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Will an Ionizer Air Purifier be the Ideal Air Purifier for Your Needs?

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Will an Ionizer Air Purifier be the Ideal Air Purifier for Your Needs?

An ionizer air purifier is a device used to purify the air in a room. Instead of using filters and high powered fans to remove hazardous air that contains microscopic particles that can cause illness and allergies, an ionizer gets down to the microscopic level and uses ions to remove these particles.

Most ionizer air purifier create negative ions to attract dust, dirt, dander, pollen, microscopic organisms and other allergens that are mostly composed of positive ions. When this happens, the negative and the positive ions bond together to create dirt particles that are too heavy and hence fall to the ground.

Much is said about the use of air ionizers but is this air purifying method the ideal one for you? Check out the following features and advantages and disadvantages of this appliance as well as the recommendations for using ionizer air purifier to clean room air in this review.

Possible benefits of an ionizer air purifier?

  • There are different sizes of air ionizers available to fit every consumer’s needs.
  • There is no need to use filters that can be expensive
  • Does not produce any kind of noise compared to air purifiers that have fans and motors.
  • Are mostly stylish so the appliance can fit any kind of room décor or style.
  • Some brands come with a filter or screen that catch dust particles as they fall to the ground.
  • Product warranties as well as manufacturer and parts warranties may depend on the brand of air ionizers.
  • Will reduce smoke and unpleasant odors indoors.
  • Some ionizer units may be powered on or off and may have additional features like UV lights that can further help reduce harmful particles in room air.
  • The price of the product may depend on the features, brand and the size or capacity of the air ionizer.

The pros and cons of ionizer air purifier

Pros

  1. Air ionizers will work best for a small room and will efficiently remove even the smallest ion of dirt that air purifiers can’t manage. The negative ions created by the ionizer will bind with the positive ions which are the composition of most allergens like dirt, smoke, smog, pollen, dust, hair, pet dander, bacteria and other minute microorganisms that can cause sickness. It is also known that asthma is caused by dust and microbes in air as well as heavy scents and chemicals; air ionizers will efficiently remove unwanted odors and smells that can make your home an unhealthy place to live in.
  2. Air ionizers emit negative ions that bind with positive ions from allergens in the air and form dust. Dust is heavy and will fall on the floor and other surfaces in the room like furniture, cabinets and on linens; you may use a vacuum or wet rag to effectively remove dust.
  3. Air ionizers will operate without any noise at all. You may use this machine even in a quiet room or office without being a bother at all. It is the ideal appliance when you do not want a monotonous hum of an air purifier motor or fan. And since most air ionizers do not use any filter media, there are no vibrating or moving parts that will only cause noise.
  4. Users can save from medical bills and trips to the hospital and doctor’s offices since it can prevent allergies and asthma. Ionizers may also ease the condition of people with lung problems and those with other respiratory conditions. Children and adults that have sensitive immune systems can also benefit so much from ionizers since it can help create a clean and healthy environment to live in.
  5. If you think that air ionizers are large, bulky machines then think again. There are stylish ionizer models and brands that will fit your stylish living room and bedroom. You may choose from small, desktop models to large, stand-alone units that you may also move and carry with you anywhere you go.

Cons:

  1. Ionizers can contribute to an increase in ozone levels in an area and may be harmful to the respiratory system. Hence the best approach is to find an ionizer machine that may be turned off or on as you please. You must also check the features of the product when it comes to the level of ozone it can emit when in use; the FDA requires that devices should not emit ozone in excess of 0.05 ppm.
  2. The amount of dust in a room may significantly increase especially when there is so much allergen content in the air and thus you may need to sweep and clean after the ionizer. You may reduce this by using an ionizer that comes with a filter to easily catch dust particles.

Should you use ionizers air purifier?  

Yes, you should use air ionizers for your home especially when you have allergies or asthma. It is an effective way to safely remove dirt particles and allergens in the air.

Summary

Anyone that would like to reduce allergens and unpleasant odors in a room should consider getting an air ionizer however he should consider using a brand with only a few ozone emissions to reduce effect on the respiratory system. The best way to look for the ideal air ionizer is to read ionizer reviews and to look for the most updated ionizer air purifier features online.

Blueair 503 Air Purifier Review

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The Blueair 503 home air purifier is more than very economical, more than highly functional, and more than ultra stylish. It’s all those things, but it’s more than the sum of its parts.

Physical Design

The Blueair 503 features a Scandinavian minimalist case you either love or hate. I love it. For appliances, I always prefer to have a case that doesn’t clash with the home décor and this one would fit in any home environment.

At a very compact 26″ high x 20″ wide x 13″ deep you won’t have to scratch your head over where to put it, either. If you don’t like your first choice you can easily move it; it weighs only 35 lbs. That’s light enough to be transportable without being so light it tips over from the first not-so-gentle swish of a dog’s tail it encounters.

At the same time, under that stylish cover is a bevy of supremely functional features.

Clears A Ton of Air

The ability to clear a 580 square foot area a full five air changes per hour is just the most basic reason why this air purifier gets high marks. At only four changes per hour that number increases to 640 square feet. But if you have a space up to 1190 square feet it will still give you two air changes per hour.

That air-cleansing ability can be quantified in another way, using the industry-standard CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) numbers. They’re usually listed according to how they handle three main home pollutants: Pollen, Dust and Smoke.

  • 375 Pollen
  • 375 Dust
  • 375 Smoke

The technical definition of CADR is a little complicated, but it’s easy to understand the numbers by comparison. Just look at the figures for other models/brands and you’ll see the above CADR ratings are excellent.

The net result is that nearly any home room will be kept pristine, free of allergens of nearly any sort. Among those is a whole laundry list of compounds, including dust, pollen, mold spores, animal dander and even many airborne bacteria and viruses.

3-Stage HEPA Filtration System, Highly Effective

The Blueair proprietary filter system is at the base of that superior room air purifying ability.

Stage 1 starts with a set of “Ion Brushes” as a pre-filter, a distinctive feature of this home air purifier. The fancy name aside, negative ions are generated in a special chamber. That causes many common household allergens to get attracted to the next stage.

Stage 2 consists of Blueair’s proprietary HEPA filter system, a design it calls HEPASilent. The name may be a little silly – all HEPA filters are silent. But whatever they call it, it really works. The honeycomb houses internally three separate filter layers, providing in-depth air cleansing.

The first layer traps larger particles like larger dust grains and pollen. The second and third trap smaller particles like bacteria and some viruses (down to 0.1 micron). Since the HEPA filters are made of water-repellant polypropylene, there’s no need to treat them with bactericides to keep the filter from encouraging growth inside the unit.

Unfortunately, there’s no Carbon Filter in the base model, a drawback that should motivate buyers to look closely before buying. They’re not absolutely necessary in the average home, though. They help capture certain volatile organic compounds like smoke, paint fumes and household cleaning products. Judge according to your circumstances.

For those who really need that, there is an optional SmokeStop filter set that you can use instead of the original particle filter set. It does include 3 activated charcoal filters that trap a range of compounds. It can clear second-hand smoke in minutes. It’s so quick and effective most people probably won’t even sense their introduction into the room.

Those optional filters offer a combined ability to trap both particles and gases. They do that with an unusual material: a coconut-shell activated carbon that’s impregnated with a solution of potassium iodide, potassium hydroxide, and phosphoric acid.

Maintenance, Amazingly Easy

The manufacturer recommends changing the filters every six months. Whether that’s necessary or excessively conservative will really depend on your sensitivity and your particular environment. For some who are truly sensitive, that’s good advice. For others, once per year or longer will be fine.

When it is time to change them the filter swapping procedure is both moderate-cost and very simple. You can extend their life and save money by vacuuming them, easy to do thanks to the polypropylene material.

Whatever the price, you won’t struggle changing them. You just flip up the top, pull out the old ones, and insert the new ones. Clean disposal is just a matter of dropping the used ones into a plastic bag to prevent allergens being re-introduced into the air. Of course, if that happens it’s not a disaster; the Blueair 503 will just sweep them right out again.

Noise Levels and Electricity Consumption, Truly Low

The usage-friendly design continues with a set of very welcome low noise levels.

