What is Ionizer Air Purifier: Function, Feature, Benefits, and Side Effect
What is Ionizer Air Purifier?
If you care about how to improve your indoor air quality, you may know about ionizers. An ionizer air purifier is a kind of air filtration system that uses special technology to enhance the quality of the air within buildings without employing filters. They also are called names such as “ion air purifiers,” “negative ion air purifiers,” “air ionizers”,…According to the EPA, the device helps reduce particles like small dust, tobacco smoke, and pet dander in our homes.
While Ionizers have the potential to enhance indoor air quality, they may also have drawbacks. We’ll look at the functions of ionizers in this blog, as well as their advantages and disadvantages.
How Does an Ionizer Air Purifier Work?
Ionizer air purifiers work by emitting negatively charged ions into the surrounding air. These ions, also known as “anions,” are created within the purifier and then released into your indoor environment.
Once these ions are in the air, they perform a critical role in the purification process. Specifically, ions cling to airborne contaminants, including small dust and other pollutants. Next, ions charge these particles so that they are attracted to walls, floors, tabletops, draperies, occupants, etc. However, abrasion can cause these particles to be resuspended in the air. So, these devices may be equipped with a collector to attract charged particles back to the unit.
Thanks to the amount of dangerous contaminants decreases, indoor air quality increases, making our breathing easier.
Ionizer Air Purifier: Benefits and Disadvantages
This section gives you all the information you need about the advantages and disadvantages of ionizing air purifiers. Let’s read!
Advantages of ionizer air purifiers
We can list the notable benefits of ionizing air purifiers as follows:
Eliminating particles and killing microorganisms
Ionizer air purifier appears to be highly effective at eliminating small particles like smog and tobacco smoke, which are between 0.01 and 0.1 µm/microns in size. Not only that, according to J Prev Med Hyg, ionizers have the ability to kill bacteria, fungi, and mold. It alternatively can prevent the growth of viruses, as stated by Int J Mol Sci.
Low maintenance
Another standout feature of ionizer air purifiers is their low maintenance requirements. Unlike some air purifiers that rely on filters needing regular replacement, ionizers do not have this ongoing cost. This makes them a budget-friendly option for us in the long run.
Quiet operation
Ionizer air purifiers are known for their quiet operation. If you prefer a peaceful environment without the constant hum of a loud machine, an ionizer can provide effective air purification without disrupting your peace. Without noise, this device will become ideal for our deep sleep.
Energy efficiency
Ionizer air purifiers are energy-efficient devices. They consume minimal power while effectively improving your indoor air quality. This not only reduces your energy bills but also contributes to a greener and more eco-friendly home.
Downsides of ionizer air purifiers
Besides the great benefits, ionizing air purifiers still have disadvantages that you need to keep in mind:
Ineffectiveness in removing large particles
According to EPA, ionizers are unable to effectively remove large particles such as dust, pollen, and other allergens that can trigger asthma and allergies. These larger particles are heavier and tend to settle on surfaces rather than being easily captured by the ions. As a result, ionizers may not provide adequate relief for individuals with asthma or allergies triggered by these larger particles.
Make your home more dusty
With its rather specialized operating principle, we can see that ionizer air purifiers cannot completely remove particles from the air. As mentioned above, after particles in the air are charged and react with negative ions, they will scatter throughout your house, sticking to walls, floors, etc. Not to mention, if you do not promptly clean up the settled particles when you move around the house, these particles can fly back into the air. Consequently, you will breathe them back into your lungs. It’s directly threatening your respiratory system.
This became a major drawback for ionizing air purifiers and even led to a lawsuit between Consumer Reports and Sharper Image.
Safety concerns
Many people consider: “Is it safe to use an ionizer air purifier?”. The answer is ionizer air purifier is not safe in some cases.
A study conducted by researchers at Illinois Tech, Portland State University, and Colorado State University found that certain ion-generating air purifiers produced harmful byproducts such as formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These byproducts can be detrimental to indoor air quality and pose health risks.
