do those air purifiers work?

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RossMAN

Grand Nagus
Feb 24, 2000
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tcsenter - Thanks for the wealth of information! Do you think the Friedrich C-90A is worth $499 after discounts?
 

Looney

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
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Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
Originally posted by: Jmmsbnd007
Ozone = BAD.

Ozone IN HUGE AMOUNTS is bad. Ozone produced by the Ionic Breeze is not because it's such a tiny amount.

See, i don't know about that... it's not tiny, because you're in an enclosed room, which means that the ozone lingers. I know that the smell builds up in my room to such a degree that people always commented on the smell when they came over. But then again, i have a small room.



People love it because they don't know any better...kinda like people who love AOL. lol!

While quiet operation is definitely a plus, there are HEPA units out there which are quite reasonable in the operating decibel department, cost less than the Ionic Breeze, have a higher filtration efficiency, don't require nearly as much maintenance, and will clear a room faster than the Ionic Breeze.

As I said, people love the Ionic Breeze because they don't know any better.

Maybe the CR report was flawed... you said yourself what they pretty much did was let the purifers clean up the air in a closed room. The ionic breeze being last, that isn't a surprise, since there isn't a motorized fan to help gather the air.

I had one for about a month, and it worked great. Every 2 weeks when you cleaned it, you wouldn't believe how much gunk it picked up... and there isn't a smoker here. So it must be doing something right. I would say it picked up an equal amount to my Kenmore electrostatic purifier... of course at the time, i couldn't stand the smell, so i got rid of it and kept the Kenmore.

Before i got the Kenmore, i looked at various hepa filters... and i remember seeing how much just one year of filter replacement costs, and it was more than my electrostatic purifier. The electrostatic is great, but i hate cleaning the thing.
 

0roo0roo

No Lifer
Sep 21, 2002
64,795
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what tcenter said:p heh

seriously if you cared so much about the air u breath u'd move away from the smog:p buying a little ozone producing device that can't filter worth jack is like pissing in the wind and having it blow back in your face.
 

Looney

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
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consumer reports has been scientifically testing products for quite a while. i trust their methods. ionic wasnt' just last, it was dead last and far behind.

And yes, over the years CR has had numerous complaints against their testing procedures.
 

spidey07

No Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
65,469
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Originally posted by: RossMAN
Sharper Image Ionic Breeze is crap.

Instead go to your local CostCo B&M which should have the Honeywell 18225 True HEPA air purifier for $149.99 which cleans a room 15'x18' and includes 3 pre-filters, no rebate.

Have to disagree with ya Ross.

I have multiple large hepa filters (including the honeywell mentioned) and none of them filter a room better than my two ionic breeze purifiers.

The honeywell moves more air but for some reason leaves odors behind.
 

dirtboy

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
6,745
1
81
I have two ionic breeze's. One at my house and one my parents are borrowing. I love mine, which is why I bought the second. It definitely works. After getting my second one, my parents took it and decided to order whatever one Consumer Reports recommended. They spent a bunch of money and got a good air cleaner, but when I came to repo mine ionic breeze they refused to give it up. They think it works just as good, if not better than their high dollar air cleaner.
 

Looney

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
21,938
5
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Originally posted by: spidey07
Originally posted by: RossMAN
Sharper Image Ionic Breeze is crap.

Instead go to your local CostCo B&M which should have the Honeywell 18225 True HEPA air purifier for $149.99 which cleans a room 15'x18' and includes 3 pre-filters, no rebate.

Have to disagree with ya Ross.

I have multiple large hepa filters (including the honeywell mentioned) and none of them filter a room better than my two ionic breeze purifiers.

The honeywell moves more air but for some reason leaves odors behind.

Does it have a carbon filter? If so, get it replaced... they're so cheap anyways... the carbon filter for my electrostatic purifier is only like $5. It's recommended to change it every 6 months i believe.
 

Staples

Diamond Member
Oct 28, 2001
4,953
119
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And something I forgot to mention earlier. Sharper Image always says these are the best selling products they have. Something to explain that is the amount of advertising they do for this product. Since I bought mine, I have been put of the SI mailing list. The send catalogs once a month and between each of them, I get at least two small ads for the Ionic Breeze. There are also a lot of infomercials for this product on late night TV.

For those of you guys worried about the ozone, I have mine pointed opposite to me (and my door is a lot of the time) so there is no way I am breating in much ozone. Also, since there is no fan and it doesn't move the air around much, it is good if you have a fan in the room to help circulate the air.
 

Kelemvor

Lifer
May 23, 2002
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Since most of you whiners are too lazy to get your facts straight.... Here you go.

