Ion Air Purifier....Are they worth it?


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Old 10-31-06, 12:25 PM
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Ion Air Purifier....Are they worth it?

I live in a townhome and everytime i go in, it smells like someone has been smoking in the place, i can smell it faintly. I live alone and i dont smoke, but my next door neigbor does. I am assuming the smoke is coming through my place somehow. If i use one of those Ion Air Purifier, will it help? Are there any differences which one u get? I saw some off name brand on Ebay for about $80 and saw some for about $200 at the stores, any difference, what should i look for?
 
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Old 10-31-06, 02:58 PM
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any suggestions?
 
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Old 10-31-06, 03:50 PM
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There are concerns about ion purifiers and the static charge they provide to the air. Particles in air are attracted to surfaces in homes. Some are concerned about their attraction to occupants and lung tissue. There are reports of soiling of household surfaces with the ion purifiers. Too, the production of ozone is of major concern because it is a respiratory irritant.

Read the following EPA link for additional info: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/residair.html#How%20Effective%20are%20Air%20Cleaners
 
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Old 10-31-06, 05:47 PM
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Thanks. so what do u or anyone else recommend to get rid of the smoke and circulate some air.
 
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Old 10-31-06, 06:43 PM
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Have an Electronic Air Cleaner installed on your furnace and turn your fan on at the thermostat or you could always put out potpurri and burn candles. HA ha
 
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Old 10-31-06, 06:48 PM
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A HEPA filter with charcoal would be good if you rent if you own id go with a spaceguard and fresh air.
 
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Old 10-31-06, 06:58 PM
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so HEPA filter with charcoal is better than the ION Purifier?
 
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Old 10-31-06, 07:01 PM
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twelvepole said it right, I had one for a short time, and it made the walls dirty!



EAC may help, but you got the monthly cells washing.

I'd go for the Charcoal filter that you can add on to your current filter.
 
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Old 10-31-06, 09:10 PM
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If you rent, you can tell your landlord that you are sensitive to neighbor's smoke and ask for help in purifying air in hallways. Also ask that ventilation system be inspected and clean or upgrade filters. Air from each apartment circulates through a central ventilation unit if your building has one and sufficiently cleaning the unit to remove all traces of smoke odor is impossible. Improving ventilation in the building may help with smoke odors, as well as your improving ventilation in your apartment. Opening a window or patio door may pressurize your apartment and help with preventing odors from entering.

Seal off any gaps or holes in walls and under doors. Install air sealing gaskets in electrical outlets, telephone & cable openings. Seal all gaps around plumbing under sinks and around toilets. Attacking smoke odors at the source is best. Caulk around baseboards or remove and seal gaps where wall and floor meet. You may also ask the landlord to seal the other apartments openings in the common wall.

If you cannot eliminate the smoke odor and you are sensitive to smoke, you might ask for another apartment or begin looking for another. Because smoke & cooking odors penetrate walls even when you do your best to seal the gaps, moving to another unit or building or relocating is no guarantee that you will not encounter the problem again. In some areas, they have smokefree apartment buildings. In some areas second hand smoke which poses health risks is grounds for breaking a lease.

There's nothing much you can do about neighbor's smoking because it is their right. You can not expect them to change their habits for you.

Opening windows to allow fresh air may be helpful. Running bathroom exhaust fan will exhaust odors. If kitchen rangehood is vented to the outdoors, running it will exhaust odors. But, these exhaust fans may draw air in from outside your apartment and make odor problems worse.

Setting a bowl of vinegar out in area(s) where smoke odor tends to be more prominent may be helpful. Boiling vinegar on the stove helps with odor removal. There are enzyme digester deodorizer/cleaners that can be used to digest odors. These are marketed under a variety of names such as OdoBan, Out, Nature's Miracle. Avoid the use of deodorizers that mask odors. They provide only temporary relief. And, if sensitive to odors, may compound your discomfort.

Oils contained in cigarette smoke that drift into your apartment, will settle on surfaces and compound your cleaning problems. Frequent cleaning may minimize collective smoke odors on hard surfaces in your apartment. Odors absorbed into carpet and upholstery cushion tend to be a challenge because they can not be cleaned.
 
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Old 11-04-06, 10:02 PM
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Well, its a townhome that i own, so moving it out of question
I will try the vinegar method and see how that works. I am not sure whatelse to do. I will try to block off any holes or seal things a bit more and see how well that works. Thanks for your suggestions. I might get a fan install.
 
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Old 11-07-06, 10:18 AM
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I had a friend move into an apartment when he was first married, the place smelled horrible like smoke, but it was cheap rent. I rented him one of the ion chargers, that changes the ozone or whatever. $50.00 I ran it while he was on his honey moon, and when they came back they could not smell the smoke. They are still living there and after 1 year I still can't smell anything when i go over there. Although I can still see the smoke stains on the ceiling. I would be repainting the place, nasty...........
Call your local rental place they might have sugestions, I would think apartment owners deal with this problem alot.
 
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Old 11-09-06, 06:43 AM
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Thanks for the advice guys, but its not an apartment, its a townhome, i own it, no rental office. TIM, what kind of ionic charger did you use, any model numbers?
Is the static charge a big problem?

Thanks
 
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Old 11-11-06, 06:44 AM
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Well, I called the rental place to make sure I was giving you the right info, becuase we rented it a while ago. Basically, its called an "Ozone Machine" and it produces ozone as the name suggests, apparently it De ionizes the atmosphere in the living space. You can get one that is safe to run while you live there, or one that you can run when you are away.
 
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Old 11-16-06, 01:10 PM
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Tim, thanks for the advice, did you find out where to get one of those items from? As i am reading, they are saying the Ionic system is not good to get.
 
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Old 11-16-06, 03:09 PM
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Ozone NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO www.EPA
 
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Old 12-05-06, 05:05 PM
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Smile just a thought

I just had installed a Aprilaire 5000 Electronic Air Cleaner. Check this and other products out at consumer reports. gl
 
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Old 12-05-06, 05:14 PM
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Smile me again

also a good thermastat that you can program tyo circulate will help.
 
 

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