« God's total quality management questionnaire |You could do it, but why would you want to? Evolution / Intelligent Design Paranormal and New Age Recommended Books / DVDs Acupuncture is a placebo Astrology fails when tested How do you prove photography to a blind man? Reincarnation all over again The Incredible Shrinking God Why Religion Really Doesn’t Have the Upper Hand over Science Seralini Study Withdrawn – Should Never Have Been Published RFK Jr: Government Scientists are Lying Sylvia Browne Wrong / Psychics Useless Again Is “Right To Know” about GMOs the same as “Teach the Controversy”? David Dilworth - Dishonest and a Liar. Incorrectly Calling Logical Fallacies The Golden Woos #4 Andrew Brown fails to understand the rules of secular debate Book Review: Gregg Braden "Awakening to Zero Point" Book Review: Ian Stevenson: "Children Who Remember Previous Lives" Part 1 Book Review: Ian Stevenson: "Children Who Remember Previous Lives" Part 2

Subscribe to this blog's feed Mike's Weekly Skeptic Rant Why Evolution Is TrueThe Technology Has ImprovedColor: BlackEZ Clean methodDon't count on the warranty or customer serviceWhat they don't tell you on the commericalsColor: BlackIt is a lemonColor: BlackLess Ozone; A good buyColor: BlackI have had good luck BUT they must be kept clean!!!Color: BlackNecessary for pet ownersColor: Black Gift and Self OwnedReplacement blades not availableColor: Black←Previous... See all 37 answered questions Customers also viewed these itemsO-Ion B-1000 Permanent Filter Ionic Air Purifier Pro Ionizer with UV-C Sanitizer, New1,953Envion Ionic Pro Compact Ionic Air Purifier313Ionic Pro - Turbo Ionic Air Purifier w/Germicidal Chamber/Oxygen Filter, Larger Rooms18Ionic Pro Ionic Air Purifier159Need customer service? The magazine tested six popular ionizing cleaners and one HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter. It found that two of the ionizing cleaners emit 150 to 300 parts per billion of ozone in samples taken 2 inches from the machine, while three other ionizing cleaners are in the 26-to-48-ppb range.

The Environmental Protection Agency's standards for outdoor ozone concentration exposure is 80 parts per billion over eight hours. "Anyone who has respiratory problems might think, 'The closer I get this thing to my head while I'm sleeping, the better.' Those people will be exposed to relatively high levels of ozone, which is not a good thing," says Mark Connelly, the magazine's director of testing. "In normal people, exposure to ozone levels of 100 parts per billion causes injuries to the airways," says Dean Sheppard, director of the Lung Biology Researcher Center at the University of California-San Francisco. rsd air cleaner sportster"It also produces an effect in the airways of normal people that's like what you see in people with asthma: shortness of breath and wheezing."sharp pci air purifier review

Studies by researchers at UCSF and Yale University also have shown that even small increases in ozone are associated with reduced lung function and increased mortality rates. Casey Fisher, president of Surround Air, which makes one of the models on Consumer Report's "not recommended" list, disputed the results and says tests conducted by "an independent lab prove that the ozone level produced by the XJ-2000 is well beneath safety standards at as close as 1 foot away, and even less."fresh breeze air duct cleaning il The magazine found that five of the six ionizing cleaners don't clean very well. "They were all ineffective in removing pollen, dust and smoke from air," says Jeff Asher, the magazine's technical director. Robert Padgett of Brookstone says its Pure Ion air cleaner has "one of the highest clean-air delivery rates of any product in its class," according to independent tests.

Doctors don't recommend air filters for patients with allergies and asthma, says Sheppard. Animal dander especially isn't readily removed by such filters because it gets caught in furniture or rugs, he says But more than 80% of air cleaners are purchased become someone in the home has asthma or allergies, magazine editor Robert Markovich says. And ionizing air cleaners account for about 25% of the roughly $410 million Americans spend on air cleaners each year. There is no government oversight over ionizing air cleaners. If the product is not making a medical claim, it doesn't fall under the Food and Drug Administration's jurisdiction, spokeswoman Julie Zawisza says. The EPA would require congressional authority to set indoor air standards, spokesman Dave Ryan says. However, the agency's Web site warns of the adverse effects of even a relatively small amount of ozone. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is reviewing scientific literature on the effects of ozone-generating air cleaners.

