Dyson’s Pure Cool TP01 Purifying Fan Keeps Air Fresh and Clean

There are plenty of reasons why you might want to invest in an air purifier (to combat allergies and asthma, or if you simply want a fresher-smelling home), but opting for a Dyson-brand air purifier, like the Dyson Pure Cool TP101 Purifying Fan, can be tough to justify. Is the added expense of a Dyson unit really necessary, or can you get by with a more budget-friendly choice?

The answer depends on your needs and budget, but we can say the Dyson Pure Cool TP01 is worth the price: Not only is its an effective air purifier, detecting and responding to particles in the environment, but it’s also a decent oscillating fan, quietly directing a wide breeze of cool air across the room. It also just looks good. It doesn’t telegraph itself as a fan or air purifier as soon as you lay eyes on it, and its small, slim footprint means it can sit pretty much anywhere without getting in the way. 

We used the Pure Cool for four weeks straight—rarely turning it off—to observe how it cleaned and cooled the air, how responsive it was to allergens and particles, and whether it could take the place of my stationary fan (which I run all night long on high for both the cool air and the white noise). 

Who It’s For

If you’re looking for an air purifier that blends into the background, thoroughly removes odors, and responds to changes in your environment, the Dyson Pure Cool TP101 checks all those boxes. It would work well for people with asthma and allergies, people who are sensitive to smells, and people in small living spaces without a lot of space for bulky units.

The Pure Cool isn’t a total replacement for a fan, though—it cools and circulates air effectively, but its power is limited. It’s quiet, even on higher settings, which is great if you want a quiet unit but not if you’re looking for white noise. Finally, while there is a Dyson app for linking up your device, the Pure Cool TP01 isn’t compatible with it (so if you’re a techie, you might be disappointed).

Setup and accessories: Minimal (in a good way) 

The Pure Cool comes with clear, illustrated instructions on how to set it up, but it’s so simple you probably won’t even need them. Assembly is as simple as snapping the top part—called the loop amplifier—onto the base, which contains the filter. 

Once assembled, the air purifier was ready to be turned on and get to work. There were no other steps to perform. The only accessory the Pure Cool comes with is a small remote control, which is how you can toggle between settings or turn on the oscillation. It worked just fine from across the room and has a nifty feature where you can magnetically attach it to the top of the air purifier when you’re not using it (so it doesn’t get lost!). I gave it a 5 out of 5 rating for ease of setup and accessories.

Settings: Not much to choose from 

There aren’t a ton of functions or settings for the Pure Cool, but it covers all the necessities. The purifier can be turned on and off from the base, but only the remote can control the settings, which include auto mode (which allows it to shut on and off depending on if it senses a need), increasing or decreasing the airflow, a sleep timer, oscillation control, and night mode (which dims the display).

At night, I always turned the air flow up to 10, the maximum, and turned on night mode because I hate bright display lights shining in my face while I sleep. Night mode made this much more comfortable. Then in the morning, I would put the Pure Cool on auto mode. It functioned so well I barely noticed it, which is a compliment. 

As I said, I wouldn’t have wanted a ton of random or extraneous features, and I don’t really know what the Pure Cool could add to elevate its options—but the settings still feel a little underwhelming here, which is why I gave it an overall rating of 4 out of 5 for this category.

Capability: Large room approved

The Pure Cool had no trouble handling a good-size primary bedroom; while in auto mode, it mostly ran on lower airflow settings (i.e. three and under) and frequently turned itself off because it had effectively cleaned the air. That said, I couldn’t find a specific capacity anywhere—neither on the Dyson website, the manual, or any other retail sites. 

This wasn’t an issue for me since none of our rooms are oversized or include an open layout, but I could see it being a problem if someone has these types of living spaces and wants to know if the Pure Cool could handle them. Because of this, I rated the device a 4 out of 5 for its capability.

Appearance: Sleek and modern

It’s obvious from the moment you open the box that the Pure Cool has a thoughtful design and construction. I was impressed by how sharp it looked after assembly and didn’t even feel the need to shove it in a corner where no one would see it. It might even end up as a subject of conversation with guests.

