The best Dyson fans are incredible bits of engineering, and they've evolved to do more than just move air around: they can pull pollutants and other irritants out of the air before circulating the newly cleaned air around the room. And the latest model, the Dyson Purifier Humidify+Cool, may well be the most effective air cleaner Dyson has made.
The Dyson Purifier Humidify+Cool Formaldehyde automatically purifies, precisely senses and destroys formaldehyde, and uses UV-C technology to remove 99.9% of bacteria in water. We've reviewed its predecessor, the Dyson HP09 Pure Hot + Cool Formaldehyde, and gave it the full five stars. "If you have been waiting for Dyson to achieve Peak Fan," we wrote, "the Pure Hot+Cool Formaldehyde is it".
We also said that "It will be interesting to see what innovation Dyson shoe-horns into its next air purifier." And now we know.
What's so bad about formaldehyde anyway?
Formaldehyde is quite common in homes – it can be emitted by flat-packed furniture, cleaning agents, carpets and other common items – and ironically the same energy efficiency that makes modern homes slightly cheaper to heat can also boost the amount of formaldehyde around you.
According to Dyson VP of new product innovation Alex Knox, "The off-gassing tendency of formaldehyde means that it can build up within the home and go undetected for years, while humidifiers without sufficient water treatment can project polluted water droplets into the air. Dyson has engineered a machine that tackles both of these problems."
Unless you're breathing in huge amounts of it for long periods, you're unlikely to suffer really serious consequences from formaldehyde. But even relatively small amounts can irritate your eyes, nose, throat and skin, and it can make life more unpleasant for people with conditions such as asthma or COPD.
The problem with a lot of air filters is that they don't get rid of formaldehyde, they confuse it with other volatile organic compounds or their sensors deteriorate over time. Dyson's approach is different: its formaldehyde sensor promises to last a lifetime and is separate from the unit's VOC sensors to ensure there's no confusion.
There's a lot of tech in here, from a cleverly designed PTFE tube in which bacteria is blasted with UV-C light, silver strands inside the evaporator to inhibit bacterial growth and a re-engineered airflow design that can capture the H1N1 virus as well as 95.5% of particles down to just 0.1 microns.
The Dyson Purifier humidity+Cool Formaldehyde is available from the usual retailers and directly from Dyson. It's £699.
