GermGuardian AC5900WCA Air Purifier: Trusted Review & Specs

American manufacturer GermGuardian has long been famed for its ability to disrupt the accepted order of the air purifier market with powerful, well-built tower air purifiers that don’t break the bank. But until very recently, the company has focused its business almost exclusively on the bigger devices, especially with the GermGuardian AC5900WCA. So, here you are, let’s check our GermGuardian AC5900WCA Review together.

Update: The flagships of this brand are the GermGuardian AC9400W and GermGuardian AC9600W. We also recommend you check out the GermGuardian AP5800 for an air purifier with much better smart features than this older air purifier.

GermGuardian AC5900WCA 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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The recently launched GermGuardian AC5900WCA is a solid candidate for Guardian Technologies to compete in the aggressive low-range market. With this air purifier, Guardian Technologies made a striking statement, not just from a design perspective but from a business perspective, too – it wants to be considered an equal to the big players in the mid-range air purifier arena, such as Blueair, Rabbit Air and recently Levoit. Follow our GermGuardian AC5900WCA Review to find out what could push this air purifier so far beyond the brand’s usual under $150 price range.

Other GermGuardian’s Air Purifier Reviews:

GermGuardian AC5900WCA Price

To commit to making bigger air purifiers, the Guardian Technologies company needs to enhance both the fan power and the iconic True HEPA filter. The starting price of GermGuardian AC5900WCA is slightly above average with a lot of investment.

Though the air purifier is still in the low-range segment, with a price tag of $229, the GermGuardian AC5900WCA reflects the clear direction of this brand, which is to aim at the mid-range market. This direction is mostly visualized in the new AC9400W, which we’ve reviewed.

At that price, the GermGuardian AC5900WCA competes with the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA as the company’s current $200 air purifiers. One quick reminder: the CDAP5500BCA is a smart air purifier with Wi-Fi connectivity but much weaker fan power than the GermGuardian AC5900WCA. Should you need better performance, you can’t go wrong with this GermGuardian AC5900WCA.

The GermGuardian AC5600WDLX and GermGuardian AP5800W are coming into play with a lower price tag than our current unit. Both of them don’t have the UV-C light filter, and the fan power is not as good as the GermGuardian AC5900WCA, however.

The $200 price range is also the most competitive, with many excellent air purifiers available, including the AeraMax 300, Honeywell HPA300, Coway AP-1512HH, and Levoit LV-PUR131.

Set eyes on this GermGuardian AC5900WCA; we are happy to deliver a $24 discount if you grab our deal below, so the air purifier is only $175.

Related post: Best air purifier 2023.

GermGuardian AC5900WCA Design and Size

The company has now reworked the original design and returned with this GermGuardian AC5900WCA, a more refined, logical, and favorable concept. Now, there is no 28-inch tower with a really confused design language. Instead, with its 21-inch height and 16-inch width, the GermGuardian AC5900WCA has a solid profile, giving it greater fan power than its predecessors.

As far as affordability is concerned, the GermGuardian AC5900WCA has a few tricks to save costs while still delivering a solid air purifier package. The majority of the air purifier is still plastic, and there is no signature circular light on the front panel anymore. But the company that made this air purifier made sure that the GermGuardian AC5900WCA still looks very stylish.

GermGuardian’s AC5900WCA even deviates from the original design by being the first of its kind to feature a bottom-to-top airflow system.To do that, the GermGuardian AC5900WCA uses a huge air intake grill from the front and a smaller air outlet grill on top. This design is borrowed from almost all $200 air purifiers, such as the Honeywell HPA300, Coway AP-1512HH, and Levoit LV-PUR131. Even at $369, a Design Award winner – the Rabbit Air BioGS 2.0 – makes use of the same airflow concept. That is indeed a great compliment for the GermGuardian AC5900WCA.

On top of this GermGuardian AC5900WCA, beside the air grill, we will have a common control panel with five functionality buttons.

Source: Amazon.com

We will have only one color option, as the GermGuardian AC5900WCA comes in a White version. Honestly, I like the Black version of GermGuardian’s air purifier more, as the Black Onyx color is, in my opinion, much more premium.

Though bigger, the GermGuardian AC5900WCA is only 13 lbs, which is nearly the same as the Coway AP-1512HH and Levoit LV-PUR131. 13-lb one is like a house cat, if you ask me.

Related post: Best air purifiers for bedroom.

GermGuardian AC5900WCA Filters

The GermGuardian AC5900WCA includes a 3-in-1 air cleaning system that combines the power of a product line with the combination of three of the most popular air filter types to ensure absolute purification.

1. Pre-filter – A normal pre-filter with Activated Carbon Filter to remove the large particles of pollutants and reduce odors created by smoke, cooking, and pets.
2. True HEPA filter – GermGuardian AC5900WCA uses a True HEPA filter to capture 99.97% of microscopic allergens, dust, and mold spores as small as 0.3 microns in size.
3. UV-C Light – An UV bulb is also used in this air purifier to kill airborne bacteria, viruses, and mold spores.

To improve the performance rating, the GermGuardian AC5900WCA runs a new True HEPA filter, which is one and a half times as big as the average GermGuardian’s air filter. Increasing the surface is the best way to utilize the fan power and increase the trapping efficiency of this air purifier. However, the Filter J of the GermGuardian AC5900WCA is not upgraded with the Pet Pure Treatment, which is widely used in the latest models of this brand, like the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA or GermGuardian AC5350B.

