Ionic Breeze Air Purifier Thingy

BaggedLancer

Anyone ever use or currently still use tho Ionic breeze air purifiers?

I am currently have a hard time dealing with the air quality where I live and wondering how well these work? Also, do they remove alot of the dust particles from the air? I currently have 3 computers running at all times in my little apartment, as well as my home theater and numerous other electronics that I think are contributing to the poor air quality.

I live in a basement apartment with nothing but 1 tiny little window which is not optional to open.

What do you guys suggest?

And don't suggest for me to move, cause it's not an option at the moment.:p

Refefer

BaggedLancer wrote:

And don't suggest for me to move, cause it's not an option at the moment.:p

What about becoming a gigolo and move into a rich woman's house?

ledhed

My bestfriend/roommate as does her whole family and they love them. I can definitely tell a difference in her room compared to mine and others. Just makes it feel "cleaner"

bassaholic

I have heard they don't work at all.

audiobliss

bassaholic wrote:

I have heard they don't work at all.

Same here.

I remember a lawsuit was filed against The Smarter Image over their upright ionic breeze units because Consumer Reports proved they did nothing.

disneyjoe7

I have one in my Master bedroom, I love it it can get dirty a little hard to clean. It will make noise or shut off automatic if too dirty, so when this happens we wife and I have trouble sleeping feel stuffed nose wise. I couldn't live without, so I say yes it does something.


BTW my cleaning idea is Silicon Spray on a rag, wipe on Ionic breeze outside of this can become very dirty looking. Soap and water, Windex, or anything else did nothing as far as cleaning it. The plate collector is a dry cloth, or if you get it wet dry it off before turning it back on.

BaggedLancer

So some say they work and others say they don't work.

Interesting.

But if they do collect dirt and get dirty so much that you have to clean them wouldn't that mean they work?

AB any link to that consumer reports article?

Anyone have any other suggestions on making cleaner air?

audiobliss

I vaguely remember the story, now...I wasn't quite accurate earlier.

Consumer Reports tested several similar air purifiers, among which was Sharper Image's unit, and found that it did no good. Sharper Image took them to court about it...and lost.

I found this via a quick google search. Appears to be a compilation of articles about the lawsuit.

http://www.aircleaners.com/sharperimage2.phtml

audiobliss

This article looks pretty good:
http://www.quackwatch.org/14Legal/ionicbreeze.html

BaggedLancer

Hmm, by the looks of of those articles it seems those things will kill you.....yet so many people talk about how good they are......weird.

pearsall001

This is what I use. It does great. It takes care of the whole upstairs. They ain't cheap but if they're good enough for hospital operating rooms, & other critical clean rooms they're good enough for my house. My son has asthma & we saw a hugh improvement especially in his night time breathing. Our doctor was so impressed he asked for info on the cleaner. He now has one himself. I have the HealthPro model.
http://www.iqair.us/

ledhed

Or, just replace your air filter in your AC
http://www.3m.com/us/home_leisure/filtrete/411_ultra.html

You may be amazed at how well these things can help (So I'm told) but the nice ones are about $20 I think...

Polk65

There's been a long debate between using ion or hepa air cleaners. I used an ion cleaner for many years and there was always a weird smell in the air, even with regular cleaning. It turns out the smell was ozone being generated by the ion cleaner. I've been using a small hepa air cleaner for years and am much happier. The air smells fresh.

pearsall001

Polk65 wrote:

There's been a long debate between using ion or hepa air cleaners. I used an ion cleaner for many years and there was always a weird smell in the air, even with regular cleaning. It turns out the smell was ozone being generated by the ion cleaner. I've been using a small hepa air cleaner for years and am much happier. The air smells fresh.

How right you are. Air cleaners that generate ozone can be down right dangerous. I had one years ago & my wife could not tolerate it. She would get headaches & felt lousy. I did some research & found out ozone in the air over a certain limit can cause all sorts of problems. Never, ever run an ozone generater air cleaner if any of your family has asthma. It is especially dangerous for them. Do a Google search on this topic, it'll be a real eye opener.

disneyjoe7

I used a Hepa filter style and years later when I needed to replace filter (large filter designed for years of service) I couldn't find the filter. So trash it so the Ionic was in, trouble I had was the Hepa filter made noise which I couldn't sleep without it. So I needed to add a multi noise generator which is fixed on white noise (similar to fan noise). Funny if I never had the first then maybe I could sleep without the noise now?

BaggedLancer

im gonna look into the HEPA units tomorrow at work....seems like these ionic things are out of the question.

disneyjoe7

pearsall001 wrote:

How right you are. Air cleaners that generate ozone can be down right dangerous. I had one years ago & my wife could not tolerate it. She would get headaches & felt lousy. I did some research & found out ozone in the air over a certain limit can cause all sorts of problems. Never, ever run an ozone generater air cleaner if any of your family has asthma. It is especially dangerous for them. Do a Google search on this topic, it'll be a real eye opener.

And I can't sleep with it off NOT WORKING :eek: I knew I was an ALIEN

beardog03

I have been curious about these for some time now...
I really need to take the dust out of the air...it`s choking sometimes, and I`m sure it has something to do with all the illnesses that I seem to get ..all the time..

besides my gear doesn`t like the dust either..!


