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

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...

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.

Have you ever seen an efficiency rating in any ionic air purifier review?

Of course not, because even the best electrostatic air cleaner is only about 80% efficient regardless of particle size. The majority of ionic air purifiers fail to achieve even 80% efficiency.

Another inconvenient fact for those who want to compare electronic air purifiers to HEPA air purifiers is that HEPA filters do not act like sieves

HEPA filters do not strain out particles down to 0.3 micron and let everything else pass. Why not? Because of an effect called Brownian diffusion.

Particles smaller than 0.3 micron become influenced by the jostling of air molecules to such an extent that they cannot keep a steady course.

Instead they move randomly. Thus they are unable to pass through the HEPA filter despite being smaller than the gaps between the media fibers.

The result is that particles smaller than 0.3 micron are filtered at an greater than 99.97% efficiency. Quite simply, the stated HEPA filter efficiency isn't expressing the best that it can perform, but its worst case performance.

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 an electronic air purifier collector plates attract ionized particles to the plates like a magnet. As the plates load up with pollutants the strength of the electrostatic charge weakens, reducing efficiency.

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

Failure to perform regular maintenance cleaning permanently degrades electronic air cleaner performance. Collection plates that aren't cleaned of their accumulated pollutants tend to cook them into their surface, for lack of a better way of putting it.

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. Likewise, corrosion of the needlepoint ionizers or ionizing wire will also reduce cleaning effectiveness.

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".

Corrosion and oxidation of essential components, not to mention failure of electronic components in the charging system consigns many an electrostatic air purifier to early death.

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 ineffective for large areas

The need for ionized particles to spend sufficient time in an electronic air cleaner to be deflected onto the collection plates means air speed must be low. Thus, ionic air purifiers often use no fan or a very low speed fan.

Low air flow means little air volume handled by the unit and significant limitations on the size of the area that can be cleaned. You must buy several units to achieve the coverage of a single HEPA air purifier.

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 and was priced at $299. The 3M Ultra Clean air purifier, has a CADR rating about 13 times greater than the Ionic Breeze yet costs only $199.

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

Odors and gaseous pollutants do not respond to ionic air cleaners.

So if you are concerned at all about chemical toxins, mold mycotoxins, volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, the 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

Every electronic air purifier produces 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.

It also damages cells within your airway, causing breathing difficulties, chest tightness and asthma attacks. Children, the elderly and others with respiratory ailments are especially susceptible.

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

Testing often shows that high priced models may perform no better or even worse than cheaper ones.

Quality of materials and construction, durability, and effectiveness do not seem to play a consistent role in pricing.

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.

Bottom Line: Ionic air cleaners are arbitrarily priced without regard to quality.

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.