I set up a performance test for the GermGuardian AC5900WCA along with the Levoit LV-PUR131. It is quite insufficient for the GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA to stay in the same test conditions in a room of 200 square feet for a duration of 1 hour, but I was willing to make a deep comparison to see the performance of the GermGuardian AC5900WCA. The result is that the GermGuardian AC5900WCA can trap 99.9% of particles down to 0.3 microns. The GermGuardian CDAP5500BCA is weaker in a large room and has an efficiency of only 99%.

Moreover, a signature GermGuardian air purifier needs the support of an UV-C light bulb. This 5W UV bulb is able to destroy germs, airborne bacteria, viruses, and mold spores. This combination is truly what makes Guardian Technologies stand out of the crowd at the moment.

Source: Amazon.com

As usual, this True HEPA filter needs 6-8 months to be replaced. And with that little time, a $69 air filter will keep you from purchasing a new one. It is disappointing that a low-range air purifier like the GermGuardian AC5900WCA has such a high filter replacement cost.

Related post: Best air purifiers for allergies.

GermGuardian AC5900WCA Room Coverage

Trading off the smart features for the power, the GermGuardian AC5900WCA is exactly what customers demand from this brand: larger room coverage. That being said, this GermGuardian AC5900WCA can handle a room of up to 338 square feet. This room’s coverage is quite similar to others in the same price range, like the Coway AP-1512HH and Airmega 200M.

The ACH of GermGuardian AC5900WCA remains 4X. With that high air changes per hour rating, this air purifier can clean your room every 15 minutes.

The CADR of GermGuardian AC5900WCA is 220 Dust/ 218 Smoke/ 215 Pollen (cfm). This CADR rating is just slightly better than the slow Levoit LV-PUR131, but nowhere near the fan power of Honeywell HPA300. We must again remind you that the CADR rating doesn’t tell you the performance of your air purifier; it only tells you how fast this device can clean your room. GermGuardian AC5900WCA can easily pass any difficult test in a 338-square-foot room.

Related post: Best large room air purifiers.

GermGuardian AC5900WCA Sound

With only 3 fan speeds, this GermGuardian AC5900WCA is still as noisy as an average 5- to 6-fan air purifier. It’s not hard to tell the culprit: a larger device like the GermGuardian AC5900WCA needs a bigger fan, which produces a higher noise level.

Even at the lowest setting, the noise level of the GermGuardian AC5900WCA can reach 40 decibels, which is higher than most of the normal air purifiers on the market. For example, the AeraMax 300 is only 35 decibels, the SilverOnyx can be as low as 25 decibels, and the Winix 5300-2 is only 28 decibels.

And when you switch to the highest setting, the noise level of the GermGuardian AC5900WCA can reach as high as 60 decibels (dB). This is the noise level of a public restaurant or an air conditioning unit at 100 feet. I bet most of our beloved readers won’t find this noise level acceptable.

If you don’t want this air purifier to disturb you, I suggest that you keep it running on the lowest setting whenever possible.

Related post: Best air purifiers for baby.

GermGuardian AC5900WCA Power Consumption

One of our most frequently asked questions is “Do air purifiers use a lot of energy?” In fact, air purifiers must be used for a long time to be efficient. And power consumption is one important criterion to review to determine if this air purifier is good or not.

With the use of a new built-in 5-watt UV-C bulb and much more fan power, the GermGuardian AC5900WCA runs at 83 watts and can easily kill your energy bill. To save your precious money when using an air purifier for a long time, we suggest you search for the Coway AP-1512HH, Levoit LV-PUR131, and TCL Breeva A5. I can’t believe this is one of only a few GermGuardian air purifiers with an Energy Star rating.

It could cost you up to $30 per year to use a GermGuardian AC5900WCA for 8 hours per day.

Related post: Best air purifiers for pets.

GermGuardian AC5900WCA Additional Features

Guardian Technologies, like so many other budget air purifier brands, has sacrificed the quality of its air filter for lots of marketing aspects like smart features, a modern appearance, and, of course, the add-on of a UV-C light bulb. On the other hand, the company decided to provide great performance and fan power for the price in this GermGuardian AC5900WCA.Honestly, I believe more in the performance of one air purifier, and this new direction of Guardian Technologies truly deserves some praise.

That’s why we shouldn’t expect anything from this air purifier. The only feature available in the GermGuardian AC5900WCA is a timer to turn off the device and save energy.

Luckily, we still have a handy LED indicator for filter replacement. With this function, you no longer need to remember the replacement date.

Related posts:

1, Best air purifiers for smoke.

2, Best air purifiers for dust.

3, Best air purifiers for mold.

GermGuardian AC5900WCA Customer Service

There is not much to say about the brilliant support from Guardian Technologies’ customer service. Anyone can get active support from the American brand. The company also makes the instruction manuals available online to help you answer common questions on your own. But if you can’t find a solution, just contact customer service via phone at 866-603-5900 or via email at support@guardiantechnologies.com. Just like any other brand, the office will be open from Monday to Friday.

Guardian Technologies occasionally offers free shipping as well as a significant discount on all products (typically 10% to 20%). Whenever you find the air purifiers are not as great as you had thought, you can return them within 30 days of your original receipt of the order. And don’t worry about the warranty policy of Guardian Technologies, as it warrants its products to be free of defects in materials or workmanship. You can register for a warranty for up to five years.

For the GermGuardian AC5900WCA, you will have a 3-year warranty.

Our verdict

For under $200, the GermGuardian AC5900WCA is definitely a good deal when it has a combination of both a True HEPA filter and a UV-C light filter, as do other $300 air purifiers. However, if you prefer better performance, you should go for the Honeywell HPA300 or Coway AP-1512HH, which have better fan power and slightly higher efficiency. Or if you need more smart features for your device, a Levoit Core 400S or, especially, a TCL Breeva A5 would fit you better.