At the lowest speed the Blueair 503 generates only 32 dB while pumping out 88 cfm (cubic feet per minute). Speed 2 is only marginally louder at 37 dB but generates substantially more air at 117 cfm. Speed 3 is noticeable at 49 dB while pumping a whopping 247 cfm. Speed 4 is off the charts in air – 450 cfm – but still a livable 66 dB.

The 503 uses only 120 watts at the highest setting and a negligible amount (35 watts) at the lowest. You won’t have to worry about the electric bill with this model.

There is one minor design weakness: the controls are manual rather than electronic. That’s unlikely to introduce any change to the unit’s MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure). Both methods are highly reliable and long-lived these days. But we’ve all become accustomed to associating electronic controls with superior design. Let your taste be your guide here.

Summary

The Blueair 503 home air purifier has fewer filter stages than many competing models. Fortunately, because of its materials, design, and ability to pump tons of air, it doesn’t seem to need them. Tons of clean air very quick and all the time is proof of that.

Rabbit Air BioGS SPA-421a vs Rabbit Air BioGS SPA-582a

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Rabbit Air BioGS SPA-421a vs Rabbit Air BioGS SPA-582a

Both the Rabbit Air BioGS 421a and the Rabbit Air BioGS 582a home air purifiers are stellar units. Both will leave a room feeling fresher and healthier. Both offer superb features and low noise levels, while requiring almost no maintenance. But there are stark differences between the two that can make one better than the other for you.

CADR values & Room Size

The most notable difference is obvious right from their CADRs (Clean Air Delivery Rates). The SPA-582a rates at:

  • 217 Pollen
  • 197 Dust
  • 188 Smoke

while the SPA-421a measures:

  • 163 Pollen
  • 145 Dust
  • 144 Smoke

Those large differences do not mean that the SPA-582a cleans air better. But it does mean it will clean more air faster. One reason is the significant difference in the air volumes they can process. The SPA-582a pushes:

  • 1 – 39 CFM
  • 2 – 85 CFM
  • 3 – 131 CFM
  • 4 – 170 CFM
  • 5 – 208 CFM

where the lowest number correlates with the lowest fan speed, the highest with the most powerful setting. By contrast, the SPA-421a can filter a more modest:

  • 1 – 39 CFM
  • 2 – 60 CFM
  • 3 – 95 CFM
  • 4 – 139 CFM
  • 5 – 159 CFM

You can see that, above the lowest speed, the differences become considerable. Still, note that the lowest speed is the same rating and that the largest difference is at the highest speed.

Note, too, that the SPA-421a is designed for a room up to 600 sq. ft (about 24.5′ x 24.5′). The SPA-582a is built to handle one up to 780 sq. ft (just shy of 28′ x 28′).

4 Stage Filtration Systems

Both Rabbit Air air purifiers have essentially the same fine four-stage filtration system.

Stage 1 offers a pre-filter that removes the largest substances – pet hair, pollen, and larger dust grains. Stage 2 holds a HEPA filter that will strain out anything larger than 0.3 microns. The Charcoal Filter in Stage 3 will tackle smaller dust grains and many household VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds).

The final stage deserves special mention. It’s an ozone-free negative ion generator that produces charged particles for the exhaust stream. Those float around, attaching themselves to many common household particles, making them heavier. The combination then floats to the ground to be vacuumed or filtered out by the home air purifier.

Modest Noise Levels

Each unit will perform that operation while producing very modest noise levels. The SPA-582a’s sound intensity ratings range from 19.1 dB (on low) to 49.1 dB (on the highest fan speed).

  • 1 – 19.1 dBA
  • 2 – 30.6 dBA
  • 3 – 39.7 dBA
  • 4 – 44.8 dBA
  • 5 – 49.1 dBA

The SPA-421a is only a little quieter at 18.4 dB to 45.0 dB.

  • 1 – 18.4 dBA
  • 2 – 25.9 dBA
  • 3 – 34.2 dBA
  • 4 – 39.9 dBA
  • 5 – 45.0 dBA

Conclusion

Price is an important factor, true. So, if your room is no larger than 600 square feet, the lower cost 421a may well be as good as the 582a in your circumstances.

But room size alone isn’t the only possible reason to spend the extra cash. If your room air gets more polluted than average – say, from living near a freeway or being exposed to high levels of dust or tree pollen – you may want to opt for the more powerful model. Also, some people are simply more sensitive than others and need the greater cleansing power.

With that in mind, it should be easy to choose between the Rabbit Air BioGS SPA-421a and the Rabbit Air BioGS SPA-582a. And, after all, with two such stellar models to choose from including a 5-year warranty on workmanship and materials, you really can’t go wrong.

Winix Plasmawave 5300 vs Winix Plasmawave 9000

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The title of this post doesn’t sound right. Both are good quality home air purifiers. To pit the Winix 5300 against the Winix 9000 is a bit unfair. But they do have different attributes, so a comparison is in order.

CADR values & Room Size

One objective way to do that is to cite their CADRs (Clean Air Delivery Rates). For the Winix 5300 that is 235 for smoke, 248 for dust and 251 for pollen. For the Winix 9000 that is 182 for dust, 183 for smoke and 194 for pollen.

But those numbers are only part of the story. The Winix 5300 covers over 350 square feet of a room with a normal 8-foot ceiling. The Winix 9000 covers a more modest 284 square feet and the smaller Winix 9000S just 215 square feet.

Multi-Stage Filter Systems – 3 Stages vs 5 Stages

The filter system in the Winix 9000 is terrific. It’s a five stage system composed of a washable and vacuumable pre-filter, essentially the same HEPA filter as the 5300, followed by a nano-silvered mesh filter that kills bacteria on contact. Then there’s the Activated Charcoal filter, followed by the PlasmaWave Ion generator.

The Winix 5300 has also a great filter system, but lacks the pre-filter and silvered mesh filter and the Charcoal filter is a bit on the light side. It makes up for the lack of the silvered filter, in part, by coating that carbon with anti-microbial compounds that can help combat bacteria and other nasty bugs in the air that pass through the HEPA filter.

Both air cleaners use the same PlasmaWave ion generator. This interesting device produces both negative and positive ions. Those combine with water vapor in the air to produce hydroxyl ions (OH molecules). Those zap all sorts of common home air pollutants, including deteriorating many VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) along with destroying airborne bacteria.

Since the Winix 5300 has fewer filters, there are fewer to replace making yearly replacement costs less expensive. The Winix filter kit #115115 for the 5300 and the Winix 119110 Ultimate Replacement Filter for the Winix 9000 are both available.

Control Panels

Many users like to monitor the state and operation of their home air purifier. The 5300 lets you do that by offering indicators for filter replacement (1), fan speed (2), sleep/auto mode (3), and air quality (4).

A quick look to the Winix 9000′s panel and you’ll notice that it is much more goody-filled, offering in addition a timer function (1) and plasmawave indicator (6). The 5300 has only one sensor, for odor while the 9000 senses both dust and odor (3). The 9000 even features a light sensor (7) that will automatically put the unit in sleep mode when the room is darkened. That is the lowest, quietest fan setting including a dimmed display panel.

Conclusion

In the end, it may come down to considering price vs. room size. So, those who have a larger room to keep clear of pollutants may opt for the Winix 5300. Given that the price of the Winix 5300 is so much less than the Winix 9000 it might seem mysterious why anyone would buy the Winix 9000.

But sometimes other criteria than price come into play. If you like the Winix 9000′s more advanced control panel, the extra pre-filter and nano-silver coated anti-microbial filter, it’s good to keep in mind that even the Winix 9000 will keep a larger room fresh, it just takes longer. That’s assuming the room isn’t constantly re-polluted, of course.

Either way, both the Winix 5300 and the Winix 9000 are stellar products. It’s always nice when you really can’t go wrong.

The True HEPA Filter Revealed

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If you worked in a military or government procurement office the term True HEPA filter would have no meaning. Nor would it mean anything if you were contracting a HEPA filter supplier for industry.

