One of the most aggressive marketing campaigns for an air cleaner was launched by The Sharper Image for their Ionic Breeze Air Purifier. According to Consumer Reports, the Ionic Breeze makes up for 25% of the market share for air purifiers.

This is a surprising figure considering that Consumer Reports have given the Ionic Breeze a rating of “poor” in terms of the numbers of particles removed from the air. This may seem an alarming contrast to the claims made by The Sharper Image in their infomercials. Accusing Consumer Reports of using faulty methods for testing, The Sharper Image wanted their product to be reviewed again. After consulting an independent for a method of testing, Consumer Reports tried the Ionic Breeze a second time. Again, the results were “poor”. Other air quality companies have also rated The Sharper Image’s air purifier as “poor” compared to other brands– one company even added that it was "one of the worst performing units that they had tested".

Though one of the claims made by The Sharper Image is that the Ionic Breeze is safe and effective for allergy and asthma sufferers, the details of the test results to substantiate this are not available.

The important point is simply this: don’t let a marketing campaign determine what’s best for your health.

The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) recommends the use of HEPA quality air filters, as does the American Lung Association, the Allergy and Asthma Information Association and other notable authorities on the treatment of allergies and asthma. One of the ladies that I used to work with had an Ionic Breeze next to her desk to help alleviate her allergies—she was constantly checking the plug to make sure that the machine was actually on because she didn’t see any results. My sister, who has severe allergic asthma (especially in her childhood), has run a HEPA filter in her room for years and finds it very important in preventing attacks. Implementing the air filter has helped her to use inhalers less.

The brand that I recommend (and even run here in my office for my allergies) is Dynamic Air Cleaner CT100. There are three methods that this air filter uses for collecting particles from the air:

1. Impingement (impingement is the process that all media and HEPA filters use to trap particulate)
2. Polarization (this charges the particles enough to be attracted to the filter media like a magnet, but if dust particles leave the filter, they will carry no residual charge and will be free to travel through the system without adhering to objects in the room. They can then be captured on a subsequent pass)
3. Agglomeration (this causes small particles that usually would be too small to be captured by impingement are attracted to each other and form a larger particle that is easy caught in the filter)

The most important piece of information on the Dynamic filter is that it produces no o-zone (which can be an irritant to lungs and should especially be avoided by asthmatics).