With summer drawing to a close and the autumn chill turning the green leaves into a riot of beautiful colour, the central heating goes back on and clothes drying comes back indoors. As windows and doors are shut to keep out the cold, the air in our homes circulates less, which can cause damp and stagnant air.
A good air purifier and dehumidifier can help improve air quality, helping to reduce home damaging dampness and prevent asthma, colds and other respiratory illnesses. And with a recent Morgan Stanley report showing that only one-third (34%) of UK white-collar employees have gone back to work, post lockdown, preferring to work from home instead, it helps to choose a quiet product, to lower intrusive background noise, especially as air control technologies are often on in the background for long periods of time.
We spend about 90% of our time indoors, where the air is up to 5 times more polluted than outdoors. The air purifiers and dehumidifiers shown here are all Quiet Mark approved, meaning they have been third party tested, verified by Quiet Mark’s acoustic experts as amongst the quietest and most pleasant sounding available on the market.
Air Purifiers
The air purifiers listed here all remove almost 100% of airborne particles. Such particles can lead to issues such as exacerbated asthma and allergy symptoms, the spread of illnesses like colds, flu and other airborne viruses, impaired development in children, and reduced sleep quality.
A recent study by Harvard University found that when office air quality was improved, productivity increased by 61%. Teachers in UK schools also say that results and focus improved following the installation of air purifiers in the classrooms.
Dehumidifiers
Water stains on walls or ceilings, high humidity in rooms with poor ventilation, condensation on windows, black spots of mould spores on bathroom walls, and a general musty smell throughout a space are all signs that you might need a dehumidifier.
A good dehumidifier will help to normalise a room’s humidity levels, making the air more comfortable and reduce the signs and odours of dampness. Other potential benefits can be both financial and health related.
Less moisture damage to buildings and furnishings will prolong any need for repair or replacement. Also, a less humid environment in your home helps clothing dry faster, breads and cereals will remain fresh longer before going stale, and it will prevent the build-up of rust or corrosion on metal objects like computer equipment, electronics, and tools.
Blueair Blue Pure 411 Air Purifier
Blue Pure 411 is not only whisper silent and energy efficient, the one-button speed control makes it super easy to use. The entire bottom part of each air purifier consists of an advanced filter. Using both mechanical and electrostatic filtration, it catches virtually every airborne contaminant down to a virus in size: pollen, dust, pet dander, mould spores, smoke, allergens and bacteria.
Designed for small rooms, the Blue Pure 411 filters the air at the industry-recommended rate of 5x an hour (or about every 12 minutes) in a 15 m² room to effectively lower particle levels and maintain a comfortable environment in your nursery, guest bedroom or home office.
Dyson Pure Hot + Cool HP04 Air Purifier Fan
The Dyson Pure Hot + Cool is a multifunctional purifier that can be used to cool or heat a room using purified air. The product is designed to take in dirty air, clean it and then project clean air around the room.
With 10 fan speeds it can be used as a traditional fan would be to cool a room. It also features heater capabilities. Simply set the thermostat in the product to the desired temperature and the machine will automatically turn on and off to maintain the temperature.
It features a fully-sealed filter system that incorporates HEPA media and activated carbon to capture 99.97% of pollutants, particles, gases and odors as small as 0.3 microns.
Using Air Multiplier technology, the Dyson Pure Hot + Cool projects clean air to every corner of the room. By circulating the clean air into the room, the dirty air is pushed back toward the machine for purification.
The Dyson Pure Hot + Cool is connected via the Dyson Link App. Via the app you’re able to control the fan speed, turn the machine on and off and check your air quality levels (among other things).
A new LCD screen on the front of the machine shows you your air quality in real time. When a pollution event occurs (i.e., cooking, spraying hairspray, etc.) the purifier will show the spike in pollutants. In auto mode, the purifier will also automatically draw in more air and push out more clean air for faster purification to rid the room of the pollutants.
Backward airflow mode projects air through the back of the machine, while maintaining effective purification, allowing you to use the product even when you don’t want the cooling/heating.
