If you have been looking for an air purifier for your home or your office, you would have definitely come across something called the ionizer in your research. Other than air purifiers, these also tend to be a very common feature in swamp coolers, heaters, air circulators, and more.
Have you ever wondered what does an ionizer do? What exactly is it, and how does it benefit you? Ionizers, with regards to air purifiers, need to be thoroughly understood before you settle on it. Since we are experts in this field, we have decided to give you a detailed article on this subject.
With that said, we’re humans first, just like you, and we understand how much of a problem asthma and airborne allergies can be. Let’s put an end to this misery right away and talk about the ionizer in detail.
What Is an Ionizer?
The air ionizer, which is also referred to as an ionic generator or ionic filter, is one of the popular air filter options that are used in air purifiers today. Rather than using a fan to suck all the contaminants from the air into a physical air filter, a standalone air ionizer will use electricity to emit a cloud of negative ions, also called anions, to charge the air molecules electrically.
These charged ions will then attach themselves to particles of mold, dust, pet dander, pollen, and other kinds of irritants and allergens present in the air. That will charge the particle so that they can attach to one another, making them much larger in size and even heavier, which will make them settle faster.
This will also make these particles cling more to surfaces, such as floors, walls, and even furniture. What all of this ultimately does is that there will be fewer particles that are left in the air to drift around and for us to inhale.
When trying to understand how ionic air purifiers work, it is important to note that the air ionizer will not capture the particles and eliminate them from your house. These particles that have been charged by ions will continue to grow and spread. The particles that end up clinging to various surfaces can again be stirred up by dusting, vacuuming, or other common household activities.
Examples of Certain Particle’s Sizes
It is important to note that in a True HEPA filter capable of dealing with roughly 99.97% of all the particles down to a 0.3-micron size, the ionizer will be able to reduce the size of all the allergens to something as minute as 0.1-micron.
For those unaware, microns are basically one-millionth of a meter, and this is what is used to measure the particles. As humans, we are incapable of visualizing anything that measures lesser than 10 microns.
To give you some examples of particle sizes of certain particles, the particle size for atmospheric dust can range anywhere between 0.001 to 40 microns, cement dust can be between three to 100 microns, dust mites tend to be between 100 to 300 microns, and household dust ranges between 0.05 and 100 microns
Pet dander is measured between 0.5 and 100, smoke ranges between 0.01 and 0.1 microns, whereas tobacco smoke ranges between 0.01 and 4 microns.
Different Types of Ionizers
There isn’t just one type of ionizer. Both fan-based and fan-less ionizers tend to offer a certain amount of relief from some pollutants. Fan-based ionizers basically rely on a fan built inside or outside the unit to spread the ions into the atmosphere.
The downside to having fans is that they tend to produce a higher level of noise in most units, and these systems often tend to consume more energy than their fan-less counterparts.
Fan-less units are capable of distributing ions much more slowly and, therefore, will take much longer to clear the contaminants in the air. With that said, since there is no fan, there is very little noise that gets created. It also consumes lesser energy than the models that come with an in-built fan.
Uses of Ionizers
As a user, you will be able to choose from either room-based or whole-house ionizers. If you are opting for a whole-house unit, this will work alongside your home’s central heating and cooling system by sending the charged ions through HVAC ducts.
With room-based options, the unit will sit on the floor in a single room, just like how you would place a space heater. The North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District claims that the central ionizer tends to work far more effectively than the ones used in a single room. With that said, in certain scenarios, room-based ionizers can prove to be more effective.
What Does an Ionizer Do?
In our everyday surroundings, we are filled with positive ions. These ions are what you are feeling in the atmosphere before there is a storm, or why you feel stuffy in your basement. These are also given off by vehicle fumes and monitor screens.
In general, our environment is filled more with positive ions than negative ions, which is not an ideal situation. We say that because positive ions tend to produce more fatigue, exacerbates bad mood, and increases hypertension. Despite the positive-sounding name, it pretty much tends to have a negative impact on our overall health.
On the other hand, negative ions are known to do the exact opposite. They help in reinvigorating us. These ions are responsible for contributing to that peaceful and fresh feeling that you would typically get when you are in the mountains, near bodies of water, or following heavy rainfalls. One of the easiest and most common ways to experience a rush of negative ions is something we do daily, and that is by taking a shower.
If that’s not enough, it has also been said that negative ions promote relaxation, improve sleep quality, and decrease irritability. While this is still not yet conclusive, there have been preliminary studies that have shown that negative ions can also help by relieving depressive symptoms.