Only in air purifier marketing will you see the term hyped as if it were the all-important gold standard. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Air purifier companies have one very good reason for it – Shady competitors with inferior products dishonestly associate themselves with the HEPA efficiency standard.

The term true HEPA is entirely a marketing term. In industry, government and military applications a filter is either HEPA or it isn’t. However, there are different specifications for defining HEPA.

Defining The True HEPA Filter Standard

The usual standard for measuring air cleaner efficiency health or cleanroom purposes is the MIL-STD-282 Method 102.9.1 Dioctylphthalate test (D.O.P test) which requires the filter to capture 99.97% of 0.3 micron particles. So a True HEPA filter has the proven efficiency of 99.97% at 0.3 microns by this test.

However, there are specific filtration grades given to each filter spanning that range. This allows an end user to know exactly what they are purchasing. In many respects, it is a better way of expressing air filter efficiencies.

How Other Filters Compare To True HEPA

A True HEPA filter’s D.O.P.-rated efficiency is it’s minimum starting efficiency. The actual operating efficiency is higher than that, for all particle sizes from 0.001 micron upwards.

The starting efficiency of any non-HEPA air cleaner is very much lower – anywhere from 5% to 60% by the D.O.P. test. True HEPA filters are far more efficient for air cleaning than other types of filtration systems.

Filter systems like electronic air cleaners’ aluminium plates or 3M Filtrete media depend on electrostatic charges to attract dust to its plates or fibers. As the plates or fibers load up with dust, their ability to attract more dust drops dramatically.

An electronic air cleaner or 3M Filtrete-based air cleaner’s starting efficiency is usually the maximum efficiency. With use the efficiency will drop very fast and the average operating efficiency is much lower.

Some published studies have shown that an electronic air cleaner’s efficiency can drop to one-fifth of its starting efficiency within 26 hours of operation. That, plus the fact that most electronic filters are not very efficient at .3 microns and even worse for particles less than .3 microns, makes a strong case against electronic filter types.

A Few Facts About True HEPA

True HEPA filtration is currently the only type of air purification recommended by the U.S. Government’s Department of Homeland Security and FEMA.

Contrary to the claims of misleading air cleaner ads, bacteria and viruses do not breed in true HEPA filters. HEPA filters provide a dry environment and without moisture there is nothing to keep bacteria alive, much less breed. If such is the case, methods for killing bacteria within a HEPA filter include antimicrobial treatment of the media or a germicidal ultraviolet light.

Though it may only be a marketing term, it is born of the necessity to counteract the efforts of many impersonators. There are many air cleaners claiming to have HEPA type filters. These air cleaners have no specified performance rating, so you have no way of knowing how good it is. In many cases a high efficiency furnace filter with a MERV 13 rating would be as good as these much more expensive air cleaners.

My own personal conviction is that buying a HEPA filter air purifier is the best choice I can make.

Does An Ionic Air Purifier Work As Well As They Want You To Believe?

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Ionic air cleaners exposed!

What is it about an ionic air purifier that consumers find so compelling?

Is it the long, svelte curves that seem to say “High Tech”?

Is it the promise of whisper quietness that tickles their ear?

By comparison, how could you prefer that fat, loud and unattractive box, the HEPA air purifier?

But beauty’s only as deep as the injection molded plastic.

What you read in this review of ionic air cleaners may make you reconsider rushing the merchant with a fist full of dollars.

Get facts no ionic air purifier review dares reveal

Facts like these that directly impact your health and satisfaction…

  • Even the best electronic air purifiers are no better than 80% efficient
  • Cleaning power falls rapidly, losing up to 80% in as few as three days
  • Regular plate cleaning is a must, exposing you to captured allergens
  • Cleaning efficiency steadily declines over the life of the unit
  • Defects and burn outs result in a short service life
  • All ionizing air purifiers produce dangerous ozone
  • Very low air flow severely limits coverage area
  • No ionic air purifier has any effect on gases and odors
  • Ionic air cleaner pricing is often unrelated to quality or effectiveness

Read on for the full exposé…

Ionic air purifiers are not better than HEPA

How well does an electrostatic precipitator really clean your air?

Marketing claims of “better than HEPA” performance abound because ionizing air purifiers may remove particles as small as 0.1 micron.

You may be aware that HEPA filters are at least 99.97% efficient at 0.3 micron. So, the ability to remove 0.1 micron particles seems to justify claims of better performance than HEPA filtration.

How does this stand up to the facts?

First, the efficiency rating of HEPA air filters is clearly stated in every HEPA air purifier ad you see.

Bottom Line: Ionic air purifiers compare poorly to HEPA. They offer only low, inconsistent and undetermined efficiency.

Ionic air cleaner efficiency drops quickly

Unlike HEPA filters that increase in capture efficiency as they load up with particles, electronic air cleaners rapidly lose efficiency. No ionic air purifier review reveals this severe limitation.

In as few as three days efficiency can be less than 20% that of clean plates. Since the best ionic air cleaners may have an initial efficiency of 80% your electrostatic precipitator may only attract 15% of passing particles.

Bottom Line: The poor performance of an ionic air purifier rapidly becomes even more dismal.

Ionic air purifier maintenance is more than claimed

Marketing typically presents only favorable information. Real or imagined deficiencies in competing products are exaggerated or simply misrepresented.

Have you been persuaded by cleaning and maintenance claims like these?

“See how easy it is to clean, just wipe or toss in the dishwasher!”

“Oh, how difficult it is replacing filters in HEPA air purifiers!”

“Oh, how impossibly messy filters are!”

“Oh, how expensive filter replacement is!”

Consider this fact, a HEPA filter may only require replacement once every two to five years depending on the model. Most purifiers are designed for quick filter replacement, taking perhaps five minutes.

At least one air purifier, the Honeywell 50250, is marketed as never requiring filter replacement, just occasionally vacuum it clean.

Yet, as addressed above, rapid efficiency loss due to plate loading means ionic purifier cleaning should be a daily chore to keep efficiency at a reasonable level. Most people never perform this task as often as needed.

The next time you hear an ionic air cleaner crackling and popping like a bug zapper on a summer night remember this article and clean that thing.

Bottom Line: Electronic air purifiers demand more effort than advertised.

Ionic air cleaners degrade steadily over time

This means pollutants can become stubbornly, if not permanently, adhered to the collection plates. Thus whatever efficiency you once enjoyed is gone for good.

Even with regular cleaning, oxidation of the aluminum plates occurs causing reduction in efficiency.

Bottom Line: Ionic air purifiers degrade steadily over time no matter what you do.

Electrostatic precipitators have a short service life

The numerous ionic purifiers I see sitting on curbs awaiting garbage collection would seem to say “No, this isn’t a good product”.

Of course, many may get thrown out when people realize they don’t work very well anyway.

One indicator you can rely upon as a guide to life expectancy is the manufacturer’s warranty. How long is it? 90 days? A year? Two years?

Most manufacturers anticipate few warranty claims. They know most customers throw the old unit away and forget about it. Even so, they protect themselves with short warranties.

Compare ionic air purifier warranties with those of top HEPA air purifiers like those featured on this site.

Some of these manufacturers stand behind their air purifiers for as long as ten years with many satisfied customers still using air purifiers originally purchased fifteen years ago or more.

Bottom Line: Ionic air cleaners offer no long term value.

Ionic air purifiers are not effective for large areas

Ionic air purifiers often use no fan or a very low speed fan.

Consider a quick comparison.

While I’m no fan of CADR ratings, they sometimes prove useful.

The Sharper Image Ionic Breeze had a CADR rating of about 20. The 3M Ultra Clean air purifier, has a CADR rating about 13 times greater than the Ionic Breeze.

Similar comparisons can be made with any electronic air purifier versus a HEPA filter air purifier yet the typical ionic air purifier review isn’t going to inform you of this weak performance.

Bottom Line: Ionic air purifiers are ineffective for areas larger than a bathroom.

Electrostatic precipitators have no effect on gases

So if you are concerned at all hundreds of chemicals in cigarette smoke or any other odor or chemical pollutant you need to look elsewhere.

Bottom Line: No ionic air purifier will protect you from chemicals.