DJ...
Just ask da-iry !

nanoo,nanoo

disneyjoe7

I don't know I need to clean mine anyone interested of a picture of the dust / crap that this thing collects?

beardog03

eewwww..!!

hell ya !!

Polk65

Steve, good point. The white noise from the fan helps me sleep but it may bother those who prefer silence at night.

Some toss their hepa cleaners when they cannot find replacement filters or think that they cost too much. The main filter costs $50-$100 but is supposed to last about 5 years. HomeDepot sells a universal carbon pre-filter for $11 which I change every 3-4 months.

The first one (on the left) sucks air in from the side and bottom then pumps fresh air up towards the ceiling. If you have breathing problems this may be a style to avoid. I began waking up at night coughing so I tried another (right side) which sucks air in from the top and out through the bottom edge towards the floor. This eliminated my coughing problem. I bought these older Honeywell Enviracaire models used on craigslist for around $20

jabrax

I may not know much about stereo equipment, but I do have exp with air purifiers. I owned a couple of the ionic breezes. Switched to Honey purifiers that move the air and must say I like them much better. (The consumer reports articles that tout(sp?) air movers over ionic seems right on the mark). The ionic is much quieter, however the honewell with the germicidal ifd to kill germs and airborne mold has done wonders for my allergies. The permanent filters can be washed which is also a plus (like the ionic).

scottnbnj

we have a mid-size ionic breeze. my guess is that it might work in a relatively small room that doesn't have awful air quality to begin with if it's placed in an area where air moves naturally. i have my doubts about whether it touches air from across the room without optimal placement. when we used that alone, we did notice less dust floating in rays of sunlight with it placed somewhere less than 10' from the window than with no air cleaner. but, it was a step down from small cheap noisey hepa units air-quality-wise.

we upgraded to a kenmore nano-silver hepa. if it breaks down we'll get a new one without hesitation immediately. the normal low speed is still pretty quiet after over a couple of years. it senses air quality and changes fan speed automatically. if you break wind across the room, it will know and go to work. the difference between what the kenmore collects and the ionic (just going by what's collected when i clean or change filters) is pretty dramatic. i haven't thought about it much, but i don't remember noticing dust floating in the rays of light since we've had it. but, to be fair, we've also upgraded some other stuff like the vacuum and humidifier, and the ionic is still running in a remote corner somewhere (and hardly ever needs cleaning anymore).

the filters are semi-washable and don't seem to need to be replaced as often as recommended. even with that, i'm guessing that over the long haul it won't be much more than replacing filters on smaller cheaper units that don't last as long and the units themselves, which seem to get progressively noisier after a couple of years. i haven't found a use for it, but it also has a remote control.

)


btw, if you notice a change in the amount of dust or air quality and you're coughing, clearing your throat, eyes, nose, get colds... during heating season, check your humidifier. if you have these problems and haven't paid attention to humidity, get something to monitor it and start paying attention. i think even cheap sensors will be enough to notice the pattern. as humidity levels change in the house, so will air quality and your comfort levels.

we have forced hot air with a humidifier installed on it. the humidity is adjusted manually. it must be adjusted as outdoor temperature changes.

BaggedLancer

Found 2 on craigslist: http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/hsh/273825064.html

Gonna give 1 of them a shot and see if I notice a difference.

Typically how long does it take to change the air quality?

Polk65

4 hours or less but that CL ad you posted is way too much. You can buy cheaper delivered new from an online shop or used from the bay. Don't pay more than $40 from CL -- wait a week and see what turns up. Maybe another member will find a decent deal.

BaggedLancer

I looked them up on amazon and they sell for $235 each:

http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-Germicidal-Air-Purifier-HFD-130/dp/B000EOR3YS/sr=1-10/qid=1171282714/ref=sr_1_10/104-8319819-7152738?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden

Polk65

Sorry, I was referring to the older hepa filters (think of these like used amps). You can buy them new but it's like flushing $100 down the toilet. Are IFD's a hybrid ion/hepa filter? I'm not familiar with these.

McLoki

ledhed wrote:

Or, just replace your air filter in your AC
http://www.3m.com/us/home_leisure/filtrete/411_ultra.html

You may be amazed at how well these things can help (So I'm told) but the nice ones are about $20 I think...

They are about $16. (for a 20x20 size) You need to run your furnace fan all the time to get benefit from them. (just turn the thermostat on ON instead of AUTO.) You will end up replacing them about every 30-45days. (not the 3 months that they list on the package) It is amazing how much crap these filters pull out of the air. You can also get the model right below these (in red packaging instead of purple) for about $8.00. I have used both and they both work well.

Michael

unc2701

DO NOT buy an ionic breeze. They're less than useless. I did the statistics for an article on the sources of indoor air pollution w/ one of the guys who CR cites and we talked about this a good bit. Do they remove crap from the air? Yeah a very, very, little bit, but at the same time, they kick out tons of ozone. Basically, there are no indoor sources of ozone (you might get a little from electric motors), so putting one in your house definitely increases your exposure.

RuSsMaN

The problem with the ionic breeze is the power cord. I switched to a PS Audio cord, and it worked great!

Polk65

Was that a double blind test?