Philips Series 3000i Air Purifier AC3033/30
At just the touch of a button the Philips Series 3000i Air Purifier will continuously detect and remove pollutants from the air without you having to worry, ensuring you always have healthy clean air in your home. The high grade filters remove 99.97% of airborne allergens, pollen, fine dust, odours, fine particles and bacteria and the 360 degree airflow enables fast purification in large spaces – Purify the air in a room of 20m2 in less than 8 minutes, much faster than traditional ventilation methods.
In sleep mode, the display lights are dimmed and the purifier operates in near silence for undisturbed sleep.
The intuitive digital display easily shows your indoor air quality in real time but by also connecting to Philips Clean Home+ app you can monitor your air quality and adjust the purifier settings wherever you are.
High grade integrated filter removes harmful ultrafine particles as small as 0.003um, 800 times smaller than PM2.5. Intelligent purification – its professional grade air quality sensor automatically monitors, reacts & purifiers air so you don’t have to lift a finger.
Meaco 12L Low Energy Dehumidifier / Air Purifier
The Meaco 12L Low Energy Dehumidifier uses just 157 watts of electricity, helping to reduce bills.
It can help to prevent mould, condensation and damp in flats through to 3-bedroom houses.
Part of the exclusive Meaco Platinum range, with the Meaco 12L Low Energy Dehumidifier you don’t just get a dehumidifier with low running costs you also get a very good dehumidifier with exceptional build quality.
The unique 2-in-1 mode allows you to use this unit as a dehumidifier in the Autumn/Winter and as an air purifier only in the Spring/Summer as you require.
The unique Meaco control logic means that you get the best balance between saving money and accurate dehumidification. When the target relative humidity has been reached the dehumidifier will switch to fan only mode to check that the relative humidity is stable. It will then go to sleep for 30 minutes at which time it will wake up and run its fan again to check the relative humidity once more. If the relative humidity has risen above the set point then the dehumidifier will start to operate again. If the relative humidity is ok then the dehumidifier will go back to sleep again for another 30 minutes.
This process saves a lot of money on electricity, especially when compared against dehumidifiers which keep their fans running permanently regardless of the level of humidity in the room.
MeacoDry ‘ABC’ 10L Dehumidifier
The new MeacoDry ‘ABC’ range offers the multi-award winning Meaco brand of dehumidifiers at an unbeatable entry level price.
Featuring the latest low-noise and energy saving technology the 10 litre MeacoDry ‘ABC’ is the quietest compressor dehumidifier from Meaco, making it the most effective and practical dehumidifying solution for the home, especially flats through to 3-bedroom houses.
The MeacoDry ‘ABC’ beats desiccant dehumidifiers on sound levels at both low and high fan speeds. With less obtrusive background noise, the MeacoDry ‘ABC’ is more suitable for use in smaller properties than other compressor dehumidifiers.
Featuring low energy consumption with running costs of just 2.45p per hour based on 15.2p/kWh. The MeacoDry ‘ABC’ is a cost-effective and practical solution to help remedy ongoing moisture issues within the home such as damp, condensation, and drying laundry.
The MeacoDry ‘ABC’ features easy to use controls with a display showing the current room relative humidity and the ability for you to set your target relative humidity in steps of 5%.
You can select which control panel colour you want to match your home, choose from: black, white, silver, blue or green.
MeacoDry ‘ABC’ 12L Dehumidifier
The new MeacoDry ‘ABC’ range offers the multi-award winning Meaco brand of dehumidifiers at an unbeatable entry level price. Featuring the latest low-noise and energy saving technology the 12 litre MeacoDry ‘ABC’ is the quietest compressor dehumidifier from Meaco, making it the most effective and practical dehumidifying solution for the home. Perfect for flats through to 3-bedroom houses.
The MeacoDry ‘ABC’ beats desiccant dehumidifiers on sound levels at both low and high fan speeds. With less obtrusive background noise, the MeacoDry ‘ABC’ is more suitable for use in smaller properties than other compressor dehumidifiers.
Featuring low energy consumption with running costs of just 2.45p per hour based on 15.2p/kWh. The MeacoDry ‘ABC’ is a cost-effective and practical solution to help remedy ongoing moisture issues within the home such as damp, condensation, and drying laundry.
