How the new Dyson Formaldehyde Purifier protects your health (and cools the air)

How the new Dyson Formaldehyde Purifier protects your health (and cools the air)
(Image credit: Dyson)

Dyson is a leader in home wellness technology, and with its forthcoming Dyson Purifier Formaldehyde, the company is doubling-down on a major home health concern: indoor air pollution. Dyson already makes some of the world’s best air purifiers for riding your home of potentially dangerous airborne pollutants, and the Purifier Formaldehyde is designed to take this to another level. 

Priced $749.99 and available to buy in America as of 6 May, the Dyson Purifier Formaldehyde uses solid-state formaldehyde sensing tech, “designed to capture ultra-fine dust and allergens, even destroying potentially dangerous VOCs including formaldehyde.” 

What is formaldehyde?

Formaldehyde is a colorless gas pollutant found in some building materials, furniture, household cleaning products and beauty products. According to guidance shared by the EPA, “Exposure to formaldehyde may cause adverse health effects.” The CDC explains that formaldehyde in your home could irritate your eyes, nose, throat and skin. It can also aggravate respiratory issues such as asthma.

Formaldehyde is much smaller than particles the size of 0.1 microns, so it’s very tricky to capture. But if left undetected, formaldehyde can lead to prolonged exposure due to continuous release of airborne chemicals (off-gassing).

As mentioned above, the Dyson Purifier Formaldehyde Hot + Cool features a sealed HEPA 13 standard filtration system capable of removing 99.95% of particles as small as 0.1 microns, including allergens, bacteria, H1N1 virus, pollen and mould spores

The real star of the show, though, is the machine’s formaldehyde sensing tech. Formaldehyde is found in most homes, yet when left to build-up it can lead to (or worsen) respiratory problems, plus eye, throat and skin irritations.

The Dyson Purifier Formaldehyde Hot + Cool shown in bronze and silver

(Image credit: Dyson)

Dyson Purifier Formaldehyde: Design and features

Dyson’s engineers created an electro-chemical sensor for the Purifier Formaldehyde machine. In tandem with an algorithm, the sensor checks the purifier’s data every second to ensure formaldehyde levels are kept separate to other VOC (volatile organic compound) readings. That means formaldehyde levels will be more easily detected and dealt with, day and night.

Dyson Purifier Formaldehyde: Spec

Price: $749.99
Guarantee: Dyson Purify machines have a two-year parts and labour guarantee.
Remote control: A magnetized remote control stored on top of the machine.
Sleep time: Pre-set intervals ranging from 15 minutes to nine hours.
Dyson Link app (iOS, Android): Enables you to track indoor pollution, temperature and humidity levels.
Voice Control: Google Home, Alexa, Siri.
Night time mode: Monitors and purifies on the quiet setting, with the display dimmed.

Alex Knox, Vice President of Environmental Care at Dyson said: “The off-gassing tendency of formaldehyde means that it can go undetected in a home for years. Dyson has engineered a machine that provides accurate and successful sensing, capture and destruction of the pollutant.”

In addition to letting you know how many pollutants are floating around in the air inside your home, the Dyson Purifier Formaldehyde uses a Selective Catalytic Oxidization (SCO) filter treated with a unique coating to trap and destroy formaldehyde 24/7, breaking it down into tiny amounts of water and CO2. Even better, the filter regenerates from oxygen in the air, so you won’t ever have to replace it.

Thanks to Dyson Air Multiplier Technology, the Purifier Formaldehyde Hot + Cool is capable of projecting purified air to each corner of the room it’s placed in. Leave it in Auto Mode if you’d rather it intelligently controls and adapts its temperature and air purification depending on who is in the room and what’s taking place, or control it via the Dyson Link app or using voice control (compatible with Google, Siri and Alexa).

As for noise, Dyson engineers have designed the Purifier Formaldehyde to be 20% quieter than the brand’s previous model, reducing noise from 64 to 61 decibels at max fan speed.

Claire Davies

Claire is Health and Wellness Editor at Top Ten Reviews and covers all aspects of health, wellbeing and personal care. With over 17 years' experience as a qualified journalist, writer and editor, Claire has worked across some of Future's most prestigious, market-leading brands. Due to past struggles with insomnia, she is particularly passionate about the role quality sleep plays in our physical and mental health, and loves helping readers to sleep better. Claire is always keen to hear from brands regarding products and services that can help readers feel healthy, happy and empowered.