Autowit Fresh 2 Air Purifier and Humidifier – Review

The Autowit Fresh 2 is an air purifier equipped with an innovative three-stage filtration system designed to improve the air quality in your car.

Our Verdict

Performance

7.4

Noise

9.0

Operating cost

8.4

Value for money

7.8

Ease of use

9.4

8.4/10

RATING

I purchased this air purifier in 2019 through the crowdfunding website Kickstarter because I wanted to support the creator and also review this small and innovative device.

The Autowit Fresh 2 is a compact air purifier that is packed with some great features, including an air quality sensor, air quality indicator, auto mode, and a humidifier feature.

The idea behind this project is excellent, and having an air purifier in a car could be beneficial, especially for people who spend a lot of time traveling in their vehicles. However, I’m concerned that the Autowit Fresh 2 isn’t powerful enough to improve the air quality in your car significantly.

I tested it for some time in my car, as well as in the specialized rooms I use for testing every air purifier I buy. Keep reading to find out how it performed and whether it’s worth the investment.

Also, if you have any questions, please feel free to use the comment section below the article.

What we really like?

  • Such a small air purifier has an air quality sensor, air quality indicator, and auto mode.

  • It’s truly hard to believe that you get a humidifier feature for the price.

  • The Autowit Fresh 2 is made of high-quality materials, and the build quality is among the best I have encountered.

  • For the price, you will get an air purifier with a HEPA filter, auto mode, and humidifier feature, which also uses low power and is affordable for maintenance.

  • Despite using a very small filter, you have to replace it just every 3-4 months.

What could be better?

  • The Autowit Fresh 2 lacks the power and has a low CADR. It covers rooms of up to 86 sq. ft., which isn’t enough for use at home, which is why I prefer using this device only in cars.

  • It could be more effective in removing smoke and bad odors.

  • The humidifier feature doesn’t make any noticeable changes in the air humidity.

Specifications

Manufacturer Autowit
Model Fresh 2
Dimensions (inches / cm) 8.5 x 3.1 x 3.1 inches (21.6 x 7.9 x 7.9 cm)
Filtration Technology Nano Silver Filter, HEPA Fold Filter, and High-Quality Charcoal Filter
Filter Life 3-4 months
Coverage (4.8 ACH) 86 sq. ft. (8 m²)
Number of Fan Speeds 3 – Speed 1, Speed 2, and Speed 3
Noise Level (low – high) 45.3 – 66.8 dBA
Efficiency Test 86% in a car
Warranty 1-year

Full Review

Autowit released its first version of an air purifier back in 2018. After some time, they released a new, improved version with advanced features. Autowit Fresh 2 is a small but powerful air purifier that can be put on any place; you can even place it on a table while you are dining.

Autowit Fresh 2 - Car Air Purifier and Humidifier
Autowit Fresh 2 was placed on a small desk. Photo: Airpurifierfirst.com / Milan Antonic

With such a small size, Autowit Fresh 2 air purifiers and humidifiers are not made for use in rooms; their purpose is to be used in cars. Thanks to the powerful motor, it can even do a decent job in a very small room, up to 86 sq. ft., such as an office. The air purifier has many options, and the purifying technology is well-known on the market.

Fresh 2 is not only an air purifier, but it can also humidify the air. Fresh 2 is one of the rare air purifier and humidifier combos in such a small size and at such an affordable price.

Design

Autowit Fresh 2 has a premium design. It looks like a water bottle or a small speaker that is made of high-quality plastic and aluminum, which provides a unique design.

The Autowit Fresh 2 is such a small device, made for car usage, which indicates that you won’t have any trouble fitting it to your car cup holder.

Touch Button

There is only one button to control the Autowit Fresh 2 air purifier, but with that button, you can control four adjustable modes: Auto Mode, Silent Mode, Medium Mode, and Strong Mode.

One push on the power button will start the air purifier in auto mode. You can confirm that Auto Mode is running by blinking LED light. If you push the power button the second time, you will enter Silent Mode.

Silent Mode is the quiet mode, and you can see that you are in silent mode if one-third of LED lights are on. On the next push, you are switching Fresh 2 to Medium Mode, and two-thirds of the LED light is on. 