It expects to complete its study this fall, spokesman Steve Forde says. Ionic air purifiers or electronic air purifiers use electric charge to separate particles of dust, dander, mold, spores, pollen, dust mites, smoke, bacteria, viruses, and other allergens out of the air. Negative charge is produced by the ionizers and causes positively charged pollutants to either clump together to become heavier so they precipitate out of the air, or the charged particles become attracted to the ionic air cleaner's charged collector plates. Electronic air cleaners or ionizers are often marketed as filterless air purifiers which appeals to consumers because of the perceived minimal upkeep and cost savings of not having to buy expensive replacement air purifier filters. The more types of filtration the better so these filterless purifiers often have drawbacks. Read on to find out why. While electronic air cleaners may collect SOME particles from the air in the emmediate area around the purifier, they do very little for volatile organic gases and vapors (VOCs).

This is a major drawback since gases like formaldehyde are very common indoors and are some of the most potent allergy triggers. Special gas-phase cartridges containing activated carbon granules or sorbents like Potassium Permanganate or Zeolite are required to absorb or trap these low molecular VOC gases. Sharp Plasmacluster FP-N60CX and some BlueAir models are exceptions which utilize an effective ionic technology known as hydroxyl radical oxidation which works on VOCs. Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust - Clean My Plates You Simply Must! However, there are drawbacks to the filterless air purifier since electronic charge filtration can be easily degraded as the charged coils, or plates become quickly clogged with particles. The end result is a reduction of filtration efficiency over time proportional to how dirty the ionic elements of the purifier have become. This effect happens very frequently in those ionic air purifiers that contain neither a pre-filter or HEPA filter, as many don't.

Mary Poppins Goes the Weasle Frequent cleaning of electronic air cleaners' collector plates is a common drawback and popping or sparking noises which occur when these plates need cleaning is also a common complaint of ionizers. Fire hazards could also result if proper cleaning is not done. Filterless Air Purifiers - One Trick Ponnies? Unfortunately, some of the most heavily marketed filterless air purifiers are also the least effective. These one trick ponnies often don't even contain fans, but rely on the weak air current into the ionizer produced by the resultant electric feild produced. This effect was demonstrated on a recent episode of the Discovery Channels' MythBusters in which an electronic levetation machine purchased on the internet was found to produce "wind" due to the movement of charged particles. The cool levetation trick observed when the MythBusters plugged in the electronic ionizer demonstrated that moving ions can produce thrust; however, this "ionic breeze" is quite weak and certainly when employed by a room air cleaner is not sufficiently powerful enough to produce the needed air changes per hour, which is by far one of the most important variables of an efficient room air cleaner.

As one popular underperformer says, "to clean air, you've got to move air". There are some electronic air purifiers that contain extra HEPA air filters (HEPA filters are highly recommended) or special Electrete filters which use charged filter media to capture pollutants. These types of ionic filters are commonly used in residential air exchangers or whole house air purification systems. There are two primary types of ionic air purifiers: Electrostatic Precipitators are the type of ionic air cleaner that employ charged plates as described above. The dirtier the indoor air the faster the plates become covered with particles. Thus more frequent cleaning of the plates is needed if cigarette smoke or a lot of dust is a problem inside the home. Negative Ionizers emit negatively charged ions to precipitate soot and particles from the air. An undesirable effect of negative ion generators is observed when the airborne particles become electrostaticly attracted to curtains, walls, furniture, or floors.

This is why the term "black wall syndrome" is associated with ionic air purifiers. The Great and Powerful OZzy Osbourne Airbourne Express, Highway to ..... There is another much more serious malady observed with some negative ionizers which can actually harm your health. It involves the production of Ozone gas which is an inhalation hazard commonly found in smog. Ozone has been implicated as a major cause of asthma and can worsen allergies and irritate the respiratory tract. All ionic air purifiers produce some Ozone gas molecules as a byproduct. Some residential Ozone air cleaners (click link for an extensive list of specific models of ozone emmiting purifiers) or negative ion ozone generators intentionally produce ozone gas and have been the focus of recent actions by numerous government agencies to limit their use for protection of public health. Wizards of Oz - They're a Gas-Gas-Gas! Ozone air purification using special industrial ionic air purifiers is used by professionals in unoccupied buildings for removal of strong odors such as from smoke damage following fires.