Welcare Brings A Breath Of Fresh Air

First there were the bushfires, then there was the pandemic. By the time the Welcare PureAir Household Air Purifier made its way to my house, we were in the midst of the heaviest run of March rainfall in Sydney's history. And that's not even taking into consideration the usual levels of pollution found in a growing city.

Not surprisingly, air purifiers are all the rage at the moment, and will no doubt move quickly from a cushy luxury to a household necessity as we find new and inventive ways to poison the air we breathe.

Welcare's PureAir Household Air Purifier retails for $349 and was named Choice's ‘Best Budget Air Purifier for Large Rooms.' After using it for two months, I can fully attest to the power of this system.

The main selling point is the six-stage air purification system, which you physically assemble out of the box. As you add layer upon layer, you can see the subtle differences between the various filtering systems, and how they each play a different role.

Without getting too granular, there's a micron mesh filter, which blocks 2.5mm particle matter and wipes out dirt, hair, dog fur, dust, and other nasties at the first stop.

There's a HEPS (H13) filter, which h removes minor particles as small as 0.3 microns in diameter (mold, smog, pollen); the advanced carbon filter which tackles smoke and smells; a photocatalyst filter (this is where it gets scientific: formaldehyde, toluene, xylene, ammonia, TVOC and other pollutants are removed); an ionizer, which produces negative ions to remove airborne pollutants and kill bacteria.

Finally, two UV lights which work in concert with the photocatalyst filter to sterilise anything else that dares to pollute.

Which all adds up to nothing if the system doesn't work. Thankfully, this immediately makes a difference to the air quality of a large room, offering up an alarming count of how many allergens linger in the common household.

A simple colour/number system shows the air quality, with a zero rating and a calm blue the ultimate, and numbers in the triple digits and an angry red glow showing the system working at its hardest.

This machine is subtle. Second-hand smoke wafting over the fence and through a window enrages the PureAir, while cooking smells are eliminated quickly. There are four different fan speeds, but the very quietest one will do the majority of the heavy lifting, day-to-day, which is perfect, as it doesn't hum loudly, as its size would suggest.

As the rainfall made our house damp, the PureAir quickly dried out the air, and stopped the silent march of mold.

The only slight bugbear is a lack of remote control, but if you care enough about your lungs to buy an air purifier, you can get up from the couch during the rare times you need to adjust the settings.

This is a great machine, and will change the quality of your life the second you plug it in. Not many products can make that boast.

Available for $349 from Welcare.