Ionic air purifiers expose you to dangerous ozone

Ozone has numerous effects, none of them healthful. Initially it can seem to give a sensation of clean in the air, because ozone has that after-the-rainstorm odor.

Unfortunately ozone deadens your sense of smell while simultaneously increasing your sensitization to allergens. Thus allergic persons have even more severe reactions in the presence of ozone.

In sufficient quantities it can cause death.

Studies show that it reacts with fragrances, air fresheners and cleaning products to produce ultra-fine particulates with cancer causing properties.

Bottom Line: Ionic air cleaners pollute your air with dangerous ozone.

Ionic air purifier prices don’t reflect quality

Likewise, ozone dangers are not necessarily less in a pricier model. Even those claiming to have some kind of “ozone guard”.

It seems the basis for price is simply what the market will bear for the promise of clean air and a fancy, sleek design.

Final Analysis of Ionic Air Purifiers

Electrostatic precipitator air purifiers have built their reputation on promises of quiet operation and low, filter free maintenance. A careful comparison reveals that silence is the only thing they have going for them.

Unfortunately, silence about their glaring faults keeps unwary customers buying these air purifiers by the millions.

How To Buy Air Purifiers Use These Savvy Shopper Rules To Do It Right

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Would you like to know more about how you can buy air purifiers while avoiding costly mistakes?

Why not invest the time now to discover the simple rules to getting the clean air you want?

Rule #1: Don’t Be Pressured To Buy The “Best Air Purifier”

Instead, focus on of satisfying your real needs

We all want what’s best for ourselves and our family. But what do you think? Is the best air purifier for you the same one I use, or the one on TV, or the one your brother-in-law recommends?

Or is it the one that satisfies your personal needs, your health and your budget?

Unfortunately, many consumers buy air purifiers based upon misguided advice that doesn’t take into consideration what they really need.

As a skilled craftsman chooses the right tool for a task you should choose the right air purifier for your circumstances. Before you buy air purifiers know the health benefits you want to achieve.

For instance, do you need an air purifier for allergies? Particles in the 2.5 to 10 micron range often cause sinus irritation and allergies. How effectively will your air purifier remove these? How often will it cycle your room air each hour? A minimum of four air changes is best for allergies.

If you have asthma, COPD, emphysema, MCS or other breathing ailments then particles smaller than 2.5 micron are your greatest concern. Only buy air purifiers rated to remove these particles while delivering six air changes per hour in your room.

I invite you to read more about how your health is improved by the right air purifier in my article, Buy An Air Purifier That Really Works.

Whatever your health need, the idea of a single best air purifier is a myth. Each air purifier is an exercise in trade-offs. Compare air purifiers based on the performance balance you wish to strike.

Certain air purifiers deliver high air flow but sacrifice odor removal. Some tackle odors exceptionally well but the dense activated carbon filter reduces air flow. Others balance both needs but at greater cost and noise. Some air purifiers perform well at a reasonable price but without extras you may want.

Lesson: The best way to buy air purifiers is to focus on your personal health needs and get value for your budget. A good place to begin is achoo!Allergy’s Air purifier Buying Guide.

Rule #2: Don’t Trust Air Purifier Reviews

Do your own careful research

Lesson: Do not rely upon air purifier reviews to compare air purifiers. What air purifier reviews don’t tell you is that they may exclude the best air purifiers simply because they aren’t available in the big box retail stores.

Or they exclude air purifiers clearly superior to whatever they’re promoting.

Or their testing criteria fails to address dangers like ozone, or realistically evaluate long term performance for the particles most harmful to your health.

These problems plague even the best air purifier reviews. For instance, the highly respected Consumer Reports has drawn fire for ill advised air purifier reviews. The primary complaints against Consumer Reports on air purifiers are:

  • Flawed selection criteria based on sales volume not quality
  • Flawed testing based on AHAM CADR (More about the flawed AHAM CADR ratings here.)
  • Failure to evaluate permanent particle removal, allowing units that “static cling” particles to the test chamber walls
  • Testing for only the largest 20% of particles, not the most harmful ultra-fine particles
  • Failure to test for removal of gases and odors
  • Basing results on a 30 minute test, not long term performance
  • Accepting and recommending air purifiers that produce ozone despite the health risks of ozone

Here is one mother’s experience with Consumer Reports on air purifiers:

Lesson: Do not rely solely upon air purifier reviews to buy air purifiers. The results reflect the prejudices of the reviewers. Do your own research. A good place to begin is here on my site or achoo!Allergy’s Air purifier Buying Guide.

Rule #3: Don’t Trust Industry Air Purifier Ratings

Search out accurate third party air purifier information

Consumers almost always buy air purifiers that under-perform because air purifier ratings are subjective at best, deceptive at worst and almost always overstate the area that can be cleaned.

Air purifier experts recommend four air changes per hour (ACH) for allergy relief and six ACH for those with more severe and chronic respiratory ailments.

But how can you compare air purifiers for air changes per hour? Performance statistics are often not published. So there is little basis for trusting a manufacturer’s room size recommendation.

Where performance numbers are available manufacturers often make room size recommendations for one or two ACH. They base this estimate on air delivery at the maximum fan speed.

Even worse, some size recommendations are based on “free flow” ratings. Free flow means without any filters in place. Since you’re using your air purifier with filters installed this rating is useless for air purifier comparisons.

You should buy air purifiers based on how much clean air is delivered at low speed. That way noise is kept to a minimum. It also gives you surplus capacity when indoor air pollution is unusually high.

The CADR air purifier ratings should also be taken with a grain of salt. They often overstate performance for many air purifiers because the test is of short duration.

A case in point is ionic air purifiers. They do well initially but performance can slide by 80% in as few as three days as collection plates load with particles. Most consumers will let days or weeks pass between maintenance cleanings during which time little air purification is happening.

CADR ratings are based on large particulates like dust, pollen and smoke not the far more toxic and harmful ultra-fine particles smaller than 0.1 micron. CADR ratings provide no help to the consumer seeking to compare air purifiers for these more important health hazards.

Lesson: Don’t buy air purifiers based on manufacturers’ air purifier ratings. Seek out resources that honestly evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of products like Allergy.com’s air purifier comparison chart.

Rule #4: Air Purifiers Alone Can’t Do It All

Take personal responsibility for your indoor air quality

Far too many buy air purifiers as a cure-all for indoor air quality problems without taking any other action.

What can you do to clear the air in your home and make certain you’re not countering the benefits of any indoor air purifiers you may be using?

You and I both choose the indoor environment we live in. No government agency holds sway over how you clean and maintain your home, what products you use, whether you keep pets, or whether you provide yourself with clean air. You alone make the decisions that affect your indoor air quality.

If you want to make the best decisions about your health then begin by learning how you can protect yourself by eliminating the sources of indoor air pollution.

Lesson: Indoor air purifiers play a role in clean air at home but the single most effective step is eliminating pollution at the source first.

Rule #5: Take Ozone Seriously

Ozone kills

Ozone has a fresh, after-the-rainstorm smell. Don’t be fooled! This is not the smell of clean air.

Exposure to ozone is the last thing you need. Ozone exacerbates asthma and other breathing difficulties. It increases sensitivity to allergens.

A 2004 EPA study found increased ozone concentrations were directly related to premature deaths. The study found that lowering outdoor concentrations of ozone by a mere 10 ppb (parts per billion) would result in some 4000 fewer premature deaths each year.

Yet ozone generators sold as air purifiers can increase indoor ozone levels by 300 ppb! How many may have paid the ultimate price, their very life, by using these machines?

Ionic air purifiers should also be considered with caution. While not emitting such high levels of ozone as ozone generators, they do produce ozone as a byproduct of normal operation. Do you really need this?

Lesson: Any product producing the pollutant ozone shouldn’t even be considered as an air purifier. Under no circumstances buy air purifiers that produce ozone.

Rule #6: Don’t Try to Buy Air Purifiers on the Cheap

Instead, shop for true value

Many who buy air purifiers mistakenly consider only the price, not long-term cost or value.

But can you really afford the cost of a wrong choice? Always consider long-term performance and cost. Discount and cheap air purifiers offer only cheap quality and poor performance.

