Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool HP1 review: “certainly not a casual purchase”

RRP on writing: £550 | Check price at Amazon, Argos, Very or Dyson directly

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My verdict

The Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool HP1 is exactly the sort of product I wanted to be cynical about. It costs £550, which is a lot of money for something that sits beside the TV looking pleased with itself. But after three months of using it in our main family space, I can see why people rate it.

I tested it in our large open-plan kitchen, dining and living room, which is where we spend about 90% of our time. It’s where we cook, eat, work, dry clothes, watch TV and create the usual family fug that comes with two adults, two children and two small white dogs. I’d like to think we’re fairly clean and tidy, but life gets in the way. Dog smells, cooking smells and dust are the main offenders.

The purified comes well packaged and secure

The Dyson dealt with most of that very well. It reacted quickly to burnt toast, burnt leftover pizza and cleaning sprays. The display shifted from green to orange and, once, red. That was the pizza incident.

It was also brilliant as a fan during a warm spell and useful as a personal heater when the weather turned. In true British style, my testing included heatwaves, rainstorms and thunderstorms, so I used all three functions far more than expected. 

Would I spend £550 of my own money on it without thinking twice? No. I’d wait for a sale, because I have children, dogs and rent to pay, not a money tree in the utility room. Would I recommend it? Yes, especially for larger family spaces, pet owners and households that want one good-looking appliance instead of a purifier, fan and heater cluttering up the room.

How I’ve tested the Dyson Hot+Cool air purifier

I was sent a gifted sample of the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool HP1 in white to test at home. We’ve been using it for the last three months in our renovated dairy parlour conversion, mainly in a large open-plan kitchen, dining and living space measuring roughly 6 x 10 metres. During that time, it has been used around normal family life with my husband, our two children, aged six and four, and our two small white dogs. 

I used the purifier during cooking, after burning toast and pizza, while cleaning, when the house felt stuffy and during everyday family use. I tested the fan during warmer weather, mainly while working from home, cooking and cleaning. I also used the heater on cooler, rainy days, mostly as a personal heater while working at the dining table.

I compared it with other fans and purifiers I’ve used, including the Ikea UPPÅTVIND air purifier, the Coway Airmega Mighty and the Vortex Air Cleanse air purifier, heater and cooler.

What’s in the box

• The Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool HP1

• 360° Combi HEPA and activated carbon filter

• Curved magnetic remote control

• Power cable

• Quick-start information 

Unboxing was straightforward. The packaging was manageable, mostly recyclable-looking and not the sort of box-opening experience that makes you question your life choices. There was no fiddly assembly either. You plug it in, connect it to the app and off you go. 

Unboxing the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool HP1 is straightforward

Is the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool HP1 easy to set up?

Yes. Setup took around 10 minutes, and most of that was my husband and me deciding where it looked least ridiculous in the room. Priorities.

You need the MyDyson app to get the most from it, which I slightly resented on principle because I don’t especially want another app in my life. That said, it was smooth to connect and easy to use. The app lets you control the unit, check air quality, see PM2.5 and PM10 levels, view the room temperature and monitor filter life.

The on-device controls are clear and the remote is simple. The remote attaches magnetically to the top of the unit, which is pleasingly neat, though ours still ended up lost in the sofa a couple of times.

My main gripe is the range. You need to point it quite deliberately at the machine for it to register, and I couldn’t always adjust it from the kitchen when the unit was on the other side of the room.

The app solves that, but I’d still rather the remote worked from further away. If I’m cooking, cleaning or pinned under a child, I don’t want to perform fan-remote choreography.

The display is clear - but a bit small to read from a distance

How well does it purify the air?

In my house, very well. Our main living area takes a battering from cooking smells, dog smells, dust and the occasional drying rack of laundry. The Dyson made the room feel noticeably fresher, particularly after cooking.

The biggest test came from burnt toast and burnt leftover pizza. The toast sent the display into orange PM levels within minutes, which felt like being told off by a very expensive robot. The pizza incident pushed it into the red zone. I opened the windows too and the Dyson was quick to show the air quality improving.

I didn’t always hear the fan ramping up in Auto mode, but the display made changes easy to spot. When the windows were open, the levels generally stayed green. We live in the countryside, away from heavy traffic pollution, so that probably helped.

It also seemed to help with general dog smell. My mum commented that the house didn’t smell of dog as much, which is useful feedback and exactly the sort of thing only your mother would say out loud.

Both my husband and I have hay fever, and I have asthma. I didn’t notice a clear difference to my asthma, so I wouldn’t want to overclaim. But the air in our main room did feel cleaner and fresher, and I liked having it running during hay fever season in a home with pets, children and plenty of dust-generating activity.

I’ve knocked off a point because I haven’t tested it in winter yet, when the windows are shut, everyone’s cooped up and the house is full of damp coats, drying laundry and festive overcatering.

The plug and remote are distinctly Dyson

How good is the fan and heater?

The fan is excellent. I mainly used levels seven to 10 during the heatwave, with level 10 for proper “please help me” moments while working, cooking or cleaning. It doesn’t cool the room like air conditioning, because it isn’t air conditioning, but it did make the room feel much cooler. I didn’t find myself wishing it was an air con unit.

The dogs were also fans of the fan, if you’ll forgive the wording. They lay in front of it when it was hot, which felt like a fairly strong endorsement from creatures who spend much of their day making questionable decisions.

The heater was impressive in short bursts too. I didn’t need to test it heavily because it was spring and summer, but on colder, rainy days I used it while working from home and it warmed me up quickly.

Dyson says it’s suitable for well-insulated spaces or occasional use, which feels fair. I wouldn’t use it instead of central heating, but as a personal heater while working, especially as I tend to run colder than my husband, it was very good.

