Everybody loves a clean house. All of us work hard to keep our house clean & shiny! The couches, tables, floors, and bathrooms all get cleaned but there’s always one area that’s missed when we’re cleaning.
What are you doing about the air in your house? How are you supposed to clean that?
That’s an air purifier’s job and in this case, not just any air purifier – the Rainbow RainMate.
The Rainbow RainMate is well known for its ability to freshen up a house like no other. Removing all the dust & dander from your house, replacing it instead with a beautiful fresh scent of your choice!
This Rainbow RainMate air purifier review will cover everything there is to know about the RainMate. This review will tell you:
- Important specifications & features
- Pros & cons
- How does the Rainbow RainMate air purifier work?
- How to set up your Rainbow air purifier
- Final recommendations
- Plenty of help & tips to get the most out of your Rainbow Rainmate
Contents
Rainbow RainMate Air Purifier Review
Coverage: 180-360 sq ft. (Medium sized bedroom)
Power Consumption: 110 V/50 W
Dimensions: 9 x 8 x 9 in.
Weight: 2.8 lbs.
Warranty: 1 year
A note on the Coverage spec: After plenty of searching, I couldn’t find a consistent specification that says exactly how many square feet this Rainbow air purifier covers. I’ve seen 800, 1000, and even 1200 square feet (which all look like BS from my experience). The only consistent measurement I’ve found was that it can cover a medium sized bedroom which is about 180-360 square feet.
Pros
- Effectively traps dust
- Does an excellent job freshening up a room
- 14 scents to choose from
- Easy to clean & maintain
- No filters = Less $$$ spent on replacement filters
- Budget-friendly
Cons
- Isn’t as good as a traditional air purifier at fighting against smaller particles (Ex. mold)
- If the LED lights go out they can’t be replaced
- Can be noisy (see video below)
Filtration System
The Rainbow RainMate is a unique air purifier due to its filtration system – a swirling basin of water. This basin of water is what’s used to trap dust & odors, removing them from the air in your house. At the same time, it’s also freshening up the clean air with a scent of your choice!
At this point you might be asking:
How Does The Rainbow RainMate Air Purifier Work?
Here’s a quick step-by-step process on how the Rainbow air purifier works:
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The top part has a motor that draws air into the machine’s basin, pulling dirty air into the water.- Dirty air mixes with the water, creating air bubbles that remove the dust, keeping it in the water basin.
- Fresh, water-washed air circulates out of the RainMate and into your room!
The top part has a motor that draws air into the machine’s basin, pulling dirty air into the water.Since water is the filter for this air purifier, there’s no need to spend money on replacement filters! While water isn’t free, it’s much cheaper than buying replacement filters… trust me, the prices on some of these things are ridiculous!
Money isn’t the only thing you’ll be saving with the water basin filter. You’ll be saving plenty of time too!
Since a filter change for the RainMate is dumping the water and refilling it, it’s easy to do and won’t take much of your time! Compare that to the surgery-like procedure of replacing a filter on a normal air purifier and you’ll definitely thank yourself for buying the RainMate.
Light Up The Bedroom!
A calming feature included in the RainMate is the LED light that’s used to illuminate the water basin. This LED light doubles down as a nightlight when it gets darker, a great inclusion for any bedroom!
The LED light on the RainMate has two brightness settings. Generally, the high brightness setting is used for the day time and the low brightness setting is used for nighttime. At night is when you’ll use it as a nightlight as it provides a soothing light blue aura around the air purifier.
Shortcomings
There’s no denying that the RainMate system does a great job capturing dust and freshening rooms. However, I do have one nitpicky thing to say about it – it isn’t as good/efficient as other air purifiers are at filtering out ultrafine particles or dealing with more serious pollutants like mold.
If you’re looking for an introductory air purifier or just something for basic air purification then I’d definitely recommend the RainMate. It does the basics well and you won’t be disappointed by it. Especially for how easy it is to use & maintain.
If you’re looking for an air purifier better suited for dealing with more harmful pollutants or want an air purifier to help you deal with allergies then I don’t think the Rainbow RainMate is the right pick for you. As I said, it’s a basic air purifier and it’s not well suited for dealing with more demanding surroundings. If you expect more from it than dust removal & freshening scents then you will be disappointed.
Setting Up Your Rainbow Air Purifier
To get your Rainbow RainMate working ASAP here are the things you need to do:
- Fill the basin up with water to 1 inch above the indicated fill line.