Cheap air purifiers typically have higher maintenance costs. One of the “dirty little tricks” is to sell a cheap air purifier and then rob the customer with high priced replacement filters.

These air cleaners may also have poor prefilters that allow rapid clogging of the main filter, forcing you to regularly replace the filters.

Cheap air purifiers also have cheap motors prone to early failure. Cheap ionic air purifiers have cheap electronics, ionizing wires and pins that fail all too quickly.

Particle collection efficiencies and airflow rates in discount air purifiers may make upgrading your furnace filter a far better and cheaper option.

Lesson: Buy air purifiers that offer true value.

Rule #7: Always Consider Routine Maintenance

Unless you have a maid

Most consumers buy air purifiers without ever considering the true maintenance needs. Certain infomercials have misled the public into believing that filter maintenance is a laborious, messy and expensive chore.

HEPA filter air purifiers of superior quality and value may need a filter change only once every five years and take no more than ten minutes.

On the other hand, ionic air purifiers are presented as needing little more than a quick wipe or toss into the dishwasher.

But let’s dig deeper. In as few as three days ionic air purifier efficiency can become less than 20% resulting in very poor air cleaning.

To maintain efficiency regular cleaning is necessary. Many consumers complain that the plates are hard to disassemble and reassemble, are hard to clean between and don’t always fit in a dishwasher.

What is the five-year cost of running the collector plates through the dishwasher every second or third day? What about the time cost? How does a ten-minute filter swap once every three to five years compare to the time spent removing and cleaning a collector grid three times a week?

Lesson: Filter Free and Living Easy is a false promise. For set it and forget it operation that also delivers best performance go with a HEPA filter air purifier. I invite you to read more in my article about Why a HEPA air purifier is best.

Rule #8: Don’t Consider Only Popular Air Purifiers

Unless you don’t mind paying for their celebrity

Many consumers buy air purifiers they’ve seen on TV, often as a result of some infomercial. Sharper Image took advantage of this fact to such an extent they secured 25% of the air purifier market at the height of their product’s fame.

But saturating the airwaves with radio and TV spots, infomercials, print ads and celebrities costs millions. Who really pays for this? You do, that’s who. How much of an air purifier’s cost is tied to the hype? How much to its design and engineering?

Did you know that buying top billing in the ads listed above Google’s search results can cost an air purifier vendor 7 to 20 per click. How many of those clicks result in sales? Even if one in twenty buy air purifiers from the vendor that means 140 to 400 in advertising has to be covered by that one sale.

Lesson: Your best value is in manufacturers specializing in air purification, not in marketing companies specializing in cleaning out your wallet.

Rule #9: Buy Air Purifiers From A Trustworthy Vendor

One that sells nothing but air purifiers that really work

If you really want a satisfying experience as well as an air purifier that really works buy from a supplier specializing exclusively in allergy relief products. Verify that they carry a a 100% satisfaction guarantee on every product.

Determine whether they offer immediate shipping on your order and how much it costs. Free shipping is good!

Is ordering secure and easy. Do they protect your privacy?

Is their return policy generous, up to 60 days?

Do they provide numerous customer reviews from real people? Is there a large body of educational air purifier information to help you choose?

If you call them do you get a real person that knows what they’re talking about?

Do they offer lifetime product support?

Why the Best Air Purifier Needs HEPA

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  • Discover why the best air purifier for your needs includes HEPA filtration.
  • Build the foundation you need to buy air purifiers like an expert.
  • I’ll show you how…

HEPA Filters Meet The Challenge of Medicine

Your air purifier should clean your air sufficiently to give you real health benefits.

Will a HEPA air purifier provide you with these benefits better than any other?
What do you think? Would you trust the choice of hospitals as a guide to the best air purifier?

Medical facilities need air purification to control infectious microbes that spread through ventilation systems causing illness and death. Thus operating rooms, outpatient surgery, labor and delivery, isolation rooms, intensive care and other areas require high efficiency filtration.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the American Institute of Architects, (AIA) and the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) all recommend HEPA filters for medical facilities.

Likewise, in Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Healthcare Facilities, the CDC recommends HEPA filtration to remove airborne contaminants. No other air purification method receives this endorsement.

If a HEPA filter is the best air purifier choice for hospitals then what is your best choice?

The Best Air Purifier For Health Benefits Is HEPA

Only HEPA filter air purifiers have the efficiency you need to improve conditions like:

  • Allergic rhinitis
  • Allergic conjunctivitis
  • Asthma
  • Allergic sinusitis
  • Allergic bronchitis
  • Animal allergies
  • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

A HEPA filter air purifier is effective at removing many types of airborne allergens, asthma triggers and infectious agents such as:

  • Pollens
  • Molds and mildews
  • Dust mite debris
  • Animal dander
  • Cockroach debris
  • Tobacco smoke

Facts About The Best Air Purifier Technology

HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air filter. A HEPA air filter must be 99.97% efficient, allowing no more than 3 particles in 10,000 to penetrate the HEPA filter media.

HEPA air filters were developed to contain radioactive particles at nuclear facilities. Since then, HEPA air purification has been used in industrial, medical and military clean rooms.

There are two very different types of air filters on the market that use the term “HEPA”.

  • A true HEPA filter must remove 99.97% of all particles 0.3 microns in diameter.
  • HEPA-type filters use similar media as true HEPA. However, their efficiency may be no more than 55% at removing particles regardless of diameter. These filters are much cheaper than true HEPA filters.

Avoid products that hijack the HEPA term but provide no performance guarantee.

HEPA filter material causes a great deal of resistance to airflow so a powerful fan is needed to push air through the air purifier.

Because of this resistance neither a HEPA air conditioner filter nor a HEPA furnace filter is practical. A whole house HEPA filter system is not recommended as your best air purifier choice. They filter only a portion of the air passing through your ductwork and provide you with less benefit than HEPA room air cleaners you can place wherever needed most.

HEPA filter replacement is essential to best air purifier performance. Your HEPA air purifier filters need to be changed when they are dirty or else your clean air will steadily dwindle. How often they need to be changed depends on several factors:

  • How large the air purifier HEPA filter is. The greater the surface area of the filter the longer it will last. Some filters can exceed a five-year useful life expectancy.
  • The best air purifiers use a prefilter. Prefilters stop larger particles from reaching the HEPA filter. Prefilters can often be cleaned and allow the HEPA filter to last longer.
  • The kind of environment where the filter is being used. Homes with mold, pets or smokers require filter changes more often.

Now that you understand why HEPA filters are at the heart of the best air purifiers as well as some background information it’s time to move on.

I’d like to invite you now to consider why not all HEPA filter air purifiers are created equal and how it affects your choice of the best air purifier.

How to Buy Air Purifier and Allergy Relief Products Online Risk Free

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Buyer’s Advantage or Buyer’s Remorse: Does your air purifier supplier respect you?

Let me share how to buy air purifier and allergy relief products at no risk to you.

What is your biggest personal risk of loss when you buy air purifier and allergy relief products online? …Fraud? …Identity theft?

Try customer unfriendly policies.

Retailers once valued you as a customer. They knew displeasing you with poor service and inferior products was an unacceptable practice. They could lose your business and their reputation.

Unfortunately, Internet retailers seem unaware of such considerations. Access to a billion customers has killed responsible retailing.

Consider what happens when you buy air purifier and allergy supplies online.

You expect your air purifier to be an investment in the health of your family. What if the air purifier isn’t right for you?

With many air purifier suppliers this can be a costly mistake. Typical Internet retailers and auction sellers require you to pay restock fees as great as 25%. Given the cost of air purifiers (including those that don’t work, but that’s another story) you could easily lose as much as 200 on this transaction.

Some air purifier suppliers, especially auction sellers, have an “All Sales Final” policy, refusing any return. This is a significant risk to you.

I was once an auction seller. Returned air purifiers cost me a filter replacement refurbishing fee so the air purifier could be resold as new.

The company I represented encouraged me to charge restock fees that not only covered this cost but allowed me to make a profit on the return. So yes, air purifier suppliers can actually profit on a return transaction!

Never be exploited when you buy air purifier and allergy supplies online

I believe air purifier suppliers should never impose policies to abuse you while making profits from your loss.

