the Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr: black, midnight blue, white, and sandstone. Our testing unit is a white one, and in my opinion, this is a better white color than what is featured in the Airpura family.

The Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr is only 21 lbs, which is even lighter than half of the bigger Austin Air HealthMate Plus.

Related post: Best air purifiers for bedroom.

Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr Filters

When checking the performance of one air purifier, normally we will check the quantity of air filters and what types of air filters are in this device. The Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr, though small, features a signature 4-stage air cleaning system like its bigger brothers.

1. Pre-filter – During the first stage, Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr will capture any large objects of airborne pollutants that can be seen with the naked eye, such as large dust, pet hair, fur, and even some pet dander particles.
2. Medium Particle Pre-filter – Just like Rabbit Air MinusA2, Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr makes use of a double pre-filtration and can remove small to medium-sized particles like dust, pollen, and mold spores in this stage.
3. Activated Carbon filter – A 6.5 lbs of Activated Carbon, potassium iodide and zeolite mixture to help remove household smoke, odors and even chemicals like formaldehyde, benzenes and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
4. True HEPA filter – The 30-sq-ft Medical-grade True HEPA filter of Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr can remove 99.97% of all particles larger than 0.3 microns, and even 95% of all particles larger than 0.1 microns.

We still have the double pre-filtration in this Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr like in the powerful Austin Air HealthMate Plus. If you look closely, you will notice that these filters are made of the same materials.These filters are able to remove even the small particles and leave only the ultra-fine particles for the HEPA filter. As a result, it prolongs the lifetime of the True HEPA filter to 5 years.

Like the HealthMate Plus, the Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr adds potassium iodide to its Activated Carbon filter to accelerate the binding of chemicals much faster. Compared with the full-size machine, you might be expecting some compromises to have been made in the process of squeezing this air purifier into its compact form factor. It can only hold 6.5 lbs of carbon, which is half of the full-size, but is still capable of beating even a $1595 Oransi Erik 650A with only 3.5 lbs of impregnated carbon. With a combination of natural zeolite, this air filter can deal with more than 3000 types of toxic gases and odors.

It may be small, but with a 30-sq-ft True HEPA filter, the Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr still has more media filters than even the flagships of other brands. Speaking of efficiency, Austin Air claimed that its air purifiers can even deal with pollutants as small as 0.1 microns in size.

But that’s just what they said. In Breathe Quality, every air purifier must pass a strict test filled with smoke, pollen, dust, and, if we can afford that much, chemicals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). To test the performance of this Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr, I ran it in a room of 200 square feet for 1 hour. Our sample units are the Rabbit Air BioGS 2.0, Winix HR1000 and Sharp FP-A80UW to compare with this machine.

As a result, the Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr was a clear winner, with an efficiency of 99.98% for trapping any particles down to 0.3 microns. The Rabbit Air BioGS 2.0 and the Winix HR1000 only ended at 99.92% and 99.95%, respectively. We can easily see how strong the air filtration process is on this Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr.

There is always a downside to an upgraded version, and most of the time, it is the higher cost. To replace the filter for the Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr, you need to pay $234. Thankfully, the True HEPA filter can last for 5 years, so you only pay $47 per year for the filter replacement. It is more affordable than even the Alen BreatheSmart FIT50 or Blueair Classic 405.

Related post: Best air purifiers for allergies.

Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr Room Coverage

For the fan power, this American company simply reduced the room capability of Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr to only 700 square feet. But just don’t fall for the manufacturer’s suggested room size, because you need to know the CADR rating to determine an air purifier’s fan power.

The ACH of Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr is 2X to 4X. It means the Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr can exchange the air in your room up to 4 times per hour.

The CADR of Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr is 200 cfm in general. With a lower CADR rating than even the Winix HR1000 or Sharp KC-860U, the Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr won’t clean your room of 700 square feet fast enough.

Related post: Best large room air purifiers.

Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr Sound

Looking at the very high noise level of the Austin Air HealthMate Plus, I expect a much quieter air purifier this time. The answer is, not much, it seems. Even with a smaller size fan, the Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr still draws a lot of noise.

The range of noise levels is from 49 to 65 decibels. If you compare with the noise level of the Rabbit Air BioGS 2.0 (20 decibels) or the Alen BreatheSmart 45i (39–55 decibels), you will not accept the high noise level of this Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr.

However, the noise level is still below the threshold we called “noise”, so if you don’t have any problem with the sound, you can still run this air purifier.

Related post: Best air purifiers for baby.

Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr Power Consumption

In Breathe Quality, one of our most FAQs is “Do air purifiers use a lot of energy?”. In fact, an air purifier needs to run for a long time (usually more than 8 hours) to be efficient, and therefore, power consumption is an important criteria to consider when deciding which air purifier to buy.

The Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr has a Permanent-Split Capacitor (PSC) motor to draw less current and reduce your operating costs. But the power consumption of this Austin Air HealthMate Jr is still too high, ranging from 56 watts to 80 watts. I have no idea what the advanced motor is doing to reduce the noise and energy consumption of this air purifier.

For running an Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr for 8 hours per day, you need to pay from $20 to $30 annually.

Related post: Best air purifiers for pets.

Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr Additional Features

The Austin Air family is the first and foundation of the air purifier industry in North America. The company chose to constantly improve the high quality of the air filter over adding any kinds of additional features. It is also the trend of any high-end air purifier that aims at high-quality purification, not flashy features.

There won’t be even the filter replacement indicator or the timer. There is only one manual knob to change the fan speed of this machine.

If you want to add the Smart Sensor, a great feature to automatically adjust the fan power to suit the current indoor air quality, you need to buy the Oransi Max. Or you can choose between the Sharp KC-850U or the Sharp KC-860U for the humidifier function. It is your choice, right?

Related posts:

1, Best air purifiers for smoke.

2, Best air purifiers for dust.

3, Best air purifiers for mold.

Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr Customer Service

If you are using or planning to use one air purifier, you can’t skip the name of Austin Air. The leading indoor air cleaner manufacturer in the United States is also one of the largest air purifier manufacturing facilities in the world, producing everything in-house, from the filters to the metal housing and even the finish powder coat paint. Buying an air purifier from this brand is a smart investment to improve your indoor air quality.

There is more to say about the Austin Air Company. The brand is recommended by lots of well-known organizations such as the Red Cross, FEMA, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the career of dealing with the negative health effects of ash, chemicals, VOCs, and other miscellaneous airborne particulates released into the air. This is also the only brand selected by the U.S. government to save people from chemical attacks, natural gas leaks, and even wildfire smoke.

Back to the top-ranked customer service in the air purifier industry, you can contact its customer service anytime through its online form or via phone at 800-724-8403.

If you buy one product from this brand, you need to register to activate the 5-year warranty for your air purifiers. The medical-grade True HEPA filter is also covered by another 5-year warranty, for which you need to register separately. The warranty submission is quick and easy, and you should do it immediately after purchasing a product from Austin Air.

Our verdict

The bigger version is truly a revolution, but the compact version, the Austin Air HealthMate Plus Jr is not so much better than the standard Austin Air HealthMate Jr. You can still opt in, but you must embrace both the higher base price and filter replacement.

It is discontinued, along with all other junior models of Austin Air.