This is due, in large part, to the open loop amplifier (i.e. where the airflow comes from). Since you can see through the entire top half of the Pure Cool, it blends right into the background no matter where you set it up. But the bottom half isn’t overly bulky or awkward, either—it has a slim, cylindrical design and only needs about an 8-inch diameter spot on your floor. These pleasing aesthetics earned the Pure Cool a perfect score of 5 out of 5.  

Connectivity: Nonexistent

This was, hands-down, the most frustrating aspect of the Pure Cool. In general, you can link Dyson devices to a Dyson app. In the app, you can view your recent purification activity and schedule your device to turn on or off at set times, and the manual says the Pure Cool can be connected to this app (it even includes a Wi-Fi password for linking your smart device to the unit). 

However, after several attempts to link the device to the app, I went on the Dyson website for help…and saw that the Pure Cool TP01 is not compatible with the Dyson Link app. It states that very clearly on the product page. Not only was that a frustrating exercise for me, I feel like the Pure Cool should be able to link to the Dyson app for its cost. As it stands, it has no app connectivity at all, which is why I gave it a 0 out of 5 rating. 

Noise level: Quiet even on higher settings

Like a regular fan, you can turn up or down the level of the Pure Cool fan between a range of 1 to 10. On the lower settings, up to 3, it’s virtually silent. Between 4 and 6, the sound is noticeable but still fairly quiet, not making any kind of true “fan” noise until setting 7 and higher. 

But even on the highest setting, the Pure Cool is still pleasantly low-volume. I found it much quieter than most other standing fans I’ve used, providing a consistent white noise that was not at all distracting or disruptive. It wouldn’t be hard to watch TV, listen to music, or carry on a conversation even with the Pure Cool on the highest setting. I gave this quiet device a 5 out of 5 rating for noise (or lack thereof). 

Automatic purifying: Effective

During the testing process, my husband and I had a running joke that our big, fluffy golden retriever must be toxic because every time the dog entered the bedroom, the Pure Cool would respond by raising its airflow and purification efforts. 

That was just one of the ways I noticed that the Pure Cool constantly detected and responded to particles in the air. Once, while cleaning out my closet, the unit increased its efforts to a setting of 7 or 8, adjusting for all the dust I had unsettled as I pulled everything out. Another time, I was vacuuming in our bedroom and accidentally pushed our shag area rug out of place—as that sandy stuff on the bottom of the rug scattered around the hardwood floor, the Pure Cool shot up to an airflow of 10 and stayed there for a while, even after I had cleaned it up.

Before the Pure Cool, I had never spent that much time thinking about the air quality in our bedroom, but I became impressed every time the unit found something in the air that needed to be removed and just handled it—all on its own. I gave the Pure Cool a well-deserved 5 out of 5 rating for automatic purifying.

Fan function: Not bad, could be better

One of the major selling points of the Pure Cool is that it purifies the air and also acts as an oscillating fan. And it does: It has a 70-degree oscillation, which covers most of the room if you sit the unit in a corner or up against a wall. However, a wider range would be better and provide much more coverage and flexibility in terms of where it could be placed.

I would prefer a little more fan power, too. While the Pure Cool does keep our bedroom cool at night, it has to be set to 10 in order for us to sleep comfortably. This might not be as big an issue if you already use cooling sheets on your bed. At 10, it blows plenty of cool air our way, and the oscillation seems to move air around the room effectively, too, but it would be nice to have more powerful airflow on this unit (especially since the fan is one of the Pure Cool’s major selling points and a reason for the higher-than-average cost). Overall, the device got a rating of 4 out of 5 for its fan function.

Odor reduction: Passes the “wet dog” test

I didn’t know I needed the Pure Cool—and now I don’t know if I could go back to not having it! I never thought we had a particularly stinky bedroom before we used the Pure Cool, but as I’ve said, our dog sleeps in a crate in this room every night, so yeah, it was probably a little stale. 

