AirDoctor 5000 Product Review

No matter how well you clean your home, there will often be allergens and other nasties lurking in the air – and if you own a cat, then there can be odor particles from the litter box too. The AirDoctor 5000 aims to give you the cleanest air possible – removing odors and allergens to keep you and your kitty healthy.

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First impression of the AirDoctor 5000

My first impression of the AirDoctor 5000 by Ideal Living was that it was huge! I wasn’t sure where I was going to put it – but I was also really pumped, as it arrived just before my renovation. So I had time to get familiar with it and get used to it before I really needed to use it. You can see in my unboxing video that I allowed my cats to smell it and check it out, out of the box, unplugged before I ever plugged it in.

My cats were not fearful of it at all – just a bit curious, which was nice because both of them are scared of the vacuum, so I am not sure ever how they will react.

I also moved it around in various rooms in my house until it finally ended up in my bedroom before the renovation and where it has not left.

Unboxing Video of the AirDoctor 5000 for Review

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Packaging of the AirDoctor 5000

The AirDoctor 5000 arrives neatly packaged in a cardboard box, with foam inserts that are cut to fit the unit perfectly. This helps to keep it really secure during shipping.

It’s covered with a plastic bag, as is the carbon filter inside the unit – you’ll need to remove it before you use the AirDoctor 5000 for the first time. Also, there’s a sticker on top of the unit that needs to be removed before you start using it, which explains the first steps to get it set up.

Box Contents

The box contains the AirDoctor 5000 itself and a product manual, which tells you everything about how it works and how to troubleshoot it.

The AirDoctor 5000 comes with three filters – a pre-filter for dust, a carbon filter, and a HEPA filter. These are already installed inside the unit when it arrives, but the carbon one is wrapped in plastic, which needs to be removed in order for it to operate.

Assembly Required

There’s not much assembly required at all to get the AirDoctor 5000 ready to use. Simply pop off the side panel and remove the dust filter to give you access to the carbon filter, which has a plastic shipping cover.

Remove the cover, re-insert the carbon filter and then the dust filter then replace the side panel. That’s it – it’s ready to be plugged in.

Size of the AirDoctor 5000

The AirDoctor 5000 is not a small air purifier. It’s powerful, which means it relies on big fans to draw in more air. It measures 28.75 inches tall by 16 inches wide and 16 inches deep.

In really small rooms you might struggle to fit it in place, but for tackling larger spaces it’s excellent. It can circulate the air in a 1,000 square foot room four times every hour, or twice an hour for rooms measuring 2,000 square feet.

Best Benefit of the AirDoctor 5000

The AirDoctor 5000 is really effective at tackling the air quality in your home, and it makes it easy too. It has an indicator light that tells you how pure the air is, which shines red when the air quality is poor, orange when it is moderate, and blue when it’s good.

The purifier is really effective at capturing dust and pet dander as well as bacteria, odors, mold particles and more. The active carbon filter traps gases and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) while the HEPA filter traps airborne particles as small as 0.003 microns. This makes it a really handy device if your cat has any allergies, since it removes a lot of the nasties from the air and lets them breathe a little easier.

Plus it does it all automatically, although be warned – if your cat uses their litter tray, it may ramp up in speed due to the change in air quality, which could spook your cat and put them off using their litter tray altogether.

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Pros of the AirDoctor 5000

• Traps a wide range of particles, odors, and bacteria
• Filter change lights let you know when the filters need swapping
• Dim mode switches off the lights, perfect for using it while you sleep
• Sealed system – once the air is purified, particles won’t escape

Cons of the AirDoctor 5000

• It’s a large unit – it will take up a lot of space in small rooms
• It’s not an ugly design, but might not go well with your home decor
• Only comes in white (as of this writing), so if you do not have white decor it can really stand out
• Auto mode may spook your cat, though it is relatively quiet

Durability of the AirDoctor 5000

The actual AirDoctor 5000 itself is a regular air purifier so durability isn’t an issue. In terms of the filters, you should expect the carbon filter to last for around 6 months and the HEPA filter to last around 12 months. You can buy a ‘One Year Combo’ pack of 4 carbon filters and 2 HEPA filters on the Ideal Living website.

Troubleshooting for the AirDoctor 5000

The AirDoctor 5000 shouldn’t have any trouble working, providing you follow the instructions for replacing the filters. You may need to clean the pre-filter dust filter every now and then for it to keep working properly. You can do this by removing it and vacuuming it or wiping it down or rinsing it off and letting it airdry before reinstalling it.

If it isn’t working and you’re not sure why, the manual that comes with it will be able to talk you through troubleshooting the device. They also have great customer service that can help you out. Be sure not to open the AirDoctor, as that could violate the warranty.

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Video of the AirDoctor 5000

https://youtu.be/_BRSwzh1vJY

Ease of Cleaning

There isn’t really much cleaning needed – other than wiping it down. You might want to clean the permanent pre-filters every month – which can be cleaned by vacuuming them, rinsing them off and letting them dry or wiping them down.

Other than that, the unit itself doesn’t seem to get dirty. Just the filters do – and they are replaced once or twice a year depending on the filter.

Safety

There are no real safety concerns with using the AirDoctor 5000, and if anything it will just make the air in your home safer to breathe for yourself and for your cats. Just make sure that all the vents are open to the air and aren’t covered. Don’t place it in a corner blocking the fans as this could cause it to overheat.

Jenny’s Personal Take Away

I was super impressed with this thing. Every day at the end of the contractors’ workday – I had a routine, open up my room, turn AirDoctor to full blast, vacuum, mop and wash all the towels I had down protecting my carpets and hardwood floors. I felt like the AirDoctor was the only thing that did the work for me – well, other than my washing machine =).

Often times, when I did open my bedroom door, since the AirDoctor 5000 was on “auto”, it would immediately jump to the red circle and full blast to clean the air. During the day, I would put a towel by my door, so no dust would get in, so when the door opened, it was like a flood of dust that the AirDoctor would quickly take care of.

I am so very grateful for the AirDoctor – I think Charlie would have needed to have been on a lot more steroids to get through that process without it. And I was grateful not to have to give him more steroids. And certainly, if it was helping Charlie that much, it helped Chiggy and I too.

I plan on keeping it – I don’t keep every product we review, but I really like this sucker and think it might be able to help my other family members should they need to do a renovation. But I also think it is helping us get through the grass and weeds of the summer that bother Charlie too.

Price

The AirDoctor 5000 is designed for larger rooms and is a really powerful air purifier, so expect to pay a premium price for a quality product – between $700 and $1,000. There are smaller versions if your budget doesn’t stretch that far, which are designed for smaller rooms.

Purchase the AirDoctor 5000 through the manufacturer or on Amazon.

Where to buy the AirDoctor 5000

You can buy the AirDoctor 5000 on the Ideal Living website or on Amazon.

FAQs

Conclusion about the AirDoctor 5000

If you’re worried about your cat’s allergies, you have a mold problem or you just want to make sure that the air in your home is as fresh as it could be, the AirDoctor is a great solution. And the AirDoctor 5000 is the one to go for if you have large rooms that you want to tackle, or are expecting to have a lot of problems with dust (such as during a renovation). But check out the AirDoctor 1000 or AirDoctor 3000 if you only need a smaller unit. You can buy all three models from the Ideal Living website.

We received the AirDoctor 5000 for review from the manufacturer.  Receiving the free product and the review fee did not influence this honest post.

Check out our other cat product reviews.