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Can the HYLA Water Vacuum Purify the Air? The air-⁠Q Lab Test

Fresh air is healthy and contains a perfect level of humidity. You should supply your lungs with good air not just outdoors, but indoors too. Especially in winter, room air is dry and rather poor quality. Air purifiers are meant to counteract this. In our air-⁠Q Lab, we tested the HYLA EST water vacuum.

HYLA EST water vacuum product image with blue air-Q Lab logo
Undine Jaehne & Kati Huhn Updated

A water vacuum such as the HYLA binds dust and dirt not in a bag but in a water container and releases moisture into the room air while doing so. Whether it also cleans the air is what we checked in the air-⁠Q Lab with an air monitor: particulate matter, VOC and humidity before, during and after use.

It's clear: refreshingly clear air is a valuable asset, since it boosts your well-being and raises your ability to concentrate. When heating runs at full blast, though, humidity and room air's oxygen share drop. Warm heating air dries out mucous membranes, making them crack. This can lead to infections like colds. HYLA's water vacuum combines air and room cleaning. As you vacuum, the device binds dirt and dust using water and releases more moisture back into the air. This lets you keep your home clean while raising humidity at the same time. Our hands-on test shows how, and whether, this works.

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HYLA air purifier in the air-⁠Q test

As with our test of the Venta AH902 K, this time too we artificially polluted the air in a 20 m² room with an incense cone. This caused PM₁₀ readings — meaning particles smaller than 10 µm — to rise noticeably. Particulate matter readings peaked already just under 20 minutes after lighting the cone. We checked the test with our air monitor air-⁠Q pro, with a total of 14 different readings. At the start, the air analyzer showed extremely high particulate matter pollution, very high VOC readings, and low humidity. This time too, data was monitored live on a smartphone via the air-⁠Q app during the test and then analyzed again with statistics software on a PC (chart).

Once the air-⁠Q sounded the alarm via its red glowing LED lights, we started the HYLA water vacuum. The computer analysis showed that the HYLA EST both lowered particulate matter pollution and raised humidity. The water vacuum ran for about 40 minutes. This halved particulate matter pollution after about 15 minutes. After another 20 minutes, particulate matter pollution in room air returned to its original level.

Chart of particulate matter reading development
Observed change in particulate matter readings
Chart of absolute humidity reading development
Observed increase in absolute humidity from the HYLA EST

The vacuum's operation also raised absolute humidity, making room air significantly healthier to breathe. While starting values were around 10.5 mg/m³, the HYLA rapidly raised these to over 13 mg/m³ within the first half hour. Over the following 15 minutes, only a slight further rise to 13.5 mg/m³ was observed.

Result of our air-⁠Q Lab

The HYLA air purifier too ensures that heavy air pollution drops by half within just 30 minutes. Unlike the previously tested Venta AH902 K, though, the HYLA EST also affects absolute humidity.

Read on

Summary and FAQ

Why can dry heating air be harmful to health?
Dry heating air lowers humidity and oxygen share, which dries out mucous membranes and promotes infections such as colds.
What does the HYLA water vacuum do?
The HYLA water vacuum binds dust and dirt using water and additionally releases moisture into the air to improve air quality.
How was the air purifier checked in the hands-on test?
The air purifier was tested in a 20 m² room, where artificially generated smoke raised particulate matter pollution. Air quality was monitored with an air monitor and the air-⁠Q app.
What change did the HYLA water vacuum produce?
Particulate matter pollution dropped by half within 15 minutes, and humidity rose, making the air healthier to breathe.
Does the HYLA water vacuum clean the air?
Yes, measurably, but only for a limited time. In our air-⁠Q Lab the HYLA halved a heavy particulate load in a 20 m² room within about 15 minutes; roughly 20 minutes after it was switched off, the PM₁₀ values were back at their starting level. At the same time the absolute humidity rose from about 10.5 to 13.5 mg/m³, which is good for the mucous membranes in the heating season.
HYLA tested: our verdict
As an air cleaner for the moment the HYLA works: it cut a particulate peak caused by an incense cone by half within half an hour, and unlike the Venta AH902 K we tested before, it raised the humidity noticeably. It does not deliver permanently clean air, because the values return once it is switched off; that takes regular ventilation or an air purifier running continuously.
Does a water vacuum replace an air purifier?
No. A water vacuum binds dust and particles in water as long as it runs, usually 20 to 40 minutes while vacuuming. An air purifier with a HEPA filter, by contrast, works quietly in the background for hours and keeps particulate values permanently low; only it catches pollen, smoke or odours during the day. The two complement each other: clean with water, filter continuously, ventilate against CO₂.
What are the criticisms of the HYLA?
The most common objections concern not the cleaning performance but price, weight and effort: the water container has to be emptied, rinsed and dried after every use, otherwise odours and germs develop. In continuous operation the device is also louder than an air purifier. And as our test shows, the effect on the room air only lasts as long as the device is running.
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