In auto mode, the purifier will adjust its fan speed itself based on the air quality detected

What is it like to use day to day?

This is where the Dyson really earns its keep. It’s intuitive, easy to move and smart enough to leave out permanently.

Ours mostly lived beside the TV, then moved behind the chair I sit on at the dining table to work. At 5.26kg, it’s light enough to move around without grumbling, and the open loop gives you an obvious place to carry it. I wouldn’t want to carry it upstairs and downstairs every day, but moving it around one floor is absolutely fine.

The 350° oscillation is one of my favourite features. It’s properly useful in a large open-plan space, where you don’t just want air blasting in one direction. The pivoting head also makes it easy to angle airflow exactly where you need it.

The display is helpful, but small. It’s fine when you’re near the machine, less useful from across the room. I relied more on the colour coding than the numbers, especially before I properly understood what PM2.5 and PM10 meant.

I didn’t use voice control because I’ve turned off most of those things at home after one too many “Alexa, put Bluey on the TV” demands from the children. But the Dyson can connect to Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Siri if your household is more patient than mine.

The app gives you more control of the purifier and insight into the quality of your air

How noisy is the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool HP1?

On lower settings, I forgot it was there. It has a soft whoosh that works almost like grown-up white noise.

On medium settings, you can hear it, but it isn’t distracting. I could work beside it with no problem. On level 10, it sounds like a fan. You’d probably turn the TV up a notch, but it isn’t irritating or whiny.

I didn’t use it overnight because ours stayed in the living space, but I’d sleep with it on a lower setting. The sound is more hum than high-pitched buzz, and there were no strange clicks, rattles or beeps during testing.

Is it good quality?

Yes. It looks and feels like a Dyson, which is exactly what you’d hope for at this price. The finish is premium, the body feels solid and stable, and it’s light without feeling flimsy.

The kids have knocked it while running past, and it hasn’t toppled over. They’re not allowed to touch it, but they also weren’t especially interested in it, which is ideal. The bladeless design is reassuring around children and pets, and the smooth finish is easy to wipe clean.

The filter housing is easy to manage, the oscillation feels smooth and nothing loosened, rattled or marked during testing. The remote feels well made too, though I’d like it to work from further away.

The purifier uses air purifier technology

How easy is it to clean and maintain?

Very easy so far. The exterior wipes clean, dust doesn’t seem to gather heavily on the base or vents, and the app shows filter life, which takes out some of the guesswork.

I haven’t had to replace the filter yet, but access looks straightforward. Dyson says the filter should be replaced every 12 months. At the time of writing, Dyson lists the replacement filter at £75 RRP, which is not nothing when you’ve already paid premium money for the machine.

I’d be tempted by a cheaper compatible filter, but then you risk it not being as effective, which rather defeats the point.

Is the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool HP1 good value for money?

This depends entirely on your home and how you’ll use it.

If you only need an air purifier for a small bedroom, no. Buy something smaller and cheaper. If you live alone in a flat or don’t care about the heating and fan functions, this will probably be overkill.

But if you have a larger open-plan living space, pets, children, cooking smells and seasonal allergies in the mix, the Dyson makes more sense. It replaces three separate appliances and does it without making the room look more cluttered.

Compared with the Vortex Air Cleanse air purifier, heater and cooler, the Dyson is far easier to use. The app, remote, modes, design and general experience are better. It’s expensive, but it feels like the better product.

Compared with the Ikea UPPÅTVIND and Coway Airmega Mighty, it’s more practical and versatile because it purifies, heats and works as a powerful cooling fan.

Would I buy it at full price? Probably not. Would I buy it in a sale around Prime Day or Black Friday? Yes. It’s very much a “nice if you can afford it” product, but it’s also one I’d now be reluctant to give back.

It's great for homes with pets to help with dander and allergies

Comparison: Dyson air purifiers, side by side

Final verdict: is this the right purifier for you?

The Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool HP1 is expensive, but it’s not just expensive for the sake of it. After three months of testing, it has earned its place in our open-plan family space rather than feeling like a fancy extra I was pretending to need. 

It handled burnt toast, burnt pizza, cleaning sprays, dog smells and general family-room stuffiness well. It made the space feel fresher, worked brilliantly as a fan during warmer weather and gave me quick, direct heat when I was working from home on cooler days. It’s easy to use, easy to move, smart enough to leave out and much more intuitive than cheaper multi-function alternatives I’ve tried.

It's a lovely, modern design that fits into our room nicely

It’s not perfect. The remote range is annoying, the display could be larger, level 10 is loud and the lack of child lock feels like a miss for a product that will appeal to families. The filter cost is another thing to factor in. With an RRP of £550, it’s certainly not a casual purchase.

But for larger homes, open-plan living spaces, pet owners and families who want purification, cooling and occasional heating in one appliance, it’s excellent. Smaller homes, flats and anyone who only needs a basic purifier can spend far less.

For us, it’s a keeper. 

About the author

Rebecca Roberts is a Senior Content Editor hailing from Leeds. Here at Mumsnet, she aims to bring parents content that’s designed to make life easier. As a mum of two herself, she knows all too well just how much things can cost these days. From mattresses and bedding to kitchen gadgets and beauty tech - she's on a mission to find and test the products that are designed to make life that little bit easier for parents (and won't break the bank).

Beyond her role as an editor here at Mumsnet, Rebecca can be found balancing life as a working mum of two young kids and when she’s not at her desk, you’ll likely find her at a school PTA meeting, in a nearby coffee shop, or walking her two dogs up and down country lanes.

About Mumsnet reviews

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All prices are correct at the time of writing.

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