Winix Air Purifier 5500 is a good model for removing smoke. Best practices to modify it to make it last longer and purify more include, use 2 of the carbon filters instead of 1 and also add an air conditioner filter of 1/4 inch polyurethane foam on top (costs a buck or two.) Replace the polyurethane foam monthly and vacuum the other filters monthly to extend their life. I got these tips from an engineer who had modified his winix air filter 5500 and posted his reviews on Amazon.com. He gives a thorough review of it and honestly, if you're looking to remove smoke, these do the job.
Some people say they have difficulty with the sensor not working correctly, but this may be because of poor setup practices. If you get the unit, assemble it and run it on Turbo for an hour. Then shut it down and turn it on and let the sensors adjust then. (only required for first time operation).
If you want to keep a really nice level of freshness, I recommend you leave the machine on high all the time. Also, if you are very sensitive to chemicals, when you first run the unit, run it for a few days in an area where you are not over exposed to it. (Say run it in a living room if you are spending most of your time in another room.) The carbon filter seems to gas off for a few days (minimal). However, what you will find is that for the price point, they do remove smoke very well, their specifications are accurate and thank goodness they are quiet.
I've tried a lot of filters, whole home filtration and am quite happy with the Winix performance. We live in a town that is always smoky from campfires and many of our neighbours burn fires to get rid of yard waste.
I have also found that sometimes I will start coughing and can't understand why and I will walk by the air purifier and note that it will show that the air quality is not great.. (the indicators go from green to red) and it's nice to use the control on Turbo for a few minutes to get the quality to green pronto.
Another plus is that the unit is lightweight, so that means if I want to move one of the units to where I am going to be spending a lot of time, I can move it there a few minutes before I go in and make sure the air is optimal by the time I get in there. Read the specs on particle size removal for smoke and CFM for room for any unit you buy. This model of Winix moves a lot of air and removes smoke pretty quickly.