That is one of the many reasons why I am pleased with achoo! Allergy. Apart from the usual guarantees of satisfaction, they actually have customer service and return policies that show they really believe in taking care of you.

Except for a few select products, some non-returnable by law like pillows, or custom made items, achoo! Allergy gives you sixty days to decide if an air purifier or allergy product is right for you.

One of the biggest surprises about their return policy is no restock fees!

There is one caveat to that policy. If an order is refused on delivery they do impose a small fee of 15%. This discourages frivolous ordering by non-serious persons who aren’t willing to try the product once it arrives.

That’s not a bad idea. I once delivered pizzas. It’s disgusting to hustle to someone’s door only for them to say, “I wanted to cancel that”. It’s only fair for a company to protect itself from frivolous people.

What about you? Would you prefer to buy air purifier and allergy supplies from an air purifier supplier that guarantees your satisfaction, gives you sixty days to try their products, and doesn’t impose heavy fees if you need to return an air purifier? If so, simply follow the banner below.

Will HEPA Room Air Cleaners Meet Your Needs?

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Do you have allergies, asthma or other respiratory troubles? HEPA room air cleaners are often presented as a complete one size fits all solution. I personally use a HEPA air cleaner in my own home, so my position is that they do offer benefits.

However, I find that much of the marketing is a little overly enthusiastic to put it kindly. Some claims simply are not supported by the research and the true measure of benefit is not as you might be led to believe.

The reality is the air in your home is influenced more by what you put into it than what you can take out of it. Does that sound reasonable?

HEPA room air cleaners can and should be only one part of a greater effort. My purpose in this article is to discuss some of the most common reasons for buying a HEPA filter air purifier and to what extent that air purifier will really help. I also will offer some alternatives that are even more effective. When these steps are taken together with air purification you’ll see the best results.

HEPA Room Air Cleaners For Seasonal Allergies

HEPA filter air purifiers are a great benefit if you suffer from seasonal allergies. HEPA filters trap both large and small particles so you aren’t breathing them in. Allergy triggers that cause itchy, water eyes, sneezing, and coughing are effectively removed from your air allowing you to breathe easy. This is one of the best uses for HEPA filter air purifiers.

HEPA Room Air Cleaners For Pet Allergies

If you have pets and you or someone in your home is allergic, then an air purifier may help the situation. However there are limits.

Cats are especially allergenic and are prolific creators of allergen. Worse yet, their allergen aggravates sensitivity to other allergens like pollen, making the allergic person even more miserable. One Japanese study found levels of cat allergen 160 times that of dust mite allergen in a typical home. The primary cat allergen, Fel d 1, is not only airborne but sticks to surfaces and textiles throughout the house. The allergic person is as likely to contact it via household furnishings and objects as to breathe it in.

A cat can also be compared with a lit cigarette; as long as it is present the continuous pollution exposes you even as the air purifier tries to remove it. Most studies have found air purifiers provide limited benefit to households that keep pets indoors. The best option is to remove the pet entirely. Even then pet allergens can take 6 to 12 months to subside from carpets and furnishings sufficiently for the allergic individual to be symptom free.

Some place the air purifier in a specific room, such as the bedroom, and forbid the pet from entering. This helps create a safe room for the allergy sufferer to go to for relief. However, the best option is to eliminate the source by removing the pet. Once you’ve come to grips with this reality, an air purifier will remove residual background allergens and help you breathe easier.

HEPA Room Air Cleaners For Dust Mite Allergies

Dust mites are tiny organisms that live off material such as dead skin flakes.

The dust mites themselves are not likely to ever become airborne and so a HEPA filter air purifier is not going to become a breeding ground for them as some competing air cleaner marketers wrongly claim. However, particles from their droppings and dead bodies can contaminate the air and a HEPA filter air purifier will remove these.

In all honesty though, most persons encounter dust mite allergen through their mattress and bed sheeting. Since your face is essentially lying upon the source of allergen an air purifier elsewhere in the room has limited effect with this allergen while you are sleeping.

Pillow and mattress casings specifically designed to prevent dust mites are your best option for reducing this exposure. Regular washing of sheets in hot water is also helpful. Dehumidifiers that keep humidity low also prevent them from multiplying since they require moisture from the air to live and breed.

HEPA Room Air Cleaners For Asthma

HEPA filter air purifiers are the most effective way to improve your indoor air if you suffer from asthma. Asthma triggers saturate indoor air and an HEPA filtration can help to diminish them.

There are many HEPA air cleaners on the market today designed to target asthma triggers. They can add a real piece of mind, knowing you are doing all you can to stop an asthma attack before it starts. For asthma, you may also wish to choose a unit with substantial carbon filtration, to address things like perfumes and other indoor chemical pollutants that can aggravate asthma conditions.

HEPA Room Air Cleaners For Smoke

Smoke: Smoke from your fireplace, cooking, or tobacco are potent irritants that can aggravate many respiratory conditions as well as cause them in otherwise healthy persons.

Getting rid of the smoke through source control is a far better choice than any air purifier. However, for intermittent exposures HEPA filter air purifiers coupled with activated carbon can quickly clear the air of both smoke particles and odors.

If this is your number one concern, then choose a unit that is specifically designed to handle this problem. There are air cleaners with specialized carbon blends designed to handle smoke more effectively than standard models. Allerair offers a number of excellent smoke air purifiers.

HEPA Room Air Cleaners For Multiple Chemical Sensitivities

Chemical sensitivity can be divided in two categories.

First, some individuals are sensitive to one chemical or a number of chemicals present in their home and need an air purifier to address this specific issue. A high-quality unit with ample carbon and good filtration will be able to solve this problem easily.

The second type of chemically sensitive person is one who is highly reactive to most chemicals they come in contact with and, in general, that includes the glues, filters, and plastic material found in many air purifiers.

If you feel you fall into the latter, don’t despair. There are great units on the market that are specially made not to off-gas.

When you are ready to purchase a unit, just remember you want to take special care in choosing your air purifier, as many units claim to not off-gas but still do. Individuals with severe chemical sensitivities should only consider air purifiers designed for individuals with these specific needs. Typically, these are going to include large quantities of activated carbon, often specially blended to give added control of specific vocs.

The key to picking the right air cleaner for your indoor space lies in knowing what problems you want the unit to address.Some air purifiers can be custom created to suit a variety of needs, such as customer-specific carbon profiling to make sure you get the right activated carbon for your chemical sensitivity.

Allerair provides this service prior to purchasing their MCS model air purifier. A sample carbon test kit is sent to you to determine your sensitivity to a variety of carbon blends. Once you have indicated which one is most acceptable they will include that blend in your new air purifier. The cost of the test kit is deducted from your air purifier’s purchase price.

How to successfully use air purifiers with activated carbon for odor control

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Are you considering activated carbon for odor control? If possible, it’s always best if you can remove the source of the odors.

Of course, there are circumstances where this is not practical. Baby diapers or a health problem are simply part of life. Perhaps your favorite hobby or a loved pet raises a stink and you have no wish to part with these.

That’s where an air purifier with a large bed of activated carbon for odor can help you. Activated carbon is an effective way to remove odors from cooking, cleaning products, tobacco smoke, human and pet waste, and VOCs.

In selecting the best air purifier for odor control you should remember that the effectiveness of any filter corresponds to the quantity of activated carbon contained in the filter.

One of the preeminent air purifier manufacturers, Allerair, has invested much energy into developing activated carbon filters to cover most any odor problem you may face. Allerair offers over forty specialized carbon blends covering industrial, commercial, medical, and military uses in addition to home use.

Allerair activated carbon air filters are more effective than other odor control filters because they contain more carbon. A greater amount of carbon solves your odor problems by removing odor concentrations and providing protection over a longer period of time. The true test of a carbon filter is how long it will continue to remove objectionable odors. Allerair carbon filters deliver fresh air longer, from two to three years.

Allerair’s off the shelf coconut shell derived activated carbon can take care of odors associated with normal home cleansers, mold, personal care products, and new furnishings. This is possible with other high quality air purifiers also, like Austin Air, Blueair, and IQAir.