The MeacoDry ‘ABC’ features easy to use controls with a display showing the current room relative humidity and the ability for you to set your target relative humidity in steps of 5%.
You can select which control panel colour you want to match your home, choose from: black, white, silver, blue or green.
MeacoDry ‘ABC’ 20L Dehumidifier
The new MeacoDry ABC 20L compressor dehumidifier is a condensation beating solution for big rooms and larger four-to-five bedroom houses.
This new dehumidifier uses the more energy efficient and environmentally friendly R290 refrigerant which means that it extracts more water from the air for less money.
Easy to use and set up the ABC 20L has a variable humidistat that allows you to put in whatever target humidity you want between 30 and 80%rh in 5%rh steps. Or you have the flexibility to leave the machine running continuously for maximum drying.
The control panel is the same as the other ABC models complete with a sleep mode that turns off any bleeps and maintains a low fan speed to minimise the noise level. The one touch Laundry mode will run the dehumidifier at full speed for 6 hours and will then turn the dehumidifier off to save energy.
The MeacoDry ABC 20L also benefits from a Child Lock to stop little (or big) fingers from changing the machines settings!
The dehumidifier has a large 4.8 litre tank which means that you will not have to empty the tank so often and if you want a hose can be fitted to allow the water to drain away continuously so you never have to empty the tank at all. Extraction rate data is good down to 10°C making the MeacoDry a viable alternative dehumidifier even in unheated spaces like conservatories, utility rooms and garages.
Pro Breeze 12 Litre Dehumidifier with Continuous Drainage Hose
This high-performance dehumidifier from Pro Breeze quickly and efficiently removes damp, mould and moisture from the air. It uses an energy-efficient compressor to remove up to 12 litres of moisture per day and is ideal for use in large spaces with persistent humidity issues.
A large 1.8L water tank ensures continuous moisture collection throughout the day, and a drainage hose is included for optional plumbing into a drain or container for long-term use.
Dimplex EverDri14EL dehumidifier
The EverDri14EL dehumidifier features an easy to use ‘push button’ control panel that incorporates the humidistat and timer. The electronic humidistat enables you to easily set your desired level of humidity in the room. It has a continuous drain setting to aid the clothes drying process or for extreme humidity conditions, where the product will continue to run regardless of humidity level until the water tank fills, then it will switch off automatically. Alternatively an 11mm internal diameter hose can be connected when set on continuous mode and water bilged to a drainage point.
The EverDri14EL also features a comfort humidity light on its front panel. When the light turns green the humidity comfort is just right. A red glow means it is too dry and if maintained a dry atmosphere will prevail. When it turns blue the atmosphere is too moist and therefore could lead to a build up of mould, mildew and damp.
The 15 hour runback timer is a very useful function that will switch the product off automatically at the end of the time period. Alternatively it also incorporates a 15 hour delayed start feature, so you can programme the product to come on in hourly increments up to 15 hours and then the product will switch on.
The EverDri14EL features a pre filter to capture large dust particles and an active carbon filter that will help reduce odours. The 2.5 litre water tank has an antibacterial agent added and is transparent so you can see how much water is collected ‘at a glance’. The EverDri comes with integrated carry handles and easy glide castors to aid positioning around the home. Comes with a 3 year guarantee- registration required.
Quiet Mark is the international approval award programme associated with the UK Noise Abatement Society charitable foundation (est. 1959). Conducting expert acoustic testing and verification of products Quiet Mark has over the past 9 years driven change in manufacturing worldwide to prioritise noise reduction within the design of everyday machines, appliances, technologies and house build materials, creating the first one-stop platform for third-party approved noise reduction solutions for every living space to health and well-being.
Through specialist acoustic measurement and product assessment, Quiet Mark identifies the quietest products in over 70 product categories giving consumers and trade buyers a more informed choice about the sound levels of the products they buy. The Quiet Mark scheme drives designers and manufacturers to reduce sound levels of their products enabling households and workplaces to rebalance the soundscape reducing stressful unwanted noise.