Strong Mode is the most effective mode on this Autowit model, and it will purify the air at the fastest speed. However, this mode is the loudest as well. When the strong mode is on, all LED lights are turned on. If you click the power button again, you will switch back to Auto Mode, and the circle continues. It is a pretty simple control that is very effective to use.

Autowit Fresh 2 Air Purifier and Humidifier Combo - On the Desk
Autowit Fresh 2 was placed on the office desk. Photo: Airpurifierfirst.com / Milan Antonic

To control the Fresh 2 humidifier feature, there is a drop button above the power button. When the humidifier is on, you will see the blue light on the LED, and then the device will start to release water vapor. Once you turn the humidifier on, it will work for 15 minutes, after which it will work in cycles of three minutes pause and one minute work.

Distilled water is not required, you can use regular water and a humidifier will work just fine. Under no circumstances should you add essential oils. Essential oils may damage the humidifier.

Size and Dimension

Autowit Fresh 2 air purifier and humidifier in one is small (8.5 x 3.1 x 3.1 inches) and easy to move from car to car or even from car to home and vice versa. It’s made from high-quality plastic and aluminum, and when you hold it, you will notice that it is heavier (15.5 ounces) than it looks.

Accessories and Parts

When you buy Autowit Fresh 2, you will get one micro USB cable, one car charger, a user manual, and a thank you card. With a USB cable, you can attach it to a power bank, cell phone, laptop, or even desktop PC. As long as you have a device with a USB port, you can use it as a power supply.

To properly fixate Autowit Fresh 2 in the car, you can use a cup holder that comes in the package. The cup holder is easy to install and won’t take up much space in the car.

Review of Autowit Fresh 2 Features

Autowit Fresh 2 - Placed in the Cup Holder in the Car.
Autowit Fresh 2 – Placed in the cup holder in the car. Photo: Airpurifierfirst.com / Milan Antonic

Removes 99% of Airborne Particles

With a combination of a powerful motor and HEPA filter, Autowit Fresh 2 air purifier will suck large amounts of air in a small period and remove 99% of particles from the air.  Dust, smoke, germs, pet dander, bad smell, and other allergy triggers can be easily removed with the Fresh 2 air purifier.

3-Stage Filtration

Autowit Fresh 2 has three stages of filtration, including a nanosilver filter, a HEPA filter, and a high-quality charcoal filter.

The first one in the order of sucking air is the nanosilver filter, which is actually a pre-filter that is used to remove all the big particles that can be caught without a HEPA filter.

HEPA fold filter is the second line of defense, which removes almost everything from the air. The only things that go through the HEPA fold filter are smoke, gases, and other bad smells.

The third and last line of defense is a high-quality charcoal filter. The charcoal filter is used to remove bad odors, chemicals, gases, and other unwanted smoke from the air.

Four Adjustable Airflow Modes

Usually, air purifiers have three speeds, low, medium, and high, but Autowit Fresh 2 has four, which means more choices that will surely cover all your needs.

Thanks to the robust design and almost noise-proof construction, Autowit Fresh 2 is not noisy. You can drive in silence with Fresh 2 without any trouble, especially if you set it to low speed. In such a mode, you won’t even know that the air purifier is cleaning the air in the car.

Smart Auto-Detection Sensor and Visible Display

Autowit Fresh 2 is a premium air purifier with some advanced functions. Of course, such an advanced high-tech product will have smart sensors. In my opinion, having a real-time indicator of air quality is a good way to be sure that the air purifier actually works. I can say that this smart sensor in Autowit Fresh 2 is a price-worth feature.

Autowit Fresh 2 - Smart Auto-Detection Sensor and Three Different Lights Which Indicate Different Air Quality.
Autowit Fresh 2 – Smart auto-detection sensor and three different lights. Photo: Airpurifierfirst.com / Milan Antonic

There are three levels of pollution that Fresh 2 detects. The green light means that the air quality is excellent. If you notice the green light is lighting for some time, I suggest turning off the air purifier and let it relax a bit. You will know that the air quality is good when the air purifier emits a green light.

Besides, check a review of Airdog X3 that has an air quality detector too, but which is excellent for home-usage.

A yellow light means that the air is ok, acceptable, but not the best. It is a wise choice to let the Fresh 2 on now and prevent the air from going to the last level, which will emit a red light.

