Ionic Breeze - Do they work?
 

Recently, I have been getting bad allergies which aggravated my asthma and has been virtually non-existent for the past couple of years. So I was thinking of getting one of these Ionic Breeze Air Purifiers help deal with the problem. I know there are medicines like clartin and allegra out there, but they don't really help me out. Trust me I’ve tried. And it is suppose to help with the dust, which for some reason is really bad in San Diego.

I was wondering if you had one what you thought of it; problems, how well it worked, if it was worth the money, etc... I have done some research on it, but I really can't find any non-biased comments online. Any help you can give me would really be appreciated!

My young neighbor has one and it works really well for him. He has moderate asthma and we live in a place with very poor air quality. And having asthma myself, I am inclined to think that it would be worth a shot.

One of my buddies, who also lives in San Diego, swears by the Ionic Breeze. I know he smokes lots of pot in his small condo, and when I come over I never smell it. What's more, we have smoked cigars in his living room on a few occasions, and the smell did not linger at all.

I don't know how it is with asthma, but for odors it seems to be pretty damn good.

There's some more information over in the thread Air Ionizers in the Knowledge forum. I have a post in there which warns against the use of these with dry-erase markers or pine scented sprays.

Thanks all for your input! I went on eBay and found a "like" new model from Sharper Image for 125 bucks! I'll let you know how it works out.

Yes, let us know, I'm interested in the ionic breeze.

yea in the beginning of summer my allergies were real bad i turned on my ionic breeze in my room and closed the door and let it run all day when i went in there it was like perfect! no allergies at all

ive heard that they make ozone which isnt very good for ya in the long run... but other then that i havnt heard anything bad about them...

ive thought about getting one for my dorm room... lubbock is sooo dusty...

I didn't realize that so many of these were available on ebay for cheaper prices, although they are refurbs. Makes me even more interested...

I took the risk of buying a refurb because if it breaks or isn't in good condition when I get it, I can return it to their outlet store down the freeway from me. It saved me 200 bucks so I felt it was worth a shot.

I LOVE ionic air fresheners! My Mother has athsma so we used to have one in almost every room and the air always smelled perfectly fresh and clean, like after a rainstorm but without the icky sulpherous smell.

The only thing is, they tend to stop working after a while. If you buy it used, you want to check it out first. If the collection grid isn't getting good and dirty, you've been had.

in my dorm we have no AC... so in the warmer months we have the windows open... and lubbocks pretty dusty... i wonder if this thing would make much of a difference... i would think it would basically be fighting a losing battle...

I have been cautioned about using ionizing air purifiers around those with respiratory conditions (Asthma, Allergies, Bronco-pulmonary Displysia, etc...) since the ionizing process produces Ozone.

They do work at eliminating odors and cleaning air, but the ozone by-product of the ionization process is potentially harmful. The warnings are from various neonatologists and Respiratory Therapists. Plus I have read things to this effect when researching air purifiers. The ozone produced is likely not very potent at such minute levels, but in my case it's much easier to substitute then to risk it.

I've got me a little miracle with respiratory problems and I am by passing the ionizer type purifiers and going for a straight hepa air mover. Also adding high quality air filters to my HVAC system at home.

-bear

HEPA is amazing! I recently bought a vacuum with a HEPA filter on it, and the difference it's made in the odor of my apartment is quite impressive.

The first time I vacuumed with it, I sprinkled some Carpet Fresh around as usual, and after I vacuumed I couldn't smell it at all. The vacuum sucked it all up and the filter didn't let ANY of it back out!

According to Consumer Reports, they don't work. No idea how that relates to actual usage, but that's what I heard.

It came today, and it smells cleaner. But only time will tell if it really works. I will let you know how I feel in a few days.

I have one for my bedroom. Works like a charm. It has my stamp of approval.

I'll sample here from the CR report:

I bought an ionic breeze from sharper image. It broke with in a month (the fan wouldnt run anymore). I sent it back and the new one was a refurbished modle that was also broken.

Sharper Image (-1)

Although i was impressed with the customer service i got.

I have an Ionic Breeze GP. The clean smell coming out from it is the ozone. The ozone issue has caused me some concern but supposedly it is too small to worry about.

Ever since I've had the thing, there seems to be less dust accumulating in my room. Also I used to wake up with nose and eye boogers and now I seem to have those less frequently..

As far as them breaking.. I went out and bought a 2 year old unit from some guy for $200.. I brought it in with no receipt and they handed me a new one in the box..

