Ionic Breeze Cleans the Competition!
Written: Sep 01 '02
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Pros: Silent and seems to filter out a ton of stuff.
Cons: Annoying and noisy when it doesn't work!
The Bottom Line: In my opinion, this is for those who want a silent air filter with the added UV benefit. It does what it says and more!
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| bergzy's Full Review: Sharper Image Ionic Breeze Quadra SI637 Air Purifi... |
Hello everyone,
Time for another review of a product I have been using for some time now. It is the sharper image ‘ionic breeze’ air cleaner. I originally bought these just over a year ago for the stated feature that it filters air ‘silently’. Well, does this sound too good to be true. In a short word ‘yes-and-no’. Okay, it’s two words that I jammed into one.
I got two ‘ionic breeze’ filters because they offered the 2nd one at 50% off when you buy one at the regular price. Something that they have been doing since the beginning of time with the disclaimer at the end of the advertisement ‘offer ends by so and so date’ which always seems to be extended for another month or two. So, what kind of savvy shopper can pass up a second one at 50% off! What a deal! Wait a sec, I am still spending another $150 that would have not otherwise have been spent. Oh well. Power to the art of persuasion from doing your marketing research!
I was excited getting the ionic breezes home and trying them out. I put one beside my bed and one in the family room. I turned them on and YEP, they were totally silent! I felt the little ‘breeze’ it generated and was a little disappointed that it was so weak. I decided to give it a chance for a month or so.
I noticed that night that the air seemed fresher smelling. It was a great scent but does it clean the air? That answer was answered two nights later when I slid out the collection array that was covered with a light grey/black soot. Incredible! Was it ‘silent’? Yep! 100%
Now, here is where the problem arises! After about two weeks, it starts to buzz, hum and rattle. The instructions say to clean the collection array when it does this or when the ‘clean’ light comes on. The clean light never did come on. So I clean the array with a damp paper towel, dry it off and use a hair dryer to get it bone dry (how dry are bones anyways? When I had my dog and took the bone away from her, it was always slimy and soggy). It also said to turn the unit upside down a couple of times which I found out was to get the beads to slide along and clean the high voltage wires.
The machines worked great for about 3 months and then they started getting really, really noisy despite cleaning them regularly. In fact, I was cleaning them everyday until the day I returned them. I brought them back to the store in their original boxes and they immediately exchanged them for two brand new units! No hassles, nothing!
I brought the two new units home and immediately plugged them in again! Yep. Totally silent operation again and the same wonderful filtering with all this black junk on the collection array. What I did notice with the ionic breezes was that I stopped taking my allergy medication while at home. I was mildly allergic to my two cats but I have not sneezed or had weepy eyes that much in the house since then, even during my allergy season of May to August! I take my allergy medication when I step out of the house though, even when it isn’t allergy season for me.
Well, these new guys lasted exactly 8 months and 28 days. This time, they completely stopped working. Both died within three days of each other. Again I pack them into their original boxes (which I always keep). I brought them to the Sharper Image again. They quickly are doing the exchange when they asked if I wanted to upgrade to their new Germicidal Protection model (which has a UV light built into it). I thought about it a bit and said why not. I paid the difference and took them home.
Same results with total silent air filtration but now it has a soothing blue glow to it. This is especially noticeable at night which acts like a subtle nightlight. Personally, I like the glow. It is kinda soothing.
There are some things that one should be careful of and the instructions do mention it in their disclaimer is that the ionic breeze does produce ozone but in what quantities and if they are harmful or not, I have no clue. Ozone is an unstable molecule and has many uses such as water purification (I used to keep tropical marine reef aquariums and this was and is still used to keep the water clean). It is also used in some swimming pools now and in paper factories to bleach out their paper pulp. When used in the aquarium, the ozone/water mixture is usually run through an activated carbon filter to help neutralize any remaining ozone. So, I would suggest caution to the buyer about this feature. The ionic breeze output has never made me or my wife cough, sputter or melt me into a puddle of goo like some reviewers talk about (and I have a very sensitive respiratory system). To each their own I guess.
Another area of concern is the UV lamp. Again, this feature has been used in the aquarium industry for years and yes, I have experience in this too. In the aquarium situation, the UV bulb is totally encased in an opaque tube with a little window to check if the bulb is still working. My concern is that I can see the blue glow of the bulb. Remember that UV light is colorless and the blue light is the longer wavelength of the blue spectrum. Just because we see the blue doesn’t mean UV is shining in our eyes BUT it also doesn’t mean it isn’t! Caution and common sense is the key word here. I don’t look at the blue glow for no apparent reason and do not stick my face right in front of the input or output of the filter.
So, does the ionic breeze GP work? Yes, it collects stuff from the air and is silent. But does it kill the little nasties from the air? I don’t know if the UV output is strong enough to kill what it states but it doesn’t seem to hurt to have this feature. I could care less what Consumer Reports stated about the ionic breeze’s efficacy. I have noticed (this being an observation only) that my allergies no longer bother me and the air smells fresh when I enter the room. I would choose my ionic breeze any day over my sister-in-law’s ‘250 watt hepa filter that is noisier than a freight train which requires very expensive replacement filters’.
Hope this helps! Take care!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 750 for 2 GP
Battery Life: N/A
Noise Level: Almost noiseless
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Epinions.com ID:
bergzy
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Member: jason krick
Location: california
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 6 members
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