If you’re wondering “What is an ionizer air purifier?”, you have come to the right place. Take a look at our article for some mind-blowing news about this device!
Most of the time ionizer purifiers are well-known for their compact construction and effective performance to trap and filter out various harmful air molecules. Nonetheless, they are also blamed to emit ozone – a dangerous byproduct that possibly causes respiratory issues, allergies, and asthma.
So, what is the truth behind the air ionizer air purifiers? Are they contributing to our world, or are they just deteriorating it? Keep reading as we will give you a comprehensive and unbiased answer right below.
What Is An Ionizer Air Purifier?
Simply saying, an ionizer air purifier is a machine using the electronic ionizer rather than the standard True HEPA filter.
It means the purifier will not capture particles or dirt with the physical filter. Instead, the machine runs on high-voltage electrically charge principle to emit negatively charged ions into the air. In the ionizing air, these ions will chemically latch on to the positively charged particle, increasing their size and have them fall off the ground or other surfaces for later cleaning.
Thus, you can expect the bacteria, molds, pollen, dust, cigarette smoke, or other home air pollutants allergens to stop floating in the air. Thus, you will no longer intake them into your body. Sound too good to improve indoor air quality?
Is an Ionizer Air Purifier Safe?
A whole lot of people view this ionizer stuff as threats due to the bad effects that they bring. Still, As long as you go for reliable branded ionization machines, then – Yes, you have to get one!
Potential Ionizer Benefits
We confirm that the charged ions released by the ionic air cleaners are not something that can get in our lungs through the normal breathing way. Thus, they will cause no harm.
What leads to the arguments on the ionizer is that it produces ozone besides the negatively charged particles. However, if the amount does not exceed the California Air Resources Board (CARB) standards, then you can have nothing to worry about the bad health effects and enjoy the filtered air environment. Specifically, the acceptable limit is less than 0.05 ppm.
Plus, if you want to use this type of machine, make sure you have not suffered from any side effects against ozone before.
Besides, some consumers believe that negative ions are helpful for your family’s health because these come in abundance in the natural air while the positive ions do not. Even though this information is not officially demonstrated, some science facts have backed it up. Not to mention, it is still a very interesting thing to know.
Not only are the air purifiers and ionizers health-friendly, but they are also reasonably affordable in terms of cost. Accordingly, the devices themselves are often less expensive than the HEPA purifiers. They also require neither the filters or frequent maintenance/replacement, which significantly puts less pressure on your budget. Furthermore, the charged collection plates are washable and reusable for a long time.
Possible air ionizers dangerous disadvantages
The over ozone generators, if any, is the biggest problem. Thus, you must always check the certified CARB carefully.
Besides, using the ionic air fresheners means you should clean the rooms daily. The pollutants and dust are weighed down and landed on the floor and other surfaces. So, if you do not do away with them in time, health issues are sure to come.
Also, we normally recommend the tools for small to medium rooms because the average coverage area is around 600 sq feet and less. Only high-end ionizers can cover 2000 sq feet. Moreover, the air cleaners ionizer models are not very useful when it comes to removing odors.
Another drawback is that these machines do not come in many designs. Some might not concern this much, but modern air purifier brands can add extra beauty to your home.
Pros:
- Reasonably good price ranges
- Effective and portable air purifiers capacity
- Safe to your family
- Fewer maintenance efforts
- Noise-free operation
- Possibly combined with HEPA filters
Cons:
- Narrow-to-moderate coverage area
- Lack of designs and advanced features
How Does an Ionizer Air Purifier Work?
Does this picture provide a clearer insight into how the ionizer air purifier works?
In general, when being turned on, the ionizers will release the electrons to form balanced ions with the floating particles in the air. Such a combination weighs down the dust, pollen, and even bacteria and sends them all on the floor. And we are going to say that again. You should clean up your place daily with a vacuum cleaner to remove all those unwanted things.
Now, let’s talk about the types. Specifically, the ionic air purifier products are divided into two main categories, in which air ionization can be a bit different.
Electrostatic precipitators
The precipitators make use of the electrostatic force to collect airborne particles (dust mites, pollens, and others) between the collecting plates. There, the trapped particles in the positive charge ionic air are charged and attached to the oppositely-charged plates.
For better performance, some ionizing air purifiers come with multiple plates to filter out even smoke and gas streams from a burner or a furnace.
The clean and fresh air flows through, then.
When it comes to cleaning, you just need to take the plates out and remove the collected particles in an environmentally-friendly manner.
Excitingly enough, the electrostatic precipitator air purifiers are common in industrial applications because they can trap a mass of solid pollutants with commercial air precipitators.
But keep this in mind, because of the high capacity, the purifiers might produce higher ozone levels.
Ion Generators
Without the collecting plates like the electrostatic precipitators, the ion generators are created by corona discharge or UV light. Then, the negative ion generators are given off into the room and in contact with the dirty particles.
The ion generator air purifier often goes along with some advanced filters like the ultraviolet light, activated oxygen and activated carbon filters, or evaporative cooler tools to filter out chemicals, pet dander, pet hair, and smokes.
What Is The Difference between an Air Purifier and Ionizer?
This is a commonly-asked question, which has already been answered by various experts. Take the video from Home Air Quality Guides above as an example.
In case you are in a hurry and do not have time to check out the video, let us shorten some main points for you (Disclaimer: The ionizer is also a type of air purifier itself. Here we make a comparison between the standard HEPA purifiers vs ionizers.)
Technologies: Filters or not
As we mentioned earlier, the ionizer features no filters – except for the fact that it works with additional filters in a more complicated unit.
Meanwhile, HEPA purifiers do grab and sort dirty particles through multiple tightly-woven filters. The problem is, those filters lose their capacity over time, allowing the troublesome pollutants to introduce themselves back to the air. Thus, you need to clean and even replace the filters when the time comes.
Airflow output and cleaning process
With a HEPA air purifier in its good condition, the clean air is pushed back into the room right after the air filtration process. The dirt is left inside the machine.
However, the ionizer only causes the harmful particles to land on the ground or the surfaces of your belongings. Some are stored in the collecting plates. It means the pollutants will mostly reside in the room until you do a thorough cleaning or vacuum them up.
Additional costs
The ionizer air purifier is budget-friendly. It does not even require accessories or frequent replacement.
In contrast, parts of the HEPA purifiers need to change periodically. The annual replacement of filters might cost $50 on average. Hence, be considerate of your budget.
Conclusion
Not only have we answered the question “what is an ionizer air purifier?”, but we also provide useful knowledge about this type of cleaner air tools to help you make the right choice. We hope the blog is helpful and can become your reference to buy an air purifiers ionizer.
To come to an end, both ionizer and the normal HEPA purifier have pros and cons. However, you can use both, side by side, to improve the overall air purification process and the air quality.
Source: https://rkm.com.au/AIR/air.html
https://www.duraflowindustries.com/do-hepa-filters-really-work