When you see the red light, you must immediately turn the air purifier to maximum fan speed because the air in the car is poor. Trust me; you don’t want to breathe poor-quality air. Poor-quality air is filled with allergens, dust, pollen, or other unwanted airborne particles that can harm your respiratory system. Always make sure that the light on the air purifier is green.

Air Humidification Done with a Built-In Water Tank

Air humidification with the Autowit Fresh 2 combo is very simple. You fill the water in the built-in water tank and let the air humidifier do the job. You can watch how the fresh humidifier air is coming out on the top of the device.

Autowit Fresh 2 uses ultrasonic sounds to change water into vapor. There is no heating process, and you don’t need to wait for the device to heat up. Usually, when technology heats up, it also emits some unwanted components like ozone. However, Autowit doesn’t heat water; it uses advanced technology to release cold vapor into the air.

The human ear can not hear these ultrasonic sounds. We humans can not hear this sound, which means that the sound that this humidifier emits will not bother you.

Low Energy Consumption and Low Maintenance Costs

Low maintenance costs are one of the benefits you will get if you decide to buy Autowit Fresh 2. The only thing that needs to be replaced in the Fresh 2 air purifier is a filter, which will work for up to 4 months if you use the air purifier properly. There are no other costs involved with this product. You won’t even need to clean anything inside the air purifier.

Another good thing about the Autowit air purifier is that you can turn it on with a USB cable. This device can use different power supplies to work. The most important thing is that the power supplier has a USB port so you can plug in the air purifier.

On the other hand, you can have a laptop and plug the air purifier in a USB port and have it charged while you play games or write an essay, and at the same time enjoy fresh and clean air coming out from the Autowit Fresh 2.

Mobile Device

Autowit Fresh 2, thanks to its small size and ability to plug into various power sources, is one of the best mobile air purifiers you can buy. It is also one of the best air purifiers for the car. You can place it in a car bottle holder, and for a return, you will get fresh and clean air. Nowadays, each car has more than one bottle holder, so there will always be empty space for an Autowit Fresh 2.

This small but very powerful little device will purify the air in the car and make driving pleasant without trouble.

Warranty

Autowit gives a not-so-generous limited warranty of one year. Since the day you bought it, you can be safe that the air purifier will work as intended. If you have any questions, you can contact the Autowit company on their website and get all the answers you need.

Filtration Technology

The size of the Autowit Fresh 2 filter is small since the size of the whole device is small. However, that small filter can still remove 90% of PM 2.5 particles, as well as pollen, dust, smoke, odors, floccus, formaldehyde, and other particles.

As it uses a three-stage filtration system (composite nano filter, HEPA folded filter, and carbon filter), Fresh 2 can remove 99% of all airborne particles. The only problem with the filter is that it can get dirty too fast and needs to be replaced every 3 to 4 months.

Autowit Fresh 2 - Filter

The 3 stage filtration system removes particles, smoke, gases as well as odors.

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How to change the Autowit Fresh 2 filter in 4 easy steps?

As I have already mentioned, Fresh 2 requires changing the filter more often than some other air purifiers. Now, I will show you how to change the filter of the Autowit Fresh 2 air purifier in 4 easy steps.

Total Time: 5 minutes.

Open the bottom cover

Turn the Autowit upside down and turn the bottom cover clockwise to open it.

Open the bottom cover

Pull the old filter out

Take the old filter out of the device by pulling it out with fingers.

Pull the old filter out of the Autowit Fresh 2

Put a new filter in

Take a new filter, unpack it, and prepare for putting it into the device.

Put a new filter in the Autowit Fresh 2

Seal the bottom cover back

Seal the bottom cover back, and you’re done with changing the Fresh 2 filter.

Seal the bottom cover back

Noise Test

The noise of Autowit Fresh 2 depends on the speed you use, and there are Silent Mode, Auto Mode, and Strong Mode.

In silent mode, you will not hear it working. On auto mode, the device will automatically switch speed, and it could be noisier if running at a higher speed.

If you are a driver who likes to chat or listen to the radio while driving, you will not hear the Autowit Fresh 2 is working even if you let it run on Strong Mode.