No more, though. The bedroom is now noticeably fresher, with a decidedly neutral, non-doggy smell. The most impressive odor-busting work the Pure Cool has done was on the day we gave our giant ball of fluff a bath and then put him in the crate for an afternoon snooze (to avoid him soaking through our couch while he dried off). Two hours later, when we went into the bedroom to let him out, there was zero “wet dog” smell in the bedroom. Zero. That has never happened before, and even my husband remarked how not-smelly the room was. Obviously, the Pure Cool received a perfect score of 5 out of 5 from both myself and my husband (the dog, too!) for odor reduction. 

How We Tested

The Dyson Pure Cool TP01 took the place of the standing fan in my bedroom as soon as it arrived, and I kept it running practically nonstop for almost one month. During the day, I put it on auto mode so it could purify the air, and at night, I set it on the highest fan setting. It was usually oscillating, too. 

For the most part, my testing came down to observing how the Dyson responded to our daily life; even though it was in the bedroom, I work from home and live with three boys, a husband, and a large dog (who sleeps in our bedroom every night), so we’re in and out of this room all day long. Sometimes its automatic purification surprised me, responding to something I was unaware of, and other times it raised the purification level right when I expected it to—like when I was cleaning out my closet and turning up dust. 

After running the unit for one month, I had no concerns about its ability to function. The outside of the unit and the inner filter were still very clean and showed no signs of wear. Although it can’t get quite as loud as I would prefer for white noise, it’s effectively replaced my old standing fan—it keeps us plenty cool at night on the highest setting, and I love that it can be left on and used for an entirely different purpose during the day. 

Price

The Dyson Pure Cool TP01 retails for around $400, which isn’t a budget-friendly price tag. It is less expensive than its upgrade, the Pure Cool TP04, and includes many of the same basic features. The TP04, however, includes compatibility with Alexa, 360-degree oscillation, and a backward airflow mode for more advanced purification.

But compared to other high-end air purifiers for large rooms, the Pure Cool TP01 is still much more expensive than competitors. Many other units that provide similar functions and features come in at less than $200. Much of what you’re paying for with the Dyson is its ultra-cool appearance—it’s an attractive decor piece in its own right. Some similar purifiers also don’t function quite as well as standalone fans as the Pure Cool TP01, which does make it a two-for-one option that increases its overall value, especially for those who favor multi-functional products, like adjustable beds.

The Competition

The majority of air purifiers on the market hover around the $100 mark (unless you’re looking for a small or compact size, in which case you can get one for under $50). Only a few offer the kind of large room purification that the Dyson Pure Cool TP01 does, while also giving you a streamlined appearance and “smart” technology.

HATHASPACE Smart Air Purifier: With a slim design that allows it to sit snugly against any wall, this air purifier is quiet and compact but powerful, accommodating a room size of up to 700 square feet. Its HEPA filter removes particles down to 0.3 microns, clearing away smoke, odors, VOCs, allergens, and more. It’s auto-responsive, just like the Pure Cool TP01, and retails for around $300. The downsides are that this unit isn’t connected to an app or any AI technology, doesn’t seem to function quite as well as a fan alone, and isn’t as attractive as the Dyson.

LEVOIT Air Purifier for Large Room: The LEVOIT large room purifier retails for a similar cost as the HATHASPACE, at around $220. It also features quiet, automated purification, but it does take up more space and is bulkier than the HATHASPACE and the Dyson. However, it shines when it comes to AI technology. The LEVOIT is app-connected, allowing you to compare your air purification progress, connect to Alexa and Google Assistant, and even schedule an entire week’s worth of functioning so the purifier is always working when you want it to. 

Final Verdict

It’s not necessary to splurge for the Dyson Pure Cool TP01 if you want a smart and effective air purifier, but if you want one that also functions like a pretty decent oscillating fan and looks like a cool, modern showpiece in its own right, it might be worth the investment. While the Pure Cool TP01 works extremely well as an automatic air purifier, keeping the room clean and odor-free, it stands out when you consider everything it has to offer, from its sleek and unobtrusive appearance and its dual-purpose cooling abilities. 

If you don’t need your air purifier to act as an oscillating fan, however, you might not want to pay extra for the Pure Cool TP01; there are other high-quality purifiers that cost significantly less. You also might be disappointed if you’re used to operating your devices from an app since the Pure Cool TP01 falls short when it comes to tech connectivity.