- Add 3-5 drops of your favorite fragrance from Rainbow into the basin. (Optional)
- Place it in the room of your choice. (Related: Best Place to Put an Air Purifier – 6 Seriously Helpful Tips for Placing Your Air Purifier)
- Plug it in and turn it on!
Where is the fill line on the Rainbow RainMate air purifier?
The fill line on the RainMate is marked on the basin about 1 inch from the bottom (pictured below). It’s recommended that you fill 1 inch above that line so in total you’ll be filling up the basin 2 inches from the bottom.
If you’re running the Rainbow RainMate air purifier 24 hours a day you’ll need to refill the basin with new water every day.
Home Air Helper Final Recommendation
There’s no doubt the Rainbow air purifier is quality when it comes to freshening up the air. Once you mix Rainbow essential oils into the basin of water, your house will smell like your favorite scent within minutes!
The water basin filter is a huge plus for anyone looking for a basic & easy to maintain air purifier. Saving money on replacement filters is great, but saving time as well? That’s priceless. And with the RainMate it’s achievable since all you need to do is dump & refill the water basin to “change the filter.”
This air purifier is great if you’re on a budget, there are many ways it helps you save and the upfront price is affordable.
As mentioned earlier under Shortcomings, the RainMate does a great job getting rid of basic pollutants like dust but it does struggle with serious pollutants like molds & bacteria. This is an important factor to consider if you’re looking to buy this Rainbow air purifier.
If you’re in the market for a heavy-duty “do it all” type air purifier, I probably wouldn’t recommend the RainMate. However, if you want something simple to get rid of easy particles like dust & pet hair while also freshening up the house, then I’d definitely recommend you pick up the Rainbow RainMate. Be sure to get your favorite scent as well!
FAQ
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Can You Use Essential Oils in the Rainbow RainMate Air Purifier?
Yes! Essential oils and fragrances can be used in your Rainmate and it’s encouraged! This air purifier is great for aromatherapy. Simply add 3-5 drops of your preferred fragrance into the basin and enjoy! Scents typically last 6-8 hours.
It’s recommended that you use the Rainbow RainMate essential oils. Don’t worry! Rainbow has a wide variety of scents to choose from including:
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Apple Blossom
- Berry
- Eucalyptus
- Gardenia
- Lemon
- Orange
- Pine
- Spice
- Vanilla
- Violet
Apple BlossomThey also have a luxury collection that’ll have you feeling like you’re in your favorite spa! The scents from the luxury collection are:
- Lavender Juniper
- Mandarin Rosewood
- Orange Ginger
- Tea Tree Mint
In total, you can pick from 14 different scents to freshen up your home with! As I mentioned earlier, it is recommended that you use the fragrances supplied by Rainbow.
You CAN use your average fragrance/essential oil from your local grocery store. However, they do cause the separator to clog as the oil is typically much thicker than the oils from Rainbow.
This isn’t a huge problem but it does mean you’ll have to clean the separator more often.
Do you have a Rainbow RainMate air purifier? Do you feel like I missed anything? If you have any questions, thoughts, or comments about this article feel free to write down below and I’ll get back to you ASAP! I hope you’ve enjoyed this Rainbow RainMate air purifier review.
As always, thank you for reading! 🙂
Are the oils safe to use in the air with pets in the home?
Hi Linda! Thank you for your question, I didn’t think about this while writing the article so I appreciate you coming forward with this question!
First and foremost – I’d recommend talking with your veterinarian before doing anything. They are the most educated when it comes to this and will have the best advice out of anyone (myself included).
Second – From what I’ve researched and read, I would say that it’s not safe to diffuse essential oils into the air while you have pets in the house. Generally, pets are more sensitive when it comes to essential oils so they can cause some problems when they react with your pet’s body. If you’d like to read more about it, I found a great article here about it.
Hope this helps!
I believe it’s safe for pets, I have pet’s and use mine. Plus my vets office has one to.
My rainbow purifier is 15 years old. It still swirls.
Do i have to upgrade or is the performance of an old unit comparable to the new models?
Hi Maria, if your Rainbow RainMate is still swirling it should still be good!
Please tell me how much hydro it uses. My renter moved in with one in his bedroom and a Hugh ( like a vacuum cleaner) one. (Rainbow )in the living area. He didn’t ask to run them! He runs them 24/7. Thank you
Hi Liz!
The Rainbow RainMate uses 50 W of power!
Thanks for reading! 🙂