I used the Autowit air purifier during the car ride to check if it was going to disturb me while driving. The air purifier was on all the time, and I didn’t even notice that. It’s quiet enough and didn’t cause me any trouble during the ride. Additionally, I used special equipment for noise measuring, which uses dbA ratings. Results may vary from the official ones, and below is the table where you can see noise results.

Speed Value (dBA)
Speed 1 45.3 dBA
Speed 2 58.3 dBA
Speed 3 66.8 dBA

Performance Tests

I wanted to compare how much the Autowit Fresh 2 will improve the air quality in different conditions. I used the air purifier in a car while somebody was/wasn’t smoking and during the morning/day/night ride. In the end, I used it during the longer/shorter rides and during different weather conditions. You can find all the performance tests I did below.

Autowit Fresh 2 - Performance Test in the Car.
I tested Autowit Fresh 2 performance in a car using the Temtop laser particle meter. Photo: Airpurifierfirst.com / Milan Antonic

Testing in Everyday Drive

I tested Fresh 2 in everyday driving in the morning, afternoon, and at night. I used a short drive as well as a long drive in different weather conditions.

In ordinary everyday driving, the air purifier managed to drop AQI from 130 to 19, and air quality was improved by 86%. These results are amazing if we consider the filter size and the airflow that the Fresh 2 air purifier makes.

# Starting Baseline After 30min
PM 2.5 99 13.5
PM 10 138.6 18.9
Particles 143571 19647
AQI 130 19

Testing in the Car with Smoker

I tested Autowit Fresh 2 in a car with a person who was smoking, all the windows shut, and the air conditioner off. The Fresh 2 air purifier had real troubles with filtering the air when a person was smoking. The air quality indicator was flashing bad air all the time, and AQI was as high as it got, pointing to 999.

As soon as the person stopped smoking, the air purifier improved the air quality in only 4 minutes. In only 10 minutes, AQI drops from 999 to 226. In just 16 minutes, AQI was pointing at safe air, and on display was number 49. Autowit Fresh 2 needed only 16 minutes to improve the air by 95%.

# Starting Baseline After 16min
PM 2.5 999.9 34.8
PM 10 999.9 48.7
Particles 1449999 50470
AQI 999 49

In my opinion, Autowit Fresh 2 is an excellent air purifier to use in a car, but it is not good for use in rooms even if the room size is below 86 sq. ft. 

I suggest checking some other air purifiers instead of Fresh 2 for use in an office or a small room. For example, the Levoit LV-H126 is perfect for a small office, or even the GermGuardian AC4200W will make excellent results in your room. I also reviewed the TaoTronics TT-AP001, which had outstanding results when tested in smaller rooms.

FAQ on Autowit Fresh 2

How often should I replace the filter?

As it is pretty small, you should change the filter between 3 – 4 months.

How long can I use the air purifier per day?

It depends on the air quality, but I suggest using the Fresh 2 in Auto mode until the device goes green. After it goes green, use it for a few minutes more. Otherwise, if the air around you is too polluted, you should use the device on the third speed for a longer time.

Is the Fresh 2 chargeable?

No, it’s not chargeable. You power the air purifier by plugging it into a USB charging port, and you can use various power suppliers like a phone, a laptop, a power bank, etc.

Is it good to use it while I’m smoking in the car?

Autowit Fresh 2 is not powerful enough to fight the smoke while somebody is smoking. As soon as the person stops smoking, the air purifier will purify the air in your car within 16 minutes. Therefore, I suggest opening the window while smoking and using the air purifier afterward for additional air cleaning.

3 responses to “Autowit Fresh 2 Air Purifier and Humidifier – Review”

  1. Dave

    I’m in the process of searching for the best air purifier for use in my car, as I spend more than 3 hours daily in it. The Autowit is a great option, but I’m looking for something more powerful. Do you have any suggestions? Also, could you make more reviews of air purifiers for cars?

    P.S. I really enjoy your blog.

    • Milan Antonic

      Car air purifiers are generally less powerful than those used at home, and it’s not that easy to find something much more powerful than the Autowit Fresh 2.

      Anyway, thank you for the suggestion and your kind words. I will do my best to purchase and review more car air purifiers.

  2. Athenio

    Very detailed and insightful review. And I think this is the air purifier I need. Thank you, love you!

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