Rainbow RainMate Air Purifier Review
Air purifiers can substantially upgrade your home’s air quality to help users combat persistent problems with pollutants, smoke, chemical fumes, and germs. If you don’t think your home need heavy-duty air purification, however, you can opt for models that handle just the basics. These options include the Rainbow RainMate, which focuses on handling dust and odors and freshening the atmosphere in your home.
The Rainbow brand is owned by Rexair, an American company with a current lineup of products that may not be extensive, but all come backed by the company’s promise to always use premium materials and state-of-the-art manufacturing practices.
The Rainbow RainMate is the sole “air purifier” from the brand. This machine has its own unique set of pros and cons that differentiate it from the standard air purifier. Its key features include:
- Freshens air through a swirling water bath
- 14 scent options
- Covers up to 1200 sq. ft.
- Night light
- 10.8 x 10.1 x 10.1 inches
- 2.8 lbs
- Comes in ivory and black colorways
- 1-year warranty
The Rainbow RainMate relies on a swirling water bath to trap dust and fight odors. Rainbow also has an array of scents that can be used with the device to infuse your space with fragrance. Covering large areas up to 1200 sq. ft., it comes with two switches: one with LED light that can double as a night light and one without.
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Benefits
According to Rainbow, the RainMate lets you enjoy “the sweet smell of clean,” and it does this by housing a swirling water bath that traps dust. The inlet vent sucks in air from the vicinity, rids it of pollutants by pulling the dust through the water, and finally releases fresh air back into the room. For odors, the RainMate freshens the air through special scent formulations which can be infused directly into the water bath.
Setup
- Fill the basin with fresh water about 1 inch above the line
- Add a few drops (3-4) of your favourite Rainbow fragrance or essential oils
- Place it in a specific room or in the middle of your house and plug it in
- Turn it on, 2 options: with light or without
You can choose to run the unit 24/7. It will automatically turn off when it runs low on water, though, so you’ll need to refill the water about once a day. You can also use it at specific moments when cooking for example to avoid the lingering food smell or in the room where you keep the cat’s litter box.
Cleaning
Empty the water basin completely about once a week depending on usage and clean with soap and water. You should also perform a thorough cleaning of the entire unit every 1-2 months or so by doing the following:
- Turn off and unplug the unit
- Unscrew the top
- Remove the fan from the top (2 pieces)
- Clean the top with a damp cloth
- Clean the water basin and other parts with soap and water, ensure to clean the stem properly using a brush or q tips, as oils can get stuck inside
- Let air dry and reassemble
The Rainbow Rainmate is NOT dishwasher safe.
Design
Available in Ivory and Black with a tinted blue durable plastic basin, the RainMate is styled to fit in nicely with any home interior. LED lights illuminate the water bath, but these can be switched on and off if desired.
Fragrances
Add a few drops (3-4) of fragrance to the water bath and it’ll infuse the room with a scent of your choosing. With two fragrance collections (and 14 different varieties in total), it’s really hard to run out of options. Among the scents available are:
In addition, Rainbow has a luxury collection that’s geared towards use in spas (but you can definitely use it at home):
- Lavender Juniper
- Mandarin Rosewood
- Orange Ginger
- Tea Tree Mint
Limitations
Delving deeper, it’s clear that the Rainbow RainMate isn’t your standard air purifier. For one, it doesn’t have typical particle-fighting mechanisms like a HEPA or carbon filter. It also lacks an ionizer or an ozone generator, relying instead completely on the swirling water bath to improve air quality. This means it won’t be as effective as conventional models against smoke, germs, and pet dander. If you are looking to fight more potent issues and pollutants, we recommend looking into a standard air purifier.
To be fair, though, Rainbow doesn’t really claim such a thing. The Rainbow rainmate is meant to reduce dust and diffuse a pleasant smell. A lot of reviewers have reported that the RainMate has helped them with their allergies and asthma. So even though the water bath system isn’t as potent as a HEPA filter or an ionizer, it can hold its ground against allergy-induced congestion and coughing.
Final Thoughts
While it may not offer the optimum air filtration that a more standard purifier might provide, the Rainbow Rainmate has an avid fan base. Your home will smell amazing and dust will be lessened. So if this is your primary goal and all you’re really worried about are some minor allergies, then the Rainbow RainMate is the way to go.