Ozone emission
One possible side effect of some ionizer air purifiers is ozone emission. Although small amounts of ozone can aid in the reduction of airborne pollutants, prolonged exposure can be detrimental, particularly to those who have respiratory disorders.
Ionizer vs Traditional Air Purifier: Is There Any Difference?
Are you puzzled by the terms “ionizer” and “air purifier”? Do you wonder if it refers to the same thing or if there’s a notable difference between air purifier and ionizer? In this section we’ll demystify to help you make an informed choice for cleaner indoor air.
Similarities between traditional air purifiers and ionizers
Looking from the inside out, we can see some similarities things of the two devices below:
- Appearance: Air purifiers and ionizers appear to have a lot in common. Both are frequently portable, cylinder or box-like devices with buttons or dials and air vents.
- Function: In general, they serve the same purpose: cleaning the air by eliminating allergies and contaminants. They can both remove particles a thousand times smaller than a millimeter, but their methods are fundamentally different.
Differences between air purifiers and ionizers
Let’s delve into the differences between these two air quality-improving technologies:
| Ionizers air purifier | Tradional air purifier | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating principle | It uses negatively charged ions to attract and neutralize positively charged pollutants in the air | It uses filters to trap and remove pollutants from the air. |
| The particles it removes | Dust, pollen, smoke, pet dander, bacteria, viruses | Remove dust, pollen, smoke, pet dander, mold spores, bacteria, viruses, and other airborne particles |
| Effectiveness | Very effective at removing airborne pollutants | Less effective at removing airborne pollutants, but can help to reduce bacteria and viruses |
| Special users | People who have stress, sadness, pressure, or seasonal affective disorder ( according to SAD) | People with asthma, hay fever, and pet allergies can benefit from air purifiers. |
| Maintenance | Low maintenance, typically only need to clean the electrodes | Requires regular filter replacement |
| Safety | Less expensive than air purifiers | Generally safe |
It should also be added that there are air purifiers equipped with an ionization feature. So, an air purifier can be an ionizer, but an ionizer is not necessarily an air purifier.
Tips to Choose a Good Ionizer Air Purifier
To choose an ionizer that suits your needs, you should consider the following factors:
Ozone emission check
As we know, some kinds of ionizer air purifiers can emit ozone gas. So we must select an ionizer that complies with regulatory bodies’ established limits on ozone concentration to guarantee our safety. However, the best is to buy the devices that its package claims do not emit ozone gas in the activity process.
You can check if your ionizer emits ozone or not in some ways below:
- Directly contact manufacturers to ask
- Check the manual or product specifications about ozone. It may be printed on the product’s packaging.
- Referencing customers’ testimonials on the internet
Look at the desired features of your ionizer
You can consider ionizer with some of the following actions:
- Determine if energy savings are necessary and if you require a low-noise or high-flow ionizer.
- Reflect on whether zero-volt technology is a must-have.
- Make two lists: one for the features you absolutely must have and another for features you want.
Consider your budget
Evaluating how much money you can allocate to your ionizer solutions is important. Additionally, consider your return on investment and estimate the potential long-term cost savings.
We see that creating a budget should be closely tied to the previous considerations. The reason is that you may need to make compromises on certain features to align with your budgetary constraints.
Volume of noise
Last but not least, consider the noise levels of the ionizer air purifier you select if you value a calm environment. Despite their reputation for being silent, some ionizer models can create faint background noise. So, we can base it on the user reviews to understand how noisy the device is in actual use.
Conclusion
We utilize ionizer air purifiers to enhance indoor air quality and eliminate tiny airborne particles. However, aside from the benefits, these devices have disadvantages. Thus, if you’re considering using an ionizer, make sure you’ve done your research. You also must follow the instructions when using an ionizer purifier or any other device of a similar nature, even taking advice from a professional.
In the end, through this blog, we hope you are all clear about: “What is ionizer air purifier?” as well as can make the right choice when buying an air purifier that fits your needs.
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