Air Purifiers Reviews

Air purifier recommendations from ConsumerGuide.com appear to be based on factors such as appearance, features and price of replacement filters. These criteria might be more important if all home air cleaners worked equally to clear the air of allergens like pet dander, dust and smoke. However, according to the only two organizations that test air purifiers thoroughly, performance varies greatly, so test results are especially important when it comes to identifying the best air purifiers. Be aware that while air purifier manufacturers often tout testing data in their advertising, the vast majority of these studies are sponsored and paid for by the manufacturer.

Consumer Reports magazine, and a retailer, Air-Purifiers-America.com, are the only two review publications that test how well air purifiers remove airborne allergens. Unfortunately, these sources test air cleaners in different ways and they don't always test the same models. Consumer Reports does the most controlled testing of home air cleaners, using a sealed test room with carefully measured particles of dust and smoke injected into the chamber. Air purifiers are evaluated on how well they remove dust and smoke from the air at set time intervals running at both high and low speeds. The noise level of each air cleaner is also measured.

Air-Purifiers-America.com, on the other hand, tests home air purifiers in an office environment, with closed doors and windows and ventilation turned off, but with other variables present, like natural air currents and objects in the room. The company says that this type of testing better simulates normal use. Tested air cleaners are measured for particle removal close to the air purifier and in the center of the test room. Each air cleaner is tested on high speed. Noise level does not factor into the ratings at Air-Purifiers-America.com; editors say air purifier performance matters most and noise issues should be secondary.

We need to mention that these different test methods produce different results for several air purifiers, including the IQAir HealthPro (*est. $700) , which receives the highest rating at Air-Purifiers-America.com and is one of the most highly regarded air cleaners in other reviews. In the sealed-chamber tests at Consumer Reports, however, the IQAir HealthPro home air cleaner isn't a standout.

Reviews agree on the Ionic Breeze and Oreck XL

Although testing varies, and not all air purifiers are tested by each organization, Air-Purifiers-America.com and Consumer Reports do agree about one series of models -- the Ionic Breeze (*est. $220 to $500 depending on model) sold by The Sharper Image. This electrostatic precipitator (meaning it electrically charges airborne particles) has a robust marketing campaign.

The Ionic Breeze is given a "poor" rating by Consumer Reports, which claims that the Ionic Breeze removed very few particles from the air in their tests. The Sharper Image complained about the testing method used by Consumer Reports, so the organization tested the Ionic Breeze a second time (after an independent expert reviewed and validated the testing method) and still got the same result. Consumer Reports tested the Ionic Breeze Quadra a third time for its May 2005 update, and yet again for its most recent report. All of the Ionic Breeze air purifiers have consistently achieved the same poor results.

In a well-publicized lawsuit filed in September 2003 in California, The Sharper Image asserted that Consumer Reports' findings were false and malicious. That lawsuit was thrown out of court on November 9, 2004, with the court upholding Consumer Reports' First Amendment right to free speech in its assessment and review of the Ionic Breeze Quadra. On May 6, 2005, a class action suit was filed on behalf of Ionic Breeze owners, alleging both that the units are ineffective and that they emit unhealthy amounts of ozone. In a January 24, 2007 settlement, Sharper Image agreed to provide a $19 per household merchandise credit to those who purchased an Ionic Breeze between May 6, 1999 and the settlement date. Ionic Breeze owners can also purchase the company's "OzoneGuard" attachment -- which Sharper Image claims converts ozone to oxygen -