A lot’s said about deteriorating air quality in the Indian cities. The solution is to use air purifiers to sift out impurities, pollutants and particulate matter. There’s no dearth of solutions in the Indian market any more. A segment that didn’t exist five years ago, is now gaining traction online. Whether it’s translated into sales isn’t known just yet. Nonetheless, this is a need-based product, and makes sense to evaluate your need for one before you embark on purchasing one. I had the opportunity to use the Dyson Pure Cool Me, an innovation-filled personal air purification system from Dyson. Here’s my review.
Do you need an air purifier?
I don’t have to necessarily build a case for air purifiers. If you or anyone in your home is allergic to pollen or dust, or suffers from a respiratory condition, then that’s reason enough to strongly consider one. As I’ve mentioned in my reviews of air purifiers in the past, if you need one then you need one. If you don’t need one, then having one won’t cause any grief. You’ll just generally be feeding your respiratory system some clean air.
The primary reasons for choosing an air purifier is the ability to filter out particulate matter, dust, pollen and such particles. Other than that, a well-designed product is also a lifestyle statement that enhances the immediate environment of your place of dwelling.
Do you need a personal air purifier?
Now what if all these benefits were available just for you? In your own personal space? As a kid while growing up, I’ve seen cars have a portable fan. It was powered by the 12V battery in the car. You simply flipped a switch and then indulged in some breeze in your face. In fact, so popular was this piece of indulgent tech that you would find them in small offices by the seat.
Dyson Pure Cool Me allows you to direct air flow by simply pushing the dome partially.
Times have changed. Product innovation has leapfrogged from portable fans to air conditioners. Even small offices now have air conditioners. Automobiles have efficient air conditioning in them as well. But more importantly, air conditioners have filters that do the basic groundwork in keeping bad particles at bay.
The dilemma of choosing an air purifier
If you’re like me who takes an hour to decide the main course in a meal, then sit back. I’d likely ponder over all your doubts. If you need an air purifier, does it make sense to buy the Pure Cool Me? Long answer short, yes. But if you care to hear more, then the counter is that you’d rather have a full fledged air purifier that’s capable of throwing enough clean air in the room. One performance metric that governs the air purifier market is a quantity called CADR or clean air delivery rate. It’s the rate with which an air purifier throws clean air into the room. Obviously the thrust of air gushing out plays a vital role in this quantity.
Quality over quantity
Dyson is a strong proponent of air quality. It’s like the studious kid who would spend the whole night trying to understand the concept behind a problem rather than just learning the trick of solving it. Most other air purifiers on the market harp on the high CADR. Dyson doesn’t. Given its obsession with innovation and design, it chooses to talk about how efficient, silent, and well designed its products are. Which, I must say, they are.
Through my life, I’ve always placed greater emphasis on quality over quantity. When the universe makes me reverse that choice, I feel violated. But when it comes to air quality and the Indian condition, I’d like to make an exception. Clean is good, but fast clean is great.
Can’t ignore quantity with an air purifier
Over the few years that I’ve been using air purifiers at home, I’ve come to believe that the Indian kitchen is a powerhouse of particulate matter. The ‘tadka’ as we refer to the pouring of smoking hot seasoned oil over our curry preparations, not only adds flavor, but also gets our sight cloudy, gets us teary and puts us on a sneeze spree besides ruining life for sensitive individuals like me.
The obvious solution in the case above is to use a chimney. But those aren’t capable of solving the problem of particulate matter and smoke entirely. That’s why we have air purifiers to begin with. During such high intensity moments, you need a product with an insane CADR. Now I’ve not personally measured the CADR of air purifiers. It’s a metric for which we’d have to rely on product specification sheets, or third-party certifications.
But given the choice between a Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier and the Dyson Pure Cool Tower, I’d choose the Dyson. However, considering money is dear, the practical choice ends up being a Xiaomi. The reason for my affinity towards the Dyson Pure Cool is that it throws clean air in the horizontal plane, which also increases its resourcefulness as a fan. The Xiaomi Air Purifier, however, throws clean air in the vertical plane. What that means is if you sit in front of a Mi Air Purifier, you’d not feel any breeze.
Watch: Dyson Pure Cool Me
The case for the Pure Cool Me
Assuming most product throw relatively cleaner air than what exists in your surroundings, the decision lies in other aspects. Either the clean air delivery rate, or superior filtering capabilities, or price. Somethings don’t change. Dyson offers the assurance of superior cleaning technology. An efficient HEPA filter ensures that you don’t have to worry about the dust around you. If you’re concerned about quality, then there’s more than enough measures taken to ensure you get the best.
Besides superior air purification capabilities, it offers portability and a ‘super cool’ design language. All said and done, the Pure Cool is not an air conditioner, but an air purifier and a fan.
The counter
While the Pure Cool Me is an air purifier and sure does a great job at it, the definition of a fan can also differ for some of you. If you’re like me, then it’s either got to be instant cooling or breeze on your face to induce relaxation. Now this is one area where I believe some change could help. For instance, the Dyson Pure Cool Desk Air Purifier delivers air in the horizontal plane, and gives you that much needed gust directed at you.
Should you buy the Dyson Pure Cool Me?
If air quality is your concern, then yes. It makes sense to buy an air purifier that filters particles up to 0.1 micron. If you believe that it would serve you well enough to not need a fan, then no. The Pure Cool Me comes at a price. And not every home is willing to spend Rs 25,900 to throw clean air around your personal space.
On the other, if the price doesn’t mean much, and you need a personal companion product that also upscales your surroundings, then the Pure Cool Me will not disappoint you.