However, Allerair also offers a wide variety of blends under their “Vocarb” trade name. The most common Vocarb offered handles the extra pollutant load of new carpets, wood furniture (stains, sealants, etc.), computers, and particleboard. They also have specialized blends to deal with pet odors (Vocarb PO), urine and incontinence odors (Vocarb IN), and tobacco smoke (Vocarb SM, found in their DS, DXS, and other “S” suffix models).

You can also choose carbon blends specially made for beauty salons, artists, glues and embalming fluids, welding and soldering fumes, and persons with multiple chemical sensitivities.

If you feel you need specialized activated carbon for odor control then my first recommendation is Allerair air purifiers. My second recommendation is a knowledgeable dealer with personal service that can guide you in choosing the best unit for your circumstances. Allergybuyersclub.com is your best online air purifier source.

To learn more about activated carbon for air purification view these additional articles:

  • Why is activated carbon filtration essential in your air purifier?
  • Choosing activated carbon filters | How to evaluate air purifier quality
  • The activated carbon filter pad in multistage air purifiers isnt good enough
  • Activated carbon air cleaner report | The purifiers that really perform

Is A Portable HEPA Filter A Good Choice For Allergy And Asthma?

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Are you considering a portable HEPA filter air purifier for relief of allergy or asthma symptoms? Would you like to know whether it would be a good investment? What can you do in your home to get the greatest symptom relief? If buying a portable HEPA filter air purifier is part of your strategy how can you be certain you’ve chosen well?

These are important questions both from a health perspective and financially, since high quality air purifiers are not inexpensive.

I have faced these very questions myself. My wife suffers from allergies, asthma, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS), as well as fibromyalgia. Air quality makes a tremendous difference for her ability to engage in normal activities around the house, let alone out of doors.

You Can Sink Or Swim

The good news is that buying a portable HEPA filter air cleaner can be a good investment. Expert opinions hold that they do reduce airborne concentrations of many irritants. This can bring a measure of relief. However it is also agreed that you cannot rely on them entirely.

Think of it this way. A ship at sea has pumps to remove unwanted water that reduces its buoyancy. But this doesn’t enable the ship to remain afloat with a gaping hole in its side. Better to have structural integrity than the best pumps in the world.

Your home air can be likened to that ship and its pollutant load to the water. Is it better to have the best portable HEPA filter hard at work pumping pollutants out? Or to maintain a home that doesn’t introduce those pollutants in the first place?

Lifestyle Changes Are First And Best

Keeping pollutants out will involve certain changes, some of which may even be called sacrifices. Easy enough is purchasing cleaning and personal products that are fragrance and dye free. Discontinue the use of so called “air fresheners” that only mask odors by introducing fragrant chemicals to the air. Candles, whether natural beeswax or not, also add soot and unburned hydrocarbons to the air.

Many people have found that removing carpets is of great benefit. Not only do they outgas volatile organic compounds, they harbor dust mites and their allergens. They also retain pet dander and pet allergens, increasing the total quantity of these.

More difficult is the necessary step of eliminating smoking from the household. Even if smoking is relegated to outside, the smoker brings in on their person enough residue to be a problem. Some studies have shown that negative health effects in children are not improved at all when smoking is done outside versus inside.

Another difficult choice is removal of a pet. Pet allergens, especially cat allergens, can exacerbate all other allergies. Even if you are not allergic to cats, you have a high likelihood of developing one. As many as 80% of persons with a cat in the home show signs of cat allergy whereas only 10% to 20% of the population at large has cat allergy.

All the above mentioned pollutant sources are things for which people often wish to buy a portable HEPA filter air cleaner. They are also the sorts of things that stream a steady load of pollutants greater than any purifier is designed to handle. That is why air filtration cannot be your first and only choice. You must take responsibility for air quality in the home and remove the things that cause your health problems.

More Information About Buying A Portable HEPA Filter Air Purifier

A portable HEPA filter air purifier will now be a much better health aid once you have eliminated the bulk of pollutants from your home. That is really the purpose of its design, to purify the air to a higher degree than good housekeeping alone can achieve.

What should you consider when buying a portable HEPA filter air cleaner for allergy relief?

Overall capacity should be first and foremost for two important reasons.

First you want a unit that can give multiple air changes per hour (ACH) for the size room you’ll be using it in. The more times the room air passes through the filter the cleaner it will be and the better relief you will get.

Second, you want a unit that will give you the needed ACH on its lowest or intermediate settings. These are its quietest settings and noise is often a complaint with portable HEPA air purifiers.

There are of course many other important considerations beyond the scope of this article. Please review these articles about buying a portable HEPA filter air cleaner and HEPA air filtration.

Is Your Activated Carbon Filter A Cheap Trick?

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How To Know If An Activated Carbon Filter Won’t Clean Your Air

How do you feel when someone sells you a product and afterward you discover it doesn’t do what was promised? Would you return again and again to the same vendor? This is precisely what you will do as you continue to buy filters for air purifiers that don’t clean the air.

Is my contention true, those manufacturers who claim an activated carbon filter pad removes chemicals and odors are deceiving you? Please allow me the opportunity to present my case and you be the judge.

Many air purifiers include activated carbon for gas and odor removal, but will not mention how much is in their filter. This is because, at best, they have coated a mat with a few token ounces of activated carbon.

In an average home, that small amount of carbon could get saturated in days, even hours. After this, the filter would need to be replaced or it would be doing nothing.

If an air purifier does not make any obvious claims about the amount of activated carbon it uses, you should question the filter’s effectiveness.

Why activated carbon filter pads don’t give you the clean air you expect

Air purification is big business and many companies have entered the air purifier market.

However, these companies are not air purifier manufacturers solely in the business of air purification. They are consumer product sales organizations. Most manufacture nothing at all, but contract design and production to others. Their primary concern is to market whatever is the hot seller of the day.

Eager to gain the approval of consumers they hype the fact that they offer “multistage” air cleaners that can control all sorts of air pollution.

An activated carbon filter is usually featured as one of the stages in these air purifiers. They typically take the form of a foam mesh impregnated with a few token ounces of activated carbon.

Is this good enough? Are these companies being honest? What about those manufacturers that offer a deep activated carbon bed that includes many pounds of activated carbon?

Question the quality of the activated carbon

Activated carbon can vary greatly depending on the methods used to produce it. For instance, the surface area available to adsorb pollutants can vary between 400 sq. meters per gram to over 1500 sq. meters per gram.

Activated carbon can generally remove some of any chemical. However, raw activated carbon may not be very effective against many of the pollutants you’re concerned about. That’s why activated carbon needs to be impregnated with special catalysts and chemisorbs to ensure maximum effectiveness against typical pollutants.

Air purifiers using an activated carbon filter pad never address these issues in any of their consumer literature. How can you know the real capabilities of their filter? You can’t.

Question the quantity of filtration

How much chemical contamination can a few ounces of activated carbon adsorb?

Activated carbon can adsorb as much as 60% of its weight in pollutants. This is best accomplished by increasing the “dwell time” or time spent in contact with the pollutants.

An activated carbon filter pad cannot supply much in the way of dwell time. Air passes through such thin filters quickly. Filter pads with only a few ounces of activated carbon have precious little time or capacity to make any real difference in your air quality.

This is why high quality air purifier manufacturers whose business is nothing but air purification include a deep activated carbon bed that often weighs many pounds.

Question the design of the air purifier

All too often, activated carbon filter pads are used as a prefilter for a higher efficiency particle filter. This exposes the activated carbon to the incoming stream of dust and microparticles.

The structure of activated carbon is that of macropores branching into ever-smaller micropores. Incoming particles can easily clog these larger pores and prevent gaseous contaminants from entering the micropores where adsorption takes place.

Using an activated carbon filter pad as a prefilter is a bad design decision.

Another bad decision that seems to defy all common sense is the inclusion of scent cartridges in air purifiers with activated carbon.

Since activated carbon is supposed to remove odors and volatile chemicals from the air, why is a source of volatile chemical fragrance included? This seems to defeat the purpose of the activated carbon.

The reality is that the scent masks the odors in the air and is intended to lead you to believe the air purifier is doing a good job.

