Air ionizers are quite useful in a complementary air cleaning role

What have the Oreck XL Professional, Ionic Breeze, and Biozone air purifiers all in common? Yes, you guessed it right, they all have an air ionizer included to complement other air cleaning technologies in these air purifiers.
Air ionizers are a popular product, and can be purchased for as little as $20. There are even car ionizers on the market nowadays.

But how do air ionizers work, and are they any good? Let’s find out.

Air ionizers, also called negative ion generators or negative ionizers, have been around for a long time - in the early 60’s many units were pulled of the market because all sorts of health benefits were claimed that could not be backed up.

Since then they have made a comeback, and are now recognized as being effective at removing small particles from the air, for example those in cigarette smoke, and freshening the air.

According to the EPA, air ionizers do not remove gases or odors, and may be relatively ineffective in removing large particles such as pollen and house dust allergens.

There are studies that suggest otherwise however, here’s a sample:

• US Department of Agriculture - ionizing a room led to 52% less dust in the air, and 95% less bacteria in the air.
• Good Housekeeping Magazine – in a smoke test with an ionizer it was found that it cleared out the smoke in a tank.
• Journal of Hygiene - ionization reduced bacterial levels in burns and plastic surgery units by over 96% after a two week period.
• Journal of Applied Microbiology - the use of negative ions was found to reduce the presence of airborne viruses by about 40%.

Some claims have also been made that negative ions rectify an ion imbalance that is supposed to be present in city life, and act as a mood enhancer Unfortunately there are no controlled studies that can confirm or deny this, so any evidence is anecdotal.

Air ionizers give oxygen molecules an extra electron, which leaves them with a negative charge – a negative ion. These ions attach themselves to positively charged airborne particulates such as dust, pollen, smoke, and dander, forming larger particles that ultimately prove to be too heavy and fall to the ground, where they are removed as part of the normal cleaning activities, such as dusting or vacuuming.

The ions can be generated by high voltage electricity run through metal needles, or as a by-product of UV lamps or a corona ozone generator. The latter is definitely not recommended, as this method produces ozone levels that are way too high, and other harmful chemicals as well.

So are air ionizers any good? We think that by themselves they are not as effective as often is claimed.

But when used as a complementary method to remove very small particulates, and to freshen the air, then air ionizers definitely have a useful role to play.

For more information on related products, please choose from the following:

Electrical / Ionic Air Purifiers | Ozone Air Purifiers | Whole House Purifiers