Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Before You Buy Compare Air Purifiers & Know the Dangers!

Just to level set here, when I talk about the best ionic air purifiers, I'm specifically talking about ozone air purifiers for residential use. While the nature of what I'm saying may apply to air purifiers , in general (i.e., the commercial variety) as well, I do not know as much about the commercial variety.

First of all, it is my belief that EVERYONE should have some form of best ionic air purifiers in their home. Why? Well, there are a number of ailments/medical conditions which can benefit from cleaner air:
  • Asthma
  • Allergies
  • Eye Irritation
  • Emphysema
Not to mention the possible prevention of some of these and other ailments:
  • Bacterial Infections (air borne)
  • Other illnesses caused by microorganisms
This is all fine and good, but the ozone air purifiers should not be used in occupied areas or, better yet, not at all! Why? The reason is found in the way they attract airborne contaminates. These purifiers actually produce the gas ozone... yes the same gas you've heard about over the past few years which has single-handedly caused global warming! The manufacturers of these devices meant well though.
Ozone gas is actually extremely effective in "cleaning air". The gas will actually react chemically with the contaminates in the air to kill micro-organisms and pull other contaminates out of the air.
The problem is that the ozone gas itself is actually harmful, not just to our environments, but to us directly as well. Why? Because the same way ozone can react with organic material in the air, it can also react chemiclly with organic material within us! At low levels of exposure, ozone will irritate your respiratory system. This will lead to such symptoms as coughing, sore throat and even pain. Continued exposure will further reduce/jeopardize your lung functioning. This could lead to difficulty breathing, increased susceptibility to infections and even permanent lung damage. Right! So you maybe your home smells better and has fewer organisms floating through the air, but you can barely breathe the new fresher air and you may now have emphysema!?
That's not quite a trade off I'm willing to make.... How about you?
Let me hear your thoughts.