Activated carbon filtration works if you choose the right air purifier

Activated carbon in air purifiers has real value when employed in a deep bed.

There are several air purifier manufacturers that design and build there own products with this in mind. Some examples are Allerair, Austin Air, Blueair, and Iqair. These companies understand that a large volume of activated carbon is essential for air purifier performance.

Activated carbon filter pads are a gimmick of marketing companies. These sales organizations are only interested in grabbing a piece of the air purifier market with inferior products. They rely on the absence of consumer education about air purification to succeed.

You can make a much better choice.

Look Beyond The HEPA Air Filters Marketing Claim

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I would like to help you look more critically at air purifiers claiming to use HEPA air filters. Why? Because HEPA filtration is the best available, but the way it is used may leave much to be desired.

Consider an example. A man may have a well-appointed kitchen with the best of ingredients but this doesn’t make him a chef. Nor does it mean anything he prepares will even be edible.

Likewise, using HEPA air filters doesn’t guarantee the end result will really clean the air. Unfortunately, many manufacturers continue to produce inferior products while playing lip service to quality and customer expectations.

What kind of questions should you ask about any HEPA air purifier you may be considering?

What is the size of the HEPA air filters?

One of the most difficult to find pieces of information about a HEPA air purifier is the actual size of the filter. Most manufacturers don’t reveal it. Perhaps they feel it isn’t important. Perhaps they fear it will result in consumers comparing their product unfavorably against competitors.

Why is size important? Quite simply, because the bigger a filter is the more particles it can remove before it clogs. Also, the bigger a filter is the more air it can clean in a single pass.

Lastly, a bigger filter will present less back pressure to the fan that pushes the air through the filter. Back pressure puts a load on the fan motor. Cheaper motors may fail as a result. Manufacturers avoid this by letting some air escape around, or bypass, the filter. This is air that isn’t being cleaned.

Simply put, bigger HEPA air filters mean cleaner air and longer life of both the filter and the air purifier leading to reduced total cost of ownership.

What is the quality of the HEPA air filters?

The material used, the design and methods of manufacture are all important to the quality of the HEPA filter.

The highest quality manufacturers make certain that their HEPA filters have evenly spaced pleats, often with separators to ensure that the pleats remain uniform over the life of the filter. This is because if pleats are uneven, those that are closer together will restrict airflow and reduce cleaning capacity.

Some HEPA filters are made from synthetic materials. However the best filters are still made from a delicate, thin paper because it removes the highest percentage of particles with the least restriction of airflow.

This paper can be easily damaged during manufacture of the filter and assembly of the air purifier. The best filters are produced with a technique known as “warm rolled”. This prevents damage to the media during filter construction. Higher quality air purifiers will house the filter in such a way that it is protected from possible damage during assembly and use of the air cleaner.

What is the efficiency of the air purifier?

There isn’t a HEPA filter air purifier on the market that doesn’t proudly announce that HEPA filters remove 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 micron.

Yes, but, what does the air purifier remove?

In some HEPA based air cleaners as much as 40% to 50% of air entering the cleaner may actually bypass the filter. Reasons for this range from poor sealing of the filter in the housing, cracks in the filter and even deliberate design to reduce backpressure on an inferior motor.

Virtually all air purifiers on the market using HEPA air filters provide no documentation on the efficiency of the unit as a whole. This situation is unacceptable. You as a consumer have no way of knowing how effective any given machine is.

The most notable exception is IQAir. Their HealthPro series have been independently tested and certified as to efficiency. In fact each and every unit is tested and certified and sent with documentation showing its effectiveness.

Another high quality air purifier that is independently certified is the Allerair AirMedic. Both Allerair and IQAir have shown a real commitment to the overall quality of their air purifiers and your satisfaction. Other companies that meet the criteria outlined in this article are BlueAir and Austin Air.

What kind of protective prefilter is used?

While the HEPA filter is the heart of the air purifier you should never overlook the importance of the pre-filter. A high quality pre-filter protects the HEPA air filter and any gas phase filter from becoming prematurely clogged. This means it protects your investment and saves you money!

Most pre-filters remove particulates 5 to 10 microns and larger. Of course, the percentage of particulates in the air that are 5 microns and larger is very small. For every 1,000,000 particles per cubic foot of air there is normally only around 400 to 800 particles that are 5 microns and larger.

As a result, much of the particulate removal is still left for the Hepa filter. The Hepa filter is too expensive a filter to be used to remove particles larger than 1 micron. You should consider the filter efficiencies of the pre-filter in selecting an air purifier.

The best example of a pre-filter is the one on the IQAir Healthpro which is 100% efficient at removing particles 1 micron and larger. In addition, it is 55% efficient at removing particulates 0.3 of a micron and larger. This pre-filter will remove 90% of all of the particles in the air and prolongs the life of the Hepa filter.

Office Air Cleaner Recommendations

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As a portable desktop office air cleaner, either the Allerair AirTube or AirTube Jr. would make an excellent choice. Both possess the qualities of the very best room air cleaner money can buy, only in a smaller, more portable package.

The AirTube includes a medical grade HEPA filter capable of trapping 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 micron, or about one three-hundredth the width of a human hair. Seven pounds of Allerair’s Mass Activated Carbon Exec blend adsorb the widest range of airborne chemicals, gases, and odors, including volatile organic compounds.

Would you like to know more about office air purification?

Canada Safety Council about office air quality

Vermont Dept. of Health on office air quality

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The AirTube’s all metal cylindrical construction provides you with durability and maximum airflow while not exposing you to the VOCs that can out gas from plastic, cheap air purifiers. A variable speed motor allows you to switch from higher airflow volume for initial cleaning of room air to whisper quiet operation. Recommended by Allerair for rooms up to 400 sq. ft. it nevertheless meets the specifications of competitor’s criteria for 700 sq. ft.

The Air Tube Jr., a smaller office air cleaner can easily serve as a personal desktop air cleaner for an office, cubicle, baby’s room, or other small room where better air quality is desired. It includes a HEPA grade air filter wrap to trap airborne particles and four pounds of the same activated carbon blend offered in the larger Air Tube. With durable all metal construction it will hold up to years of use. A variable speed motor allows whisper quiet operation while the cylindrical shape provides for maximum airflow. Weighing in at only ten pounds it is a great choice for room areas of around 100 sq. ft.

If you’re looking for a personal office air cleaner for the desktop, or a portable HEPA room air cleaner for any reason, there is no better air cleaner recommendation than Allerair’s AirTube and AirTube Jr.

If youre looking for an office air cleaner to cover a much larger area than a small office or cubicle, then you can count on the power of the Allerair Air Medic. It will provide the cleanest possible air for your home or office.

Combining a cylindrical shape with 360 degree air intake the AirMedic will remove chemicals, particles, gases and odors on the first pass. This means a consistent flow of clean, pure, breathable air for your office. Its filtration system includes 18 pounds of Allerairs specially blended virgin activated carbon. This deep bed will adsorb thousands of chemicals, gases and odors. Allerair also offers a carbon blend for enhanced adsorption of volatile organic compounds with the AirMedic.

A medical grade HEPA filter clears the air of 99.97% of all particles as small as 0.3 micron. Additionally, the AirMedics advanced HEPA filtration system has been found to perform at the standard of an EN 1822 certified filter, removing as much as 99% of particles as small as 0.01 micron (can filter bacteria and viruses). A high quality pre-filter extends the life of the HEPA filter by removing larger particles that would otherwise clog the HEPA filter.

Allerair stands behind this superb office air cleaner with a 10 year warranty on both parts and labor, the longest and best warranty in the industry. If youre looking for the best possible office air purifier from a dedicated manufacturer that knows air purification, then the Allerair AirMedic is the ideal choice for offices up to 1500 sq. ft.

Allerair’s AirMedic Vocarb model is the same as above except it is filled with Allerair’s special blend of treated activated carbon for removal of volatile organic compounds. It is an excellent choice for an office air cleaner wherever vocs are a concern. The Vocarb carbon blend has enhanced adsorption capabilities for formaldehyde, solvents, paint fumes, and other irritating noxious fumes.