MeacoClean CA-HEPA 76x5 WiFi Air Purifier review

Meaco is known for its reliable, good-value dehumidifiers (my brother and I swear by them for getting your washing dry in winter). But the brand offers a whole range of air treatment appliances, from fans and heaters to air purifiers. The MeacoClean CA-HEPA 76x5 WiFi Air Purifier is the first that can be operated from your smartphone.

You'll often hear people pointing out that the air indoors is more polluted than it is outside, and it's true. And over the last couple of years we have become much more conscious of the potential health problems that can arise from breathing in poor quality air day and night.

Having one of the best air purifiers will make a big difference, whether you're an allergy sufferer or not. We put the MeacoClean CA-HEPA 76x5 WiFi through its paces – at a time when pollen counts happened to be particularly high.

MeacoClean CA-HEPA 76x5 WiFi Air Purifier: Specs & Features

Filter: HEPA, Charcoal, Pre-Filter
Room size: 32m² (76m³)
Power: 50W
Noise: ‎an average of 43dB (minimum 25 Db, maximum 56dB)
Modes: Auto, Medium, High, Sleep
Dimensions: 27 cm x 49.7 cm x 30.3 cm
Weight: 4.6kg

MeacoClean CA-HEPA 76x5 WiFi Air Purifier: Set-up

Even if you're an air purifier newbie, you can rest assured that this one is easy to set up. The instructions are clear, and you should be able to get it from in the box to up and running in about 10 minutes.

You simply open the filter door by squeezing down a button on the back of the machine and remove the filter by gently pressing it down, and rotating it clockwise. You then take off the filter's plastic packaging and put it back in, and put the door back on.

We were cautious not to damage the filter when trying to remove it, but it came loose without too much trouble. Connecting it to our smartphone took us a little longer, but it was actually very straightforward. You download an app and follow the instructions to connect the devices, and then you can play around operating it from your phone.

MeacoClean CA-HEPA 76x5 WiFi Air Purifier: Performance

Overall, we were satisfied with how this air purifier works. We soon got into a routine of turning it on in the mornings (although you can set a timer) and found it helped alleviate hay fever symptoms. Something lots of us on the Ideal Home team have been suffering with lately. On auto mode, it works so quietly that you can barely hear it, so we left it on while working in the same room. The display changes colour for about 20 seconds when you first switch it on, and then it settles on one colour, which indicates the current air quality.

This model promises to purify a room that's 32m² (76m³) five times an hour. My studio flat is around 27m² and it seemed able to bring the reading down to 0.01 and zero no matter what was going on, whether we were cooking and cleaning or burning candles.

The pre-filter removes larger particles from the air, sifting them out like large pebbles from sand, so that the smaller filters don't get clogged up. The HEPA filter removes smaller allergens (dust, pollen and bacteria) and the charcoal filter removes smells and the ioniser helps to remove any last dust particles.

It's great that you can connect it to your smartphone, and the app itself is user friendly and well-designed. I had fun scheduling it from my phone and watching it come on, changing the mode and turning it off and on. And for those that need an air purifier for health problems I think it must be really useful to be able to operate it remotely if you need to. Day to day, I didn't always have it plugged in, so mostly used it with the manual display panel, which is very easy to use.

I live in an old building just off a busy high street, and before now I've always been in the dark about the air quality I'm breathing at home. I have my windows open constantly in the summer, and any manner of pollutants could be wafting their way in. 

So it was reassuring to see that the air in my London flat is generally good, with the machine shining blue the vast majority of the time. This peace of mind is one of the biggest positives you can enjoy when investing in one. You can check the air quality in your home at a quick glance with this model; blue means good, yellow means average, and purple means bad. It also gives you a numerical reading that you can watch descending as the air gets cleaner.

Spraying air freshener turned it yellow and made the fan speed up, and seeing how it fluctuated when I burnt a candle prompted me to take a break from lighting them quite so often. Meaco recommends that you position it around 30cm away from the wall because it's designed to draw in air from every angle. However, I did prefer having it tucked a little closer as it's not something you want to have in too prominent a position.

Not something that we needed, but it also has a child safety lock feature which is easy to turn on and off. Handy if you have little ones around. We only tested it in the summer, but we think this model would be great for purifying the air in winter, too, when the central heating's blasting and there's little ventilation. Open fires, pets, cooking, and dust all compromise the air quality, and this air purifier makes it easy to keep an eye on.

An air purifier really can help you breathe easy if you have dust and hay fever allergies and even asthma, making it a great home office idea that will make your space feel more comfortable, promoting a feeling of wellbeing. For homes vulnerable to damp, the best dehumidifiers will help, and those with a laundry setting are a godsend if you don't have a tumble dryer. The Hursts can personally vouch for this best-selling model.

MeacoClean CA-HEPA 76x5 WiFi Air Purifier: Design

So, I don't hate the design, in fact, I think the control panel is pretty minimalist and modern. No complaints there. But it's definitely not the most stylish out there. The soft, rounded shape does stop it from feeling boxy and industrial – which many other models tend to do. The air outlet surrounding the control panel also looks quite elegant. But as someone that enjoys styling their home, and lives in a small studio flat, I don't love having it out on display all the time, partly because it's quite large. 

More practically, it's light and easy to move around with a really discreet fold-out handle you barely notice (see image above). Because of its size, it definitely lives on the floor rather than on a desk or table. I wonder if there are ways to make sure it does its job effectively while not getting in the way...

MeacoClean CA-HEPA 76x5 WiFi Air Purifier:  Sustainability & longevity

You will have to replace the filter around every 6 months depending on how heavily you use it, and this costs £34.99. Meaco tells us that since the HEPA filter becomes dirty and collects organic matter, viruses, and all sorts of things that you would not want to handle, it currently needs to be included within your household waste and cannot be recycled. 

This is the norm for air purifiers. The ioniser/filter button will flash red when you need to change it (not all air purifiers have this function). It will do this after 2,200 hours of use or if it detects a build-up of dust and dirt on the filters.

MeacoClean CA-HEPA 76x5 WiFi vs Blueair Blue 3210

The Blueair Blue 3210 came out on top in our buying guide, and for good reason. It ticks a lot of boxes in terms of functionality, and it looks nice. It's considerably smaller than the MeacoClean CA-HEPA 76x5 WiFI, and will blend in with your home's decor that bit more easily. It's also much lighter and quieter. But the main drawback is the fact that it'll only work its best in smaller rooms of 17m². 

The Meaco model cleans the air in a room of 32m² five times an hour, while the BlueairBlue 3210 (which is around the same price point at £179) would only be able to achieve the same in a room of around half the size. The other negatives of this machine compared to Meaco's offering is that it doesn't have a timer or any smart features.

So it just depends on what you're looking for. If you like the idea of controlling your home's air quality wherever you are, the Meaco model pips it to the post. Whereas the more design-conscious might prefer the Blueair Blue 3210.

MeacoClean CA-HEPA 76x5 WiFi Air Purifier: Our verdict 

Would we recommend it to a friend? Yes. This unfussy machine is a good mid-range air purifier that's really easy to set up and use, and it responds quickly to changes in air quality. It tells you what the air quality in the room is like at a glance with a colour display, plus it's quiet and compact enough that you won't mind having it on day to day.

About the review and the reviewer

All of our product reviews are based on experience using the product in a real home environment for several weeks or months. The MeacoClean CA-HEPA 76x5 WiFi Air Purifier was tested in a small studio flat for over a month. Millie Hurst has been a member of the Ideal Home team for a year and a half and has reviewed a range of home items, from electrical appliances to mattresses.