Do air purifiers and ionizers serve the same purpose? This is a question that many people have when it comes to improving the air quality in their homes. In this article, we'll explore the differences between air purifiers and ionizers, how they work, and how they can help improve your indoor air quality. Air purifiers are devices that filter out particles from the air, such as dust, pollen, smoke, and other allergens. They use a variety of filters to capture these particles and remove them from circulation.
Air purifiers are effective at removing particles from the air, but they can be expensive and require regular filter changes. Ionizers are devices that use electricity to create negative ions in the air. These negative ions stick to positively charged particles in the room, such as dust, bacteria, pollen, smoke, and other allergens. Positively charged particles and negative ions come together to create dense dirt particles that cannot float in the air.
Ion generators work by charging particles in a room so that they are attracted to walls, floors, tables, curtains, occupants, etc. Abrasion can cause these particles to be resuspended in the air. In some cases, these devices contain a collector to attract charged particles back to the unit. While ion generators can remove small particles (e.g., dust mites), they are not as effective at removing larger particles (e.g., pollen).
Although some have suggested that these devices provide a benefit in rectifying a hypothetical ion imbalance, no controlled study has confirmed this effect. Ozone, a lung irritant, is produced indirectly by ion generators and some other electronic air purifiers and directly by ozone generators. While the indirect production of ozone is a cause for concern, there is even greater concern with the direct and intentional introduction of a lung irritant into indoor air. There is no difference, despite the claims of some vendors, between the ozone present in outdoor smog and the ozone produced by these devices. Under certain conditions of use, ion generators and other ozone-generating air filters can produce levels of this lung irritant well above levels considered harmful to human health. A small percentage of air purifiers that claim to have health benefits may be regulated by the FDA as medical devices.
The Food and Drug Administration has set a limit of 0.05 parts per million of ozone for medical devices. While ozone can be used to reduce odors and pollutants in unoccupied spaces (such as eliminating smoke odors from homes affected by fires), the levels needed to achieve this are above what is generally considered safe for humans. There are now many types of ionizers available that have improved efficiency in reducing allergens in the air and cleaning the air. Because they remove a much smaller range of particles, air ionizers may not be as good at eliminating allergy and asthma triggers. In short, ionizers help eliminate particles that make us sick, such as viruses and bacteria, and air purifiers help eliminate particles that make us sneeze, such as dust and pollen. Whether you have respiratory problems or just want to improve indoor air quality, you may be considering buying an ionizer or an air purifier. For that reason, it's important to weigh the positive impact that an ionizer can have on the level of particulates in the air with any harm it could cause to health by producing ozone. The objective of this study is to investigate in the laboratory the short and long term efficacy of a commercial air ionizer to kill Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (D.).
While air purifiers remove particles from circulation by trapping them, ionizers simply make them heavy enough to fall to the floor, meaning they still need to be cleaned and can be easily altered and reintroduced into the air.
The Debate Between Air Purifiers & Ionizers
We're delving into everything you need to know about the debate between air purifiers and ionizers and how they could help your home. This study demonstrates the increase in dust mite mortality as the exposure time of a commercial ionizer increases and suggests that the negative ions produced by an ionizer kill dust mites and can be used to reduce natural mite populations on exposed surfaces, such as floors, clothes, curtains etc.Conclusion
In conclusion, both air purifiers and ionizers can help improve indoor air quality by removing allergens from circulation.Air purifiers are more effective at removing larger particles such as pollen while ionizers are better at removing smaller particles such as dust mites. However, it's important to consider any potential harm caused by ozone production when using an ionizer.
