6,672 in Kitchen & Home (See top 100)Ionic Breeze Quadra Silent Air Purifier With over 60 million allergy sufferers in the U.S. alone it's understandable why consumers are looking for an effective air filtration system. The Ionic Breeze infomercial makes the point that not only is their machine effective but it is also cheaper to operate in the long run. They base this claim on the fact that little electricity is required to run the unit and one never needs to purchase expensive replacement filters. The only maintenance required is a sponge cleaning of the collector plates once in a while. The Sharper Image, the company that markets the Ionic Breeze, claims it works by "trapping airborne particles as they circulate past an array of electrically charged stainless steel blades. Contaminated air from the room is drawn in through the vents at the back of the unit. As the particles enter, they are electrically charged and are attracted to the oppositely charged collection blades inside.

These charged particles will stick to the blades until wiped off by the user". It is true that replacing HEPA filters on conventional air purifiers can get quite costly. It is also true that the Ionic Breeze does consume less electricity than comparable models with a HEPA filtration system but these units also have fans that circulate and filter much more air over a given time. napier air rifle cleaning kitThe Ionic Brezze has no such fan and in this writer's opinion can not possibly filter and clean a room as fast as the more conventional HEPA type units.air purifier plasma ozone The Ionic Breeze Quatra does not use unique technology. airbrush cleaner createxIn fact there are several companies that manufacture products based upon the same concept.

Walmart sells a similar unit that costs a mere $149.95!. This is less than 1/2 the cost of the Ionic Breeze. If your home is heated or air conditioned through ducts, you should immediately purchase an electrostatic air conditioner/ furnace filter. This has the advantage of circulating and cleaning large amounts of air that pass through the filter. You can purchase one of these at stores like Home Depot and Lowe's for around $20. Like the collection plates on the Ionic Breeze, this type filter can also be removed once a month or so, washed of with a garden hose, and put back. In other words they basically last forever and work on the same general principle as the Ionic Breeze. If your allergies, or that of a family member, seem to be worsening I would check your present vacuum cleaner. Many Vacuum cleaners only pick up the large particles of dirt but allow the small particles like dust, pollen, animal dander to pass right through the filter bag and back into the room. Make sure you are using a quality unit and change the filter bags when necessary.

I prefer a Rainbow Vacuum Cleaner manufactured by Rexair. In my humble opinion they are the best vacuum cleaners on the market. They do not need filters but work by passing the dirty air into and around water which traps the dust and dirt. The clean air is then returned back into the room. These units however are extremely expensive and can be heavy and cumbersome to use. They are also somewhat inconvenient because you must always fill the collection tank with water before using it and then discard the dirty water afterwards. You also need a good place to dump this "yuck" when your are finished. Before we move on I would like to make one more point about the Rainbow Vacuum Cleaner. In my house we have 2 vaccuum cleaners. For years we had only one...the Rainbow, but because it was heavy and cumbersome we decided to try a good quality vacuum with a HEPA filtration system. Over time the members of our family all noticed a worsening of allergies as a result. We have since gone back to only using our Rainbow.

Something else I have found to be helpful is simply opening your windows for a few hours in the fall after the first frost. Once a frost has occurred it renders all the pollens outside "inert" so that you are no longer allergic to them. Unfortuntely, the inside of your house never freezes therefore often times the air inside your house is actually worse for your allergies than the air outside your house. By opening your windows and thoroughly airing out your home after the first frost you are essentially blowing all the allergens out of your home. Including dust which many people are also allergic to. Why do you need an air purifier? If you or family members have allergies and particles need to be removed from the air consider any of the mechanical or electronic cleaners. HEPA and ULPA filters can remove and collect particles, as do electronic cleaners with filters, but a negative ionizer will only remove the particles from the air. It is then up to you to collect them while cleaning — either vacuuming or dusting.

If you would like to remove chemicals, smoke or gases, you will need a carbon air filter because the other types of filters do nothing for these types of contaminates. A carbon air filter will remove odors caused by chemicals, whereas an ozone generator will remove most other odors. If you have a smoker in the family, or a smelly pet, consider a purifier with an ozone generator included. Or, if these odors are all you want removed, maybe all you need is an ozone generator. Just keep in mind that the ozone gives off its own odor so you would like to be able to control the levels of ozone that it emits. If you are looking to destroy viruses, germs, bacteria, and fungi, the UV light is probably the most effective. Although it will not be able to destroy all of these contaminants, it will help to reduce their occurrence in your home's air. Some mechanical filters will have a UV light near the filter to keep the microorganisms trapped there from reproducing. (This is a good idea) Whatever you are looking for in an air cleaner, the best idea may be to get one with a variety of these components to be most effective.