What's The Real Secret to Choosing a Top Performing Air Purifier?

Why is it so hard to find an air purifier that works?

Buyer beware is the smart approach

Have you had the sad experience of a home air purifier that:

1. Didn't clean the air
2. Broke
3. Wasn't supported by the merchant or manufacturer

You're not alone.

This industry has disappointed and frustrated millions just like yourself.

Why?

Because most home air purifier marketers and manufacturers have no expertise in air purification.

They are taking advantage of market demand by mass producing home air cleaners that simply don't work.

Consider these three prominent examples

What have consumers discovered about the Oreck air purifier?

You can do better than Oreck

"The Oreck XL air purifiers simply don't function as advertised. Poor design, poor manufacturing, poor performance.

The only thing that Oreck does well is marketing.

I have two Oreck XL units, that I have cleaned and maintained per instructions, and they do not (and never have) done anything whatsoever insofar as cleaning particulate matter from the air in my house. A weak fan with a huge price tag."

Complaint posted November 7, 2007 by Eric of Washington, DC on ConsumerAffairs.com - Oreck

Why are ozone machines like Ecoquest Living Air even legal?

Science refutes ozone claims

"These [ozone air purifier] machines are insidious.

Marketed as a strong defense against indoor air pollution, they emit ozone, the same chemical that the ARB and the US EPA have been trying to eliminate from our air for decades.

More chilling is that some people susceptible to the ill effects of ozone will eagerly bring these Trojan horses home."

Barbara Riordan, acting chairperson of the California Air Resources Board, Jan 2005

Sharper Image Ionic Breeze - Well deserved public humiliation

A well deserved Bankruptcy

Consumer Reports in October 2003 revealed that air ionizers do not perform to the same high standards as HEPA filters.

Consumer Reports "failed" the Ionic Breeze and other air ionizers because of their low CADR rating.

Sharper Image sued for product defamation.

The U.S. District Court for Northern California rejected The Sharper Image's complaint because they couldn't prove the statements made by Consumer Reports were false. The Court ordered Sharper Image to pay $525,000 for Consumer Union's legal expenses.

And let us not forget dependence on this product brought financial failure to Sharper Image once the public wasn't hypnotized by it any longer.

Why can't they offer air purifiers that really work?

The air purifier market is unregulated

Nothing stands in their way.

Nothing except an insatiable desire for money.

Nothing but eagerness to use hype and empty promises to sell products that don't clean the air.

Nothing but a bottom line they fatten by manufacturing these so called "air cleaners" as cheaply as possible.

Are All Home Air Purifiers a Waste of Money?

Millions are wasted on poor products

By no means! But protecting yourself against unscrupulous manufacturers and vendors must be your priority.

So, how can you protect yourself and buy an air cleaner that really works?

How can you avoid the costly mistakes so many others have made?

Read on.

The secret to an air purifier that really works is to demand a clear and high standard of performance

How effective is your air purifier?

Is it possible that an air purifier can be effective against your most pressing concerns and more?

• Allergies, Hay Fever, Sinusitis
• Asthma, COPD, Emphysema
• Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
• Colds, Flu, Sinus Infection
• Bacteria and Viruses
• Chemicals, Gases, Odors, VOCs
• Dander, Dust Mites, Pollen
• Smoke
• Mold and Mildew

Many air cleaners are rated to remove some quantity of these pollutants.

But not enough to bring any discernible health benefit.

The most effective air cleaners have a proven ability to deal with these specific health threats:

1. Ultrafine particles including biological agents like bacteria and viruses
2. Chemical contaminants and odors

Why focus primarily on ultrafine particles?

Coarse & fine particles compared to hair

What do we mean by ultrafine particles?

At left is a photo comparing coarse particles and fine particles to the diameter of a human hair.

Researchers categorize particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 to 2.5 microns as PM10 or coarse.

Fine particles, or PM2.5, are those with a diameter roughly 2.5 microns and smaller.

Ultrafine particles are truly microscopic at 0.1 micron and less. These are the most harmful.

Any air purifier capable of removing ultrafine particles is highly effective against larger particles

Typical air purifier effectiveness versus particles

When inhaled, coarse particles usually travel no further than the nose and throat where they cause sinus irritation and allergies.

Many home air cleaners claiming allergy relief only target these.

Unfortunately, these often give little relief because of poor filtration efficiency and inadequate air changes per hour.

Fine particles are more damaging, passing into the lungs and depositing in the alveoli.

Many air cleaners don't come close to trapping PM2.5 fine particles. In fact, the industry AHAM CADR rating doesn't even test for particle removal at this size range and is a gross disservice to consumers.

Ultrafine particles can pass through lung membranes and enter the bloodstream. These are the most toxic of all. These can cause systemic damage, affecting every organ and bodily system.