How expensive is an Ionic Breeze compared to a HEPA air cleaner?
The initial purchase prices for an Ionic Breeze air purifier and a good-quality HEPA air cleaner are close ? about $350. But the annual operating costs for a HEPA are much higher. Ionic Breeze runs 24 hours a day on no more than 10 (or 28) watts ? like a night-light; a HEPA's motor-driven fan demands up to 250 watts. With a HEPA, one would pay about $150 more per year for electricity. What's more, the Ionic Breeze has no expensive replacement filters, so there are no added costs. In contrast, a HEPA will typically cost an additional $150 every year for filter replacements. That's why we say the Ionic Breeze is "practically free". Your $300 savings ? compared to a HEPA ? means the Ionic Breeze pays for itself in 14 months. For the same results, a HEPA will cost $1,500 more over a five-year period.

What is the fresh scent the Ionic Breeze sometimes produces?
That faint scent is ozone (O3), a molecule consisting of three oxygen atoms. It is a common component of outdoor air. The U.S. government has set safe standards for ozone and the Ionic Breeze GP complies with those standards.

Is the Ionic Breeze GP or Quadra an "ozone generator"?
No, they are not. An ozone generator is a device specifically designed to produce large amounts of ozone as its primary method of treating and removing odors from indoor air. The EPA regards such ozone generators as unsafe for home use. The Ionic Breeze GP and Quadra, in contrast, release only small, trace amounts of ozone ? sufficient to eliminate many common household odors but insufficient to cause any concern. Because this amount is so small and incidental, Ionic Breeze Silent Air Purifiers are considered not to be ozone generators. Ionic Breeze GP and Quadra are electrostatic air cleaners that meet all government standards for safety, including ozone release.

The Ionic Breeze complies with U.S. safety standards for low ozone emission (less than 50 parts per billion). We recommend that individuals with a history of respiratory disease consult their doctor about possible heightened sensitivity to very low ozone.

What size and type of particles do the Ionic Breeze GP and Quadra trap?
Ionic Breeze technology is effective at trapping airborne particles ranging in size from .05 to 30 microns. (A micron is SMALL. The width of a human hair ranges from 50 to 200 microns!) The very small particles include tobacco smoke, viruses and some allergens; medium-size particles include other kinds of smoke, bacteria and other types of allergens; and larger-size particles include mold spores, pollen and dust.

Read the Full FAQ at Share Image's Site.
 

Kelemvor

Lifer
May 23, 2002
16,928
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It's better to buy them direct from Sharper Image because the warranty might be void otherwise. But get them from Sharper Images's Auction site and they are only around $150 instead of $350 and they have the full warranty and everything.

That's how I've gotten mine and have had no problem with it being returned/refurbished/whatever.


Best thing to do is just buy one, try it out, then take it back and buy it online.
 

Looney

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
21,938
5
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Originally posted by: LongCoolMother
wow, now im hearing both very negative and very good comments on the ionic breeze.

check this one out http://shop.store.yahoo.com/bpm-n-bpm-store/surairmodxj.html its only $50!!

more info http://store.yahoo.com/ionizers/index.html

gee, thats cheap.

hmmm these units only weight 1.5lbs? Mine looks to be just a bit bigger than the pics, but mine weights at least 10 lbs. And the collector's plate are TINY! Geez, it's about 1/4 the size of mine, if that. You'll probably be cleaning the thing every couple of days.
 

eelw

Lifer
Dec 4, 1999
10,350
5,499
136
to the original poster, the best option for you to do is buy the Ionic Breeze directly from Sharper Image and take advantage of their 30 day trial period. See if it fits your needs and whether or not the ozone scent bothers you. If you don't like it, just return it, the only cost which you will incur is the return shipping.

I've owned my Ionic Breeze for about 6 months now. The dust level in my house is definitely lower. The ionic breeze works great in the kitchen to remove odours when cooking. In the long run, the ionic breeze will be cheaper to own that a regular filtered based air purifier. The only downside I find is the ozone odour. It doesn't really bother me, but I find the scent dissappears entirely when you point it backwards. I usually have the Ionic Breeze about 2-3 feet away from the wall so air is pulled through the Ionic Breeze and then the filtered air (plus ozone) is blown towards the wall. By the time this air circulates back into the rest of the room, the ozone is gone (ozone has a halflife of about 15 minutes)
 

Kelemvor

Lifer
May 23, 2002
16,928
8
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Mine is in my bedroom which is probably around that size. I have it near a corner where the vent from the furnace is. It picks up tons of stuff and I have to clean it every week. It works just great. Only time it doesn't work as well is in a huge room.

You can also get the small nightlight ones for like $30 or so from their auction site and they are meant for the bathroom but I don't think they work as well beacuse they are so tiny.
 

Looney

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
21,938
5
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Originally posted by: mrCide
how well would the ionic breeze work in an 11x13 room thats pretty dusty?

My room is about 10x25, and it worked great. I just couldn't stand the smell.