RickyThe quality of the air inside our homes is something not often thought about. It’s completely normal to focus on ensuring surfaces are clean, but the air, on the other hand, it’s not top of mind. Now many of us are working from home much more, so it’s pretty important to ensure the air we’re breathing is as clean as it can be.
So what causes the poor indoor air quality in the home? There are many causes of poor quality air in your home originating from cooking, moulds, candles, outdoor fumes and even pets. With millions of people dying prematurely every year caused by air pollution, it’s something you can easily take control of in your home.
I’ve always been interested in air purifiers to help make the air better in my home and reduce the amount of dust. However, every time I’ve looked at air purifiers, they always look incredibly ugly. I don’t want a big white box in the corner of my lounge. Not ideal or attractive!
I came across the Briiv air filter a while ago now. I spotted it on social media and also on The Design Sheppard’s blog. As soon as I saw it, I fell in love. It’s stylish, modern and looks like a mini terrarium.
When the team at Briiv reached out to me to see if I’d be interested in reviewing it, I couldn’t say no. They very kindly sent me one of their devices to review and keep. This is my honest review of the Briiv air filter.
What is the Briiv air purifier?
Briiv is an eco-friendly air purifier designed to clean the air in your home, doing it in a stylish and good-looking way. I say good-looking, the Briiv won a Red Dot Design award in 2021. The jury from Red Dot said, “Briiv inspires with an innovative filter system that is visually attractive and makes an important contribution to environmental protection.” Which I can 100% agree with.
Made from 90% natural and renewable materials, Briiv is the most sustainable air filter you can find. Forget the big white rectangular box in the corner of your room – nobody wants that. Briiv however, you do want out on display.
Starting at the base of the unit, this houses the fan and the touch-free controls that light up when your hand is near. The plastic here isn’t made from the usual oil-based plastic, instead, this is new bio-plastic derived from elephant grass. This is grown where agricultural crops can’t grow, which makes it ideal to grow and use in this way.
Moving upwards sits the glass surround and inside is where the magic happens. Just above the fan is the Matrix Filter with activated carbon. Above sits the coconut and above that is the moss. Air is pulled through these 3 layers, each one specifically designed to capture air particles.
Setting up and using the air filter
This is the first air purifier I’ve ever used, so I wasn’t sure what to expect setting up. Everything was packaged neatly with clear instructions on what to do. Within a few minutes, I had the air purifier set up and ready to switch on.
Controlling is easy, simply move your hand near the base of the unit and it lights up. Hold your finger over the + or – icons to control the fan speed. If you want a full boost (ideal if you’re just about to get into bed) go for the R option – this will put the fan on full speed for an hour before switching off.
There’s also an app so you can control the Briiv via WiFi on your smartphone. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get this to work for some strange reason. But the app does offer plenty of functionality to turn on/off your Briiv from your phone and using your smart assistant.
How does the Briiv air purifier work?
We all love houseplants and they’re pretty well-known for their air-purifying properties. But, they’re not 100% effective when you don’t have enough of them. As an example, the Briiv is as powerful as 3,043 medium-sized houseplants. I love a houseplant but I don’t have this amount!
Powered by a USB, the Briiv pulls in air at the top of the unit. Air passes through the Moss, trapping pollen and allergens. It then passes through the coconut fibres, which help remove bacteria and mould spores. Then onto the matrix filter, helping to remove harmful fine dust and then through the activated carbon, also pulling out fine dust.
Just because you see natural elements in the design of the Briiv, doesn’t mean it doesn’t perform well. Many tests have been performed and Briiv shares all the results on how well it filters the air. Here’s one of their videos below showing how well it performs pulling smoke out of the air.
The performance
I’ve found the Briiv air purifier pretty effective. I can’t judge it scientifically, but I feel it removes cooking odours from the air pretty quickly. The Briiv is usually on in the lounge whilst I’m cooking in the evening. Unfortunately, I don’t have doors between the kitchen and lounge just yet, so the whole house usually smells of food. This has indeed helped.
Placement of the Briiv is of course key. It’s great in your home office, lounge and even your bedroom. On the lowest setting, you can hear a slight humming sound. At its highest, it’s similar in noise level to a boiling kettle. But popping it on the boost setting for an hour before bed can help cleanse the air before getting into bed at night.
What makes the Briiv different to other air purifiers?
First of all, just look at it. Oh my, it’s BEAUTIFUL. Push all other air purifiers aside, this is what I like to showcase on my sideboard. Over the past few weeks, it’s been a real talking piece too. “Oh is that moss”, “Is it a terrarium”. All kinds of questions and nobody realises it’s an air purifier.
The Briiv is designed and made right here in the UK. Thus reducing its miles from where it’s made to your doorstep. I love this about Briiv and I think it’s a big selling point.
For further information on the Briiv air purifier and to buy online, visit briiv.co.uk
Ricky
