Air Ionizers Might Do More Harm Than Good

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By By Herb Weisbaum

Summary

Consumer Reports found that not only do most do a poor job of trapping dust, pollen and smoke, but they give off ozone.

Story Published: Apr 7, 2005 at 8:25 AM PDT

Story Updated: Aug 31, 2006 at 1:54 AM PDT

Air Ionizers Might Do More Harm Than Good
SEATTLE - Indoor air cleaning machines are big sellers. American consumers will spend about $400 million on them this year. And now, a relatively new kind of air cleaner, what's called an ionizing cleaner or electrostatic precipitator, is growing in popularity. These machines, which are sold by some big name companies, such as Sharper Image and Brookstone aren't cheap. They can run $200 to $450. For that price and from the ads, you'd expect them to do a great job of cleaning the air.

But when Consumer Reports tested six ionizing air cleaners it found that many do "a poor job of removing particles from the air." And they do a poor job of trapping dust, pollen and smoke.

The magazine’s tests also found that ionizners can create "significant levels of ozone" pollution. "And ozone has no positive effects on air cleaning,” says the magazine’s Celia Kuperszmid-Lehrman. “People with asthma and respiratory allergies are especially sensitive to ozone,” she points out.

Kuperszmid-Lehrman, who wrote the article on air cleaners for the May issue of Consumer Reports, says don't be fooled by the sweet smell some ionizers give off.

"That sweet smell isn't really clean air,” she explains, “it is ozone, and ozone is an irritant and a pollutant."

Of the seven air cleaners Consumer Reports tested for this report, it only recommends two: the Friedrich C-90A, which sells for $450, and the Whirlpool 45030, which is a HEPA-filter model and sells for $250. Both did a very good to excellent job of trapping dust, smoke, and pollen

The five machines Consumer Reports does not recommend are: the Brookstone Pure-Ion,Sharper Image Professional Series Ionic Breeze Quadra S1737 SNX, Ionic Pro CL-369, IonizAir P4620, and the Surround Air XJ-2000.

Consumer Reports says based on its testing, these models delivered "poor performance, some with relatively high ozone levels."

Brookstone reacted to the Consumer Reports story by saying it has tests to prove that the Pure-Ion air cleaner works. The Chief Executive of Sharper Image says the Ionic Breeze machine is safe and effective. He points out that despite a previous negative rating by Consumer Reports, Sharper Image has sold more than 2 million of the devices.

You'll find the complete list of ratings, plus more details on the testing in the May issue of Consumer Reports.

For More Information:

Ionizing Air Cleaners Get Zapped -- www.usatoday.com
Sharper Image Defends Air Purifier -- money.cnn.com
Indoor Air Quality: What You Can Do -- www.consumerreports.org
Air Cleaners: The Truth Behind the Accolades -- www.consumerreports.org
Do You Need an Air Filter? -- my.webmd.com
EPA on Ozone Generators Sold as Air Cleaners -- www.epa.gov

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