Air purifiers have become an integral part of our lives more than ever before. Well, humans are to be blamed for this dreadful situation, clearly. The good news is that compared to 2019 the air pollution levels in several Indian cities have dropped drastically and that’s due to the coronavirus led nationwide lockdown that suspended industrial production across sectors and halted vehicular movement.
Now that lockdown has been lifted in most areas and life is slowly normalising we must ensure that the air we breathe is clean and free of harmful particles. This gets even more important at this time when breathing in the toxic air is much scarier than ever before. Saving us from this is our current best friend “face mask”. Another way to deal with the harmful air quality is by using a good air purifier for our homes.
But what makes a purifier good enough to buy? What should one check before purchasing an air purifier for homes? First, you must check whether it is smart or not, supports a reliable purifying system, portability is key and whether it is capable of purifying the harmful air inside a room.
If you live in Delhi NCR region, having a purifier at home is a must. In day to day life, I use Xiaomi’s Mi Air purifier 3, currently available at a price of Rs 10,999 in India. This one looks good, matches the decor of my room and is smart. With smart I mean, the purifier can be controlled using the Mi Home app available on Google Play store as well as Apple App store.
For a week, I moved to Mulekule’s Air Mini, sent to BGR India for review, that’s worth Rs 37,999 and is available for purchase on Amazon.in. On discount, the Moluekule Air Mini can be purchased at Rs 31,999 on Amazon. Given the hefty price tag, I initially expected this one to be much (read: a lot) better than the Xiaomi one but unfortunately Molekule misses out on a lot. It has some goods too.
I have used the purifier for a week and here’s what I think about the Molekule Air Mini.
Molekule Air Mini design, build and portability
Starting with the design first, this one looks more like a water purifier than an air purifier. You read that right! I find the build quality to be pretty decent. The purifier feels sturdy enough to take a beating or two. In fact, while setting it up in the office cabin I, mistakenly of course, banged it against the desk. But great to see, the purifier didn’t register a scratch.
The Moluekule Air Mini includes a fan-like design at the top and the filter inside. It is extremely easy to take out the filter at any time and can also be changed whenever required. Sadly, there’s no way to get alerts when to change the filter or updates on the condition of the filter. I wish the Molekule app supported this feature and was able to alert when the filter needs to be changed. My cheaper Mi air purifier alerts me about the condition of the filter via the Mi home app.
There’s a touch button at the top of the purifier and that’s the only button to control the speed of the filter. The touch button worked perfectly for me, it was responsive at all times. A single tap speeds up the filter, while a long press on the touch button will put the device on standby. I wish there was an option to also reduce the speed too.
Molekule claims that this one is a table air purifier but I feel the device is too big for a table purifier. It also feels extremely heavy in the hands. I must credit Mulekule here for adding that extra holding band, which makes it easier to carry the purifier from one place to another.
The purifier is available only in one white colour, which gets pretty dirty. You will need to wipe it frequently with a clean cloth. I do wish there were few more colour options available. Overall, the minimalist design of the Molekule Air Mini is decent.
Molekule Air Mini: What about the setup?
The purifier is very easy to set up. In fact, the setup is one of the easiest I have seen in an air purifier. The packaging is also pretty good in my opinion with the user manual in it that highlights all the guidelines. All you need to do is take the parts of the device out of the box, place the filter on the purifier and lock the top cover as instructed in the use manual. Once that is done, you will need to plug in the device and turn on the power. The Molekule Air Mini is ready to purifier the air of your room.
There’s a Molekule app available on Google Play store and Apple App store but I faced compatibility issues in my usage. The app failed to connect to the device even with stable internet connection. I believe this is because the Molekule app is buggy and needs a lot of work. In fact, users can given only two star rating on the Play store.
Molekule Air Mini: How does it work?
The US based air purification technology company, founded by Dr. D. Yogi Goswami, a Non-Resident Indian (NRI), has powered the Molekule Air Mini by the company’s own Photo Electrochemical Oxidation (PECO) technology. The company claims that PECO destroys the widest range of tiny pollutants, including VOCs, mold, bacteria, viruses, and allergens at the molecular level. It also claims that PECO doesn’t just collect pollutants but also destroys them when compared to conventional air purifiers. The US based tech company also says that PECO destroys pollutants 1000 times smaller than those tested in HEPA standard tests. Now that’s a big claim to make.
On paper the Molekule Air Mini looks attracting when it comes to purifying the air but in practical usage I wish there was a way to find out the air quality. The purifier doesn’t show the air quality or even displays colours like green, orange and red that provides an overall view on the air quality. Even my cheaper Mi air purifier offers this feature.
Is Molekule Air Mini worth it?
Well, there are no double thoughts about it. At Rs 37,999 the Molekule air purifier is not one of the best options you will get for the price tag. If you have a budget as high as Rs 40,000 there are several other options available from brands like Dyson, Havells, Phillips, among others.
from Molekule Air Mini air purifier review: Limited offerings for that expensive price tag
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