Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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67 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Technology Has Improved, April 29, 2007
This is my second try at using an ionic air cleansing system. The Ionic Pro is modestly priced and the technology has come a long way since the first high cost electronic air cleaners. When compared to more traditional electric motor and multi filter HEPA units, the Ionic Pro uses less electriciy and runs quietly.
Ionic blade technology has long been used by NASA and in commercial aircraft. It began finding its way into homes initally as add-on units to newly installed furnaces. The current stand-alone towers evolved as separate appliances.
Like the other "Ionic" air cleaning systems, this unit still emits ozone. Though billed in the owner's guide as a "clean scent," the ozone aroma can be overpowering to some people. If you have ever been in a room where power tools have been in use, an electric train set has been running, or a new computer monitor was turned on for the first time you have encountered ozone. In all fairness, the Ionic Pro has come a long way from its predecessors in terms of filtering, basically breaking up 03 ozone into 02 oxygen, the electric arc scent. When I bought my first ionic air cleansers several years ago I ended up returning them because of the annoying ozone scent -- even though I was the only person in my household who seemed to notice the ozone smell. There are ionic air cleaners that have just about licked this problem with the addition of three filters. Unfortunately these brands are commensurately more expensive. The Ionic Pro is equipped with a solitary filter. Thus far during my use of the product the scent is bearable. However, for those who are intolerant of even a hint of ozone I recommend you opt for a more expensive multi-filter brand.
As other reviewers have noted, the Ionic Pro is hardly maintenance free. This is the price you pay for not having to buy expensive HEPA replacement filters and using less electricity. The collection blades must be cleaned at least every week. The downside to this is that the manufacturer recommends that the blades be allowed to dry 24 hours before reinstalling them in the unit. The booklet recommends that you order an additional set of blades. Although I am not yet at the point of ordering a second set of blades I did notice that they are now hard to find for this particular unit.
The other challenge with this unit is that it is not designed to handle larger airborne debris such as pet hair. Unlike a true HEPA filter that simply screens out the hair, any hair entering the Ionic Pro will cause it snap and crackle until you vacuum it out. In reading other reviews on the Ionic Pro I want to point out that most of the debris causing the crackling will not be found on the collection blades. There is a thin wire filament toward the rear of the unit. It has its own cleaning swipe that can be accessed at the top of the tower, but that will usually not stop the crackle. I use a long thin bristle brush, the type you use to clean the coils under a refrigerator, and brush off the outside and inside of the rear air inlets behind the wire. This does the trick.
Prior to buying the Ionic Pro I had two Honeywell circular HEPA air cleaners. With a child in the family with allergies it is a fact of life that you change your furnace filters regularly and own one or more air cleaning systems. Mind you, I have no immediate plans to dispose of the hard working Honeywell units. Even my son's allergist recommended that we stick to using true HEPA air cleaning systems versus ionizing tower units. Still I noticed an ever increasing number of offices, including medical office waiting rooms, using ionic air cleaners. More challenging was the fact that my HEPA unit uses expensive filters that can no longer be found on store shelves. Although you can buy the charcoal pre-filter (designed to fit any number of air cleaning systems) in stores like WalMart, the large cylandrical filters are only available through mail order -- and they are not cheap. As an added note, the original filters for my unit are no longer available. I recently ordered two 2-pack "permanent" replacement filters complete with spacers and two additional charcoal pre-filters. The replacement cost, admittedly to change the filters in two Honeywell units, came to $179.00.
Another selling point for the Ionic Pro is that it is much quieter than the Honeywell. My teenagers keep shutting off the old reliable HEPA units while watching television because it is too noisy. As there is no benefit to an air cleaner unless it is running I decided to add the Ionic Pro as a second line of allergin defense.
There are a lot of varied opinions on the usefulness of Ionic Pro. The product works well, but you should not view it as a solitary cure filtering the air in your home.
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32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
What they don't tell you on the commericals, February 4, 2007
I kind of like the ionic pro. It seems to collect some dust, and even though I keep my house clean, if you can trap about 10 percent extra dust, pollen, etc. then it's probably significant. The unit will buzz if not cleaned per instructions. The unit can catch fire if not cleaned -- according to the manufacturer, the dust will bust into flame if not cleaned per strick (once per week) instructions -- so I won't run the unit when not at home. They also don't tell you that after cleaning the blades with a damp cloth, they must dry for 24 hours before reuse (or they will sustain damage), thus the manufacturer recommends buying an extra set of blades (this is not on the commericials). Also lacking from the commericias is the fact that you must ground the blades to a metal object or kitchen sink before cleaning due to static build up. Also, there is an extra filter that you must vacum. The simple wipe-clean-and-keeping-going scenario of the commericals is therefore, miss-leading. Time will tell if this unit really is worth it, but as I said any extra filtering or trapping of dust, etc. can be a significant benefit to people with allergies. If you senstive to sound it does make a bug-zapper like sound, there seems to be more dust on the outside than on the blades. After using for over a month and talking with other people ... the feelings are --this does nothing -Save you money.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Less Ozone; Great blade access; A good buy, December 6, 2006
Since the recent media coverage on the negative effects of ozone inhalation dangers, it looked like ion air purifiers were on the way out. This is one of the new generation (like the new Ionic Breeze) which vows to eliminate that danger. Of course, you can still smell a hint of ozone, but it isn't nearly as pronounced as the brand of another, ozone generating ionic that I've owned. Collection plate cleaning on this one is a breeze. And, as for the effects of eliminating allergens for my wife and I, it's A-1. She doesn't snore anymore. America sleeps better. Cheers.
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