Morento Air Purifier (HY4866) review

The Morento Air Purifier (the HY4866 model) has hundreds of glowing reviews, and its affordable price makes it a tempting air purifier to start with. With two true HEPA filters, a PM2.5 sensor and a quiet operating volume, it offers plenty to improve indoor air quality without breaking the bank.

Morento says its air purifier has a clean air delivery rate (CADR) of up to 300 m^3/h and can refresh the air every hour in a space of up to 1,076 square feet (100 square meters). It utilizes a dual-side air intake, front and back, with two separate filters.

While it lacks smart features, this Morento air purifier does offer four fan speeds, automatic and sleep modes, a timer function and a child lock. Not bad for an appliance in this price range. But can it impress us when it comes to removing air particles as small as 0.3 microns? 

Read on to find out how we got on during our at-home testing process.

Morento Air Purifier: How we tested

We tested the Morento Air Purifier in a 140-square-foot (13-square-meter) bedroom to see how well it could improve the air quality. Using an air particle meter to detect tiny particles from 0.3 to 10 microns, we conducted numerous tests to measure changes in air quality.

First, we checked the baseline air quality before turning on the purifier. We then ran it on auto mode for 30 minutes and retested the particle levels. We repeated the process using the highest setting to compare performance.

We burned matches and incense cones to check how the purifier handles larger airborne particles. To gauge its ability to detect and remove these pollutants, we measured particle counts before and after running the unit on auto mode.

We also measured the decibel ratings of every fan setting, including sleep mode, and assessed how easy the air purifier was to set up, operate and maintain. 

Morento Air Purifier: Functionality

 The Morento Air Purifier offers the following features and functions:

• Dual side air intake: Designed with dual air intakes and two true HEPA filters at the front and back of the unit to improve purification speed, the Morento has a CADR of up to 300 m^3/h. For a 1,076 sq ft (100 sq m) room, it claims to refresh the air every hour.
  
• Multi-layer filtration, which Morento says will remove 99.97% of particles measuring up to 0.3 microns, such as dust, smoke, pollen and hair.
  
• PM2.5 air quality sensor and display to monitor and show air quality in real time. In automatic mode, the display flashes green, yellow or red, and the fan will slow or speed up in response to particles detected.
  
• Four fan speeds and three modes, including sleep mode and automatic mode, all of which can be adjusted on the touch-control panel on the top of the unit. 
• A timer setting that can cycle between two, five and eight hours.
  
• You can check filter life via the LED screen; the filter is designed to last for 2,000 hours.
  
• The Morento has an energy efficiency feature, which resets the highest-speed fan to auto mode if no pollution is detected for two hours.  

Morento Air Purifier: Design

The Morento Air Purifier comes in white, gray and black, giving you a choice of colors to match your room decor. It's pretty basic in design and follows the example of hundreds of other air purifiers. That is, it's a white rectangular box with a simple control panel. That's no bad thing; not everyone wants an air purifier as a talking point. The basic design is probably what keeps this air purifier at its affordable and accessible price.

At the top of the unit is the LCD screen and control panel. Here, you can see icons for the filter, timer setting, child lock, power, fan speed, sleep mode and automatic setting. It's straightforward to understand and operate, without having to rely on the user manual. 

At the center-front of the unit is the LCD screen which displays the PM2.5 index (the amount of 2.5-micron particles in the air) and a helpful filter life indicator, depicted by a gradually disappearing line. 

Turning the air purifier around, we have a built-in handle for moving the purifier from room to room and the PM2.5 sensor. Morento warns against blocking this, so allow for a couple of inches of clearance when positioning it.

At the front and back of the unit are two perforated panels that click out easily to house each of the two true HEPA filters. This is the first air purifier we've tested that features two filters like this, and we're not sure exactly why Morento has designed the air purifier this way, rather than having a wraparound circular filter, for example.

Overall, though, this air purifier is light and generally inoffensive in design. It feels like an appliance that can slip into the background of most rooms and get on with the job of cleaning the air without any fanfare.

Morento Air Purifier: Performance

We tested the Morento Air Purifier at home, starting with monitoring how well it could purify ambient air quality. Using an air particle meter (that we've used in our other air purifier reviews), we measured air particles before and after running the purifier for 30 minutes on the automatic fan setting. 