Typical home air cleaner marketers are unwilling to even mention the need for protection against ultrafine and fine pollutants.

Medical research shows ultrafine particle danger

Whether your exposure to fine and ultrafine particle pollution lasts a few hours, days or years, your health suffers.

Particle pollution diminishes lung function, causes greater use of asthma medications, increased school absenteeism, emergency room visits and hospital admissions.

Medical studies link even short-term increases in particle pollution to:

• Death from respiratory and cardiovascular causes, including strokes 1,2
• Increased numbers of heart attacks among the elderly and people with heart conditions 3
• Inflammation of lung tissue in young, healthy adults 4
• Increased hospitalization for cardiovascular disease 5,6
• Increased emergency room visits for patients with acute respiratory ailments 7
• Increased hospitalization for asthma attacks among children 8,9
• Increased severity of asthma attacks in children 10

Long-term exposure to particle pollution may cause premature births and serious respiratory disorders even when particle levels are very low as well as:

• Shortened life by one to three years. 11
• Slowed lung function growth in children and teenagers 12
• Significant damage to the small airways of the lungs 13
• Increased risk of dying from lung cancer 14
• Increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease 15

What's the bottom line on air purifiers that work?

If you want a home air purifier that really works then you should ignore subjective and deceptive air purifier ratings.

Learn why I highly recommend IQAir

What air cleaner reviews don't tell you is that the vast majority of air cleaners can't remove the most harmful fine and ultrafine particles.

Is the air purifier you're considering able to remove particles smaller than 2.5 micron including ultrafine particles smaller than 0.1 micron?

If not then you're not going to realize the health benefits you need.

But which type of home air purifier should you consider?

Knowing how well different types of air purifiers perform can help you eliminate 95% from consideration, making your job much simpler.

With that in mind I invite you to discover how well these seven types of air purifiers work.

Sources for Air Quality Health Effects

1. Hong, Y.-C., et.al. Effects of Air Pollutants on Acute Stroke Mortality. Environ. Health Perspect. Vol. 110, pp. 187-191, 2002. Return

2. Tsai SS, et.al. Evidence for an Association Between Air Pollution and Daily Stroke Admissions in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Stroke. 2003; 34: 2612-6. Epub 2003 Oct 09. Return

3. D'Ippoliti D, et.al. Air Pollution and Myocardial Infarction in Rome: a case-crossover analysis. Epidemiology 2003;14:528-535. Return

4. Ghio AJ, et.al. Concentrated Ambient Air Particles Induce Mild Pulmonary Inflammation in Healthy Human Volunteers. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2000; 162(3 Pt 1):981-8. Return

5. Metzger KB, et.al. Ambient Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Emergency Department Visits in Atlanta, Georgia, 1993-2000. Epidemiology 2004;15: 46-56. Return

6. Tsai SS, et.al. Evidence for an Association Between Air Pollution and Daily Stroke Admissions in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Stroke. 2003; 34:2612-6. Epub 2003 Oct 09. Return

7. Van Den Eeden SK, et.al. Particulate Air Pollution and Morbidity in the California Central Valley: a high particulate pollution region. Final Report to the California Air Resources Board, Contract 97-303, July 12, 2002. Return

8. Norris G, et.al. An Association Between Fine Particles and Asthma Emergency Department Visits for Children in Seattle. Environ Health Perspect 1999;107:489-493 Return

9. Tolbert PE, et.al. Air Quality and Pediatric Emergency Room Visits for Asthma in Atlanta, Georgia. Am J Epidemiol 2000; 151:798-810. Return

10. Slaughter JC, et.al. Effects of Ambient Air Pollution on Symptom Severity and Medication Use in Children with Asthma. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2003; 91:346-53. Return

11. Pope CA III. Epidemiology of Fine Particulate Air Pollution and Human Health: biological mechanisms and who's at risk? Environ Health Perspect 2000;108: 713-723. Return

12. Gauderman WJ, et.al. The effect of air pollution on lung development from 10 to 18 years of age. NEJM 2004;351:1057-67 Return

13. Churg, A Brauer, et.al. Chronic Exposure to High Levels of Particulate Air Pollution and Small Airway Remodeling. Environ Health Perspect 2003; 111: 714-718. Return

14. Pope CA, et.al. Lung Cancer, Cardiopulmonary Mortality, and Long-Term Exposure to Fine Particulate Air Pollution, JAMA 2002;287:9. Return

15. Pope CA III, et.al. Cardiovascular Mortality and Year-round Exposure to Particulate Air Pollution: epidemiological evidence of general pathophysiological pathways of disease. Circulation. 2004; 109:71-77. Return