Ok it has been about 4 days since I have owned it and here are my impressions.
The amount of crap this thing has collected is discusting, I'll show pictures when I have chance to get my web site back up. My room now smells like the air when you have not been in your house for a week and the air is stagnant. The smell isn't overpowering and very suttle, but is noticable. And the biggest difference waking up in the morning, no headaches and I can breathe better, not perfect but better. The only thing that bugs me is the blue light, it is so damn bright at night. For the amount I have spent it does the job.

Turn the GP off and the blue light goes away.. I use mine without the GP anyway..

Or just put a piece of tape over it. I do that on one of my computers that has a crazy-bright blue LED.

So are you syaing the smell is a good thing or a bad thing?

Duct tape...1 million uses and counting!

I think it is a good thing, it just smells so clean to me. However there are those who might disagree. I was just describing it for those ever thinking about getting one...

hmm intersting

i think i might pick onme up myself, if these things work like you say :)
my bedroom is pretty dusty

I have one and it has done wonders for my allergies. Best of all is how clean it makes your house smell :)

UPDATE: So I have this thing a month and half, it really has done wonders for my allergies and reduced the dust. Not to mention I have a roommate that smokes and will filter that smokey smell from his clothes. Except today it makes the loudest noises ever. This was a risk I read about and I knew what I was getting into. Am I suprised that this happen? No, not really with my XBOX going crazy this week it is just another thing to break. Anyways, for people that own an Ionic Breeze, is there anyway to make this thing quite again or do I need to exchange it? And yes I have been cleaning it weekly.

Clean it with water really good, and with the filter out turn it upside down.

Theres a way to clean it by shaking it up and down about 15 times. Make sure you unplug it and you will hear something sliding back and forth. Or you can just bring it back and they will give you a new one.

Give it a good cleaning with some water...(the blades not the housing unit) and shake that thing upside down a few times. It usually will do the trick.
I have noticed that in the past month, that instead of cleaning my Ionic Breeze every week (for the past 2 years or so) I only have to clean it once a month. I hope nothing is wrong with it. It still seems to be working.

Also, I noticed that you all said you can just trade it in.....I have one of the mini bathroom ones that just stopped working (about a year ago), I have no receipt but would like to try and trade it in for a newer one...you think its worth a go?

I've had 2 bathroom ones and neither ever worked. They both ended up being a nightlight. However you can pretty much walk in there and get one of those for free.

They are really flexible on the return policy, probably because the profit they are making on them is insane. I violently shook the thing and it started working fine again, so for now I don't have to return it.

Mine works great but is a b*3#* to clean

When I lived in an apartment I bought one of these because the upstairs neighbors (4 of them) smoked virtually ALL DAY LONG. It came through the plumbing (crazy but true) and just stunk my place up something fierce. The Ionic Breeze took the cigarette smell right out of the air. There was a faint smell of ozone (the smell you notice after a lightning strike) but it's not that bad.

All in all I like it. I like it better not living in that apartment but that's a story for another thread. ;)

EDIT: FYI -- You have to turn it off if you're going to burn candles. The oil from the candles will just gum up the filter element in the breeze.

Alot of them are just kind of sit there and filter. I would reccomend the one by Oric(sp). The vaccuum company, it pulls the air in and has a washable filter, it as well looks more like a piece of stereo equipment than a CD stand. Not to mention you can try it free, they cover the shipping as well.

I have a big one and a little one for the bathroom...all I can say is when the little red light goes off on the big one, that means it is ready to clean off and when I pull the thing out there's dust attached ALL OVER it...it may not get as much dust and stuff as advertised BUT the amount of stuff that it DOES get is all the less stuff that's not floating around in my room (<--did I say that right?)...

Hmmm...this reminds me...I think it's time to clean it...

- Undercover_Man

i am thinking about asking for this for christmas...

Ionic Breeze's don't have fans. It's purely through electricity that it attracts the airborne particles.

When I was younger I had one in my room, my parents room, the living room and the small ones for the bathroom.

They did -not- work. They do pick up dust and you can see that when you clean it up, but from the use that I've had with it I didn't find any serious help to my allergies.

If you really want to help your allergies go see an allergist specifically for that and they'll eventually fix you up.

I've got one that I haven't used in a while because it started buzzing alot, even with repeated cleanings of the metal vanes. I'll give the vigorous shaking a try and see how it fares. I've got some super flatulent friends and getting any sort of odor relief would be a welcome change.