The results were underwhelming, with an 88.4% reduction in 0.3-micron particles and an 88.8% reduction in 2.5-micron particles after half an hour. We'd generally expect to see at least a 95% reduction in these small pollutants. Of course, the purifier captures more particles the longer it runs, but we measure all our purifiers in exactly the same way, so this fell a little short of our expectations. However, the results improved greatly with the other tests we carried out. 

We burned incense cones for 10 minutes in a room with the windows and doors closed. Burning incense releases larger particles that can pose a risk to human health when suspended in the air. The Morento air purifier achieved an 82.2% and 95.8% reduction in 2.5-micron and 10-micron particles, respectively, at 15 minutes, which was encouraging. By 30 minutes, those figures rose to 96.6% and a very impressive 99.9%.

For the match test, which releases thousands of tiny particles into the air, the automatic setting eliminated 99% of 0.3-micron, 98.4% of 2.5-micron, and 100% of 10-micron particles, which was a brilliant set of results in just 30 minutes.

Overall, it's a pretty good performance for such an affordable air purifier. While the Morento Air Purifier was able to remove the majority of harmful particles released by matches and incense, it seemed to struggle a little more with capturing particles in ambient air. 

Morento Air Purifier: The good

We were impressed with how well the Morento Air Purifier coped with the incense-burning and match-burning tests. We also liked how aesthetically and audibly unobtrusive the purifier was. While it won't win any prizes for style, it's small and neutral enough to fit into any decor, and its lightweight design and handle make it easy to move from room to room.

Compared to other air purifiers we've tested, it's quiet during operation too. We measured a whisper-quiet 32dB on the lowest fan speed and a fairly quiet 44dB on the highest. That's no louder than a library's ambient sound, if you're wondering. The sleep mode was barely discernible at just 27dB. With some air purifiers exceeding 60dB or more at their highest fan setting, these results are exceptionally quiet.

The replaceable filters are affordable, too. Owners can pick up a pack of two replacement filters from Amazon for under $30, which is very reasonable, making this a low-cost air purifier to run and maintain. 

Morento Air Purifier: The bad

As with many air purifiers we've tested, we'd like the packaging to be more recyclable, relying less on plastic and polystyrene and more on sustainable materials.

It would also be great to pack some smart features — perhaps the ability to control the purifier using an app remotely, though we understand, for this price, that would be hard to come by. Since we purchased our review model, Morento has introduced a smart version of this air purifier — the HY4866-WF Air Purifier. For around $100 more (or $50 at the time of writing due to a discount price of $159.99) you can use App-Enabled Wi-Fi control, though we haven't tested this model or the app functionality.

Morento Air Purifier: User reviews

The Morento Air Purifier has achieved a very impressive 4.6 stars out of 5 stars on Amazon, and has over 1,500 ratings. Over three-quarters (77%) of customers have given it a perfect 5-star rating. One happy customer calls it a "breath of fresh air that exceeds expectations," while others highlight the HEPA filtration performance, real-time air quality monitoring and quiet operation.

While many reviewers praise the Morento air purifier, several 3-star ratings highlight downsides, with one stating that "the plug gets extraordinarily hot" on higher settings. Others complain the purifier is too noisy, that it doesn't cope well with removing odors and that the unit is smaller than expected. One frustrated customer complained about tech support, although their issue was eventually resolved with a replacement unit. However, even critical reviews concede that it "does run well in lower modes.'

Overall, customers appear to be extremely happy with their Morento Air Purifier and can't recommend it highly enough. 

Should you buy the Morento Air Purifier?

Based on our testing, the Morento Air Purifier is a decent budget option for improving indoor air quality. Overall, the purifier performed well during the incense-burning and match tests, eliminating up to 100% of pollutants. However, it didn't fare as well with general ambient particles. So it may be best for dealing with specific pollution events rather than 24/7 use. Given the low price and good reviews, we'd suggest you give it a try.

If the Morento Air Purifier isn't for you:

If you're looking for a compact and stylish air purifier, the Sensibo Pure balances a sleek design with strong performance. Its neutral look discreetly fits any decor while still reducing particles during testing.

Another option is the Levoit H132, which packs intuitive controls, powerful performance, and plenty of handy features into a 12-inch frame. It also includes an H13 True HEPA filtration system and dimmable night light.

If you prioritize no-fuss functionality over smart features, the Coway AP-1512HH is a stellar choice. It relies solely on fan speeds and a HEPA filter to clear the air of allergens, and its eco mode automatically adjusts settings based on detected pollution to save energy. Ultimately, this unfussy workhorse delivers where it matters most — air quality.