Dyson’s new humidifier purifies your air using UV rays

In a launch presentation in Tokyo, Japan, Dyson tackled the surprisingly sketchy hygiene issues that come with more typical humidifiers. To prove how gosh-darn better Dyson’s Hygienic Mist humidifier is, the company’s microbiology team incubated water with bacteria to see how a typical humidifier transmits that to a room. A selection of agar jelly plates grossly demonstrated how that bacteria spreads around a room. However, in an early comparison, with the same concentration of bacteria in the water, Dyson’s test humidifier, with UV light cleansing the water, knocked out 99.9 percent of the bacteria.

Dyson doesn’t enter new product categories all that often, but today we’re seeing the second in less than two months. Following the September introduction of the 360 Eye robot vacuum, Dyson is now unveiling its first humidifier, simply called the Dyson humidifier. It’ll look a lot more familiar than the 360 Eye, however; it’s an evolution of the iconic Air Multiplier line of bladeless fans. Dyson says the emphasis is on hygiene and even distribution of air, with its humidifier cleaning water before blasting it into the room as mist. “Humidifiers are sometimes seen as a way to combat allergies and the symptoms of colds and the flu — but in reality many can do quite the opposite,” says James Dyson. “The majority are a breeding ground for nasty germs, which are then distributed around your home.” Dyson’s humidifier uses ultraviolet light to treat the water — the company claims it’ll kill 99.99 percent of bacteria before starting to moisten the air.