With the outbreak of the mosquito-borne dengue virus in Singapore this year, it seems prudent to stock up on mosquito repellent and traps.

And seeing as the haze is another perennial issue here, wouldn't it be perfect if there was a device that could catch mosquitoes and clean the air at the same time?

Sharp's air purifier (FP-JM40E-B, available on Lazada and Shopee) claims to do both these tasks. As a bonus, it is also said to inhibit bacteria and viruses in the air through the release of charged ions.

Its mosquito catcher function relies on a combination of ultraviolet light and a black finish to lure mosquitoes to the openings at the back of the air purifier, where they will be sucked in and caught by a glue sheet.

Sharp says a laboratory test conducted with the Institute for Medical Research in Malaysia found that its air purifier could reduce up to 91 per cent of Culex mosquitoes and more importantly, up to 73 per cent of the Aedes variant that spreads dengue.

To find out its real-world efficacy, I left the Sharp air purifier turned on 24/7 in my home. Three weeks later, I opened the back panel to examine the glue sheet. There was just a single dead mosquito.

Of course, I had some inkling that the mosquito catcher is not quite up to scratch. During the test period, I was bitten several times by mosquitoes while seated near the air purifier. And in one of my prouder moments, I actually killed two mosquitoes with a single squirt of insecticide within a metre of the air purifier.

This insecticide incident though, showed that the Sharp air purifier is competent at its primary task of cleaning the air. Within 30 seconds of the insecticide being released near the air purifier, the device's LED indicator (dubbed the Cleanliness monitor) changed from blue to red to signal the presence of impurities in the air.

The air purifier then automatically increased the fan speed to remove the unpleasant odour of the insecticide. Air quality was back to a healthy level in under 10 minutes.

Lastly, Sharp says that the air purifier can fight certain types of flu viruses by releasing charged hydrogen and oxygen ions into the air. These ions would bond to the surface of airborne viruses and inhibit their infectiousness, according to studies conducted by Sharp with a number of research institutes.

Inside the air purifier are three different types of filters - a pre-filter that removes larger particles, a carbon filter that removes unpleasant odours and a HEPA filter that removes up to 99.7 per cent of particulate matter, including fine particles of less than 2.5 micrometres (PM 2.5).

Users are prompted via light indicators on the air purifier's control panel to change the filters or replace the glue sheet. The process is simple enough and takes a few minutes to complete. Depending on the environment and usage, the filters ($79 each) are said to last around two years while the glue sheet ($19) should be replaced every two months.

At its Auto fan setting, the air purifier runs quietly - you probably won't even notice its presence. Even at its maximum fan speed, the noise (up to 45 decibels) is about that of an electric fan at moderate speed.

Compared to some air purifiers that I have tried in the past, the Sharp model lacks some modern amenities like support for a smartphone app. While I have no complaints about its ability to purify the air, its mosquito-catching feature does not quite live up to expectations.

FOR

Responds to bad odours quickly

Relatively quiet

AGAINST

Not too successful at catching mosquitoes

SPECS

Price: $699

Coverage: 30 sq m

Noise level: 15 to 45 dB

Dimensions: 397 x 591 x 289mm

Weight: 6.9kg

RATING

FEATURES: 4/5

DESIGN: 4/5

PERFORMANCE: 3.5/5

VALUE FOR MONEY: 4/5

OVERALL: 3.5/5