One of the questions we get asked most often is: how does an ionizer air purifier work?

Ionizer Air Purifier: Explained

An Ionizer Air Purifier uses technology to clean the air thereby enhancing the quality of the indoor air available. The way it works is that it cleans the surrounding environment by changing the polarity of the air around it. By changing the polarity (generally using high voltage), the air will be negatively charged, and the pollutants within it will also be charged. This charge on the air particles, causes them to bind to a positively charged plate or collector bin. It is always important to keep this plate or collection bin as clean as possible since it is a key component in the process.

It also helps eliminate microbes and other particles by using the electrostatic precipitation process on the particles. This process which does not require a fan to be able to work, has been shown to be more effective in those models that use a fan to pass air through the device.

Ionizer Air Purifier: Drawbacks

While ionizer air purifiers are very good at some things (cleaning up dust and pollen), they don’t do as well in getting rid of odors.

It is generally a good idea to try and figure out what your needs are when looking for an air purifier, as most of the brands out there offer many odels that use some sort of hybrid system that incorporates both an electrostatic component as well as some other carbon-based filter, to achieve the best of both worlds.

An ionizer air purifier is great for keeping your air clean, but not for cleaning out odors. For that, it’s best to use a HEPA or ULPA filter as well. Look for an ionizer air purifier that has a hybrid system, which deliver the best of both worlds.

Some people have claimed that ozone air purifiers are not only inefficient, but could actually be hazardous to your health. While the idea behind the dangers can seem to make sense, we’ll have to go in a bit deeper to figure out if they are right for you.

How do Ozone Air Purifiers work?

An ozone air purifier works by providing a positive charge to air, as it passed through the device. This causes particles in the air to become charged too. There are two ways to handle these charged particles throughout the system. In the first type of system, the air will go through the machine but the charged particles won’t be trapped but rather let go in the environment where they will attach on the first thing they come in contact with. This in turn tells us that you’ll find all of these particulates on your couch, walls, floor, etc. and you’ll have to either dust them away or vacuum them to finally pick them up in a container.

The other, and way more efficient way for an ozone air purifier to work, is to use a collection grid, which is set after the air is ionized, and creates a trap for any particulates that are in the air. One of the greatest advantages of a system such as this one, is that generally the collection grid will be easy to clean, and allows you to use the same grid for a longer amount of time, so it doesn’t require you to purchase refills as often as a HEPA or ULPA based system.

Safety Issues with Ozone Air Purifiers

The debate on the safety of these devices took off a couple of years ago, when Consumer Reports gave the Ionic Breeze (one of the bestselling ozone air purifiers) a low grade because of the amount of ozone that was being released into the room. As with many technologies, they start making improvements after they are released to market. One of the bigger features that most of the ozone air purifiers offer, is the capability to reabsorb ozone, in such a way to neutralize any excessive exposure to Ozone.

Even though this might not be the best answer, the idea is for you to do your research thoroughly on any model you are thinking of getting. Our experience with ozone air purifiers was a good one, we particularly liked the fact that it neutralizes any unwanted odors in a matter of a minute or two in a regular sized room.

An ionic air purifier has been advertised as many things, some of which are true, and some are more marketing claims than the real deal. There are certain characteristics that an ionic air purifier can take advantage of that really sets them apart in today’s market. First of all, the machine is quiet. This is because for the most part, ionic air purifiers have very few moving parts, since most of the heavy lifting is done by electrostatically charging ions to make the particles in the air bind to the ions, thereby capturing them and cleaning the air.

The Truth About Ionic Air Purifiers

Some marketers out there, have stated that their different products, particularly this sort of technology is responsible for doing many things in a different way than the traditional (mechanical) way of purifying air. In this case this is one of those situations where using the correct air purifier technology, can provide you with many of the benefits associated with cleaner air, without any of the setbacks of other technologies.

Ionic air purifiers have quickly become a leading standard in the industry because of all the advantages it can offer right out of the box.

Ionic Air Purifier Advantages

• Quiet: One of the best features for a system like this is the fact that it’s quiet operation allows you to keep doing what you’re doing without any buzzing sounds disturbing you.
• Compact: Since there are fewer moving parts in these sort of devices, they have become light weight and convenient to have around the home/office. You don’t want an air purifier making noises in your living room or bedroom. Believe me.
• Energy Efficient: Another one of the great benefits of using ionic air purifiers is that since it doesn’t require any moving parts, it can consume a lot less energy and you can keep it on all the time you’re in one place. This is key particularly in certain areas where energy cost concerns can be an issue.

Should I get an Ionic Air Purifier

These devices have a lot going for them. The advantages to having one can’t really be measured by any other benchmark than it will clean the air of the room you set it in. The best part of all is that once you have them running for a while, you can check the collection bins and see everything it’s trapped!. If you’re like me, you’ll start opening them up from the get go, and you’ll see all sort of particles that would otherwise be going through your lungs.

In the end, it’s always better to use something to clean the air around us, since we have little idea of what kind of particles could be out there that have the capability of harming us. By using an ionic air purifier, we can leverage technology and health in one small device, that allows us to breathe pure air.

An air purifier is a device designed to actively remove pollutants and particles from the air, improving it’s quality. These devices are generally used by allergy and asthma sufferers, as well as getting rid of other particulates such as cigarette smoke. Some airborne contaminants are impossible to prevent, particularly pet dander, pollen and others. This makes it indispensable to treat air so that these contaminants don’t have any detrimental health effects on us.

Air Purifier Technology: Key facts

As technology has advanced, air purifiers have become cheaper and more efficient at what they do. As they are able to absorb more and more particles by using less energy, these purifiers have become both more affordable and at the same time, they do what they’re supposed to do even better than they did before. Poor air quality has been linked to some types of cancer, respiratory diseases, lung infections and other ailments. Recently it has truly become affordable for anyone to have an air purifier where they spend most of their time.

Air Purifier Types in the Market

Particle Removal Technology

• Electrostatic: Using a statically charged filter, air goes through the system and any particles that become electrostatically charged, gets bound to the filter.
• Mechanical:Starts working faster, but tends to use more energy to filter out the particles.
• Ionic: This type of filter generates negatively charged ions that bind to dust and grime and remove them from the environment. This has been a type of process where technology has improved the most over the past few years.
• Hybrid: Uses a combination of the previously discussed technologies to try to capitalize on the best of each while compensating for any shortcomings.

Air Purifier Filter Technologies

• HEPA: Which stands for High-Efficiency Particulate Air, is a type of air filter that has been proven to remove 99.97% of particles (down to a size of 0.3 microns). This is useful for most conditions (especially for those who are allergic).
• ULPA: Ultra-Low Penetration air, is the ultimate requirement for filter technologies. To be certified as ULPA a filter must remove 99.999% of contaminants with a size of 0.12 micron or larger.
• Active Carbon or Charcoal: Used to remove gas contaminants, usually cheaper than previously discussed technologies, but generally improve the efficiency of the filters. You will see them coupled with a HEPA or ULPA filter to achieve maximum perfomance.

All in all, when choosing an air purifier you should look at what they offer and compare in several websites to make sure you are receiving an air purifier that’s proven to work, especially within your room dimensions and for the specific use you’re looking for. We hope that this information has shed some light on this topic and will enable you to make a better decision on your air purifier.