This is why you may have often heard someone tell another to get some “fresh air” by going for a walk outside. This basically means that you are looking for more negative ions.
Are Ionizers Good for You?
You would assume that since ionizers effectively charge the particles in the air at your home and make it negatively charged, it would be good for you. However, there isn’t exactly a clear answer to this question. It can be a yes, or it can be a no.
In short, an air ionizer is good for you if it is meeting the standards of CARB (California Air Resources Board). These standards ensure that the ionizer has an ozone emission concentration that is lesser than 0.05 parts per million. Otherwise, these air ionizers will prove to have more negative impacts to your health than being good for you.
An air ionizer plays a crucial role in the air purifier industry, as long as you are capable of maintaining it without the yearly filter airbornepure8-20nt and still get a great result of air filtration. As a matter of fact, an ionizer is considered to be one of the highly effective mechanisms for filtration, especially when it is combined with a physical HEPA filter.
With that said, when an air ionizer purifies the air in the atmosphere in your home, it also ends up creating ionized air. As humans, this kind of air is not something that we would typically breathe into our lungs. In addition, these charged ions will end up producing an amount of ozone that is absolutely unwanted.
While an air ionizer is not technically a type of ozone generator, the amount of ozone produced due to the ionizer could potentially end up irritating asthma or several other breathing issues. If you have an ionizer at home already, and you feel that you are experiencing side effects from it, then you should switch off the ionic function on it as quickly as you can.
If you are interested in learning which air purifiers come certified by California Air Resources Board that are safe to use with or without the ionizer, we recommend you check out the California Certified Air Cleaning Devices. You can also visit us, as we keep reviewing some of the best air purifiers in the market.
The Upsides of Using an Air Ionizer Purifier
Several models tend to cost much lesser in comparison to other kinds of air purifiers. With that said, the cost of any kind of air purifier will entirely depend on the brand and the model you opt for.
Besides, these purifiers tend to be quite compact and can also be moved around easily from one room to another. There are some that are extremely small in size so that you can place and use them in your cars. These are also fairly easy to maintain since they do not come with filters that need to be cleaned.
There have been quite a few studies done to see the effects of ionizer on certain mental health conditions, especially anxiety and depression. Some experimental research suggests that these conditions tend to decrease with exposure to negatively charged ions. With that said, it is important to note that these findings are not consistent. There needs to be more research done to find the potential positive benefits on mental health.
The biggest upside of ionizers is its effect on allergies. Several ionizers are often advertised as a solution to improve allergy symptoms by the allergen particles from the air. However, these have not been exactly proven to be always effective.
Expert Insight
The North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District claims that while an ionizer may be a great solution to reduce the symptoms of allergy, asthma, and other kinds of respiratory issues, they tend to be quite ineffective at eliminating any odors or gases in the air from your house.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the performance of an ionizer will not be as effective compared to a HEPA filter or even whole-house electrostatic air cleaners with regards to removing tobacco smoke, pollen, dust, fungal spores, and more from the air.
Are There Any Alternatives to Ionic Air Purifiers?
Whether you like using ionic air purifiers or like using purifiers that come with a HEPA filter, it all comes down to you and what you prefer. With that said, if you do not think ionic air purifiers are for you, you can always look for alternatives.
There are quite a few alternatives you can choose from; however, we recommend a mechanical air purifier that comes with a HEPA (high energy particulate air) filter. HEPA filters will be able to effectively capture and eliminate about 99.97% of all the particles that are over 0.3 microns from the air in your home. This filter is primarily recommended to those who have mold or other kinds of hazardous substances present in the house.
In addition, you can also look for activated carbon pre-filters that come with a HEPA filter. These pre-filters do an amazing job of removing all the odors in your house, too.
Conclusion
We hope that this article has helped you answer the question regarding what does an ionizer do. As you may have learned, an ionizer will negatively charge the particles in the air in your house, and these negative ions have a ton of positive impact on your well-being, despite what it is called.
With all that being said, it is essential for you to note that there isn’t a standard way for you to measure how effective an air ionizer can be. That’s because it cannot capture and collect or eliminate the particles the way a mechanical air filter is capable of doing. Hence, there isn’t exactly a way to know how well these actually work.
Choosing to use an ionic air purifier depends on you. If you feel that there is a positive impact on your well-being after using it, you can continue doing so. However, if you feel otherwise, we recommend sticking to air purifiers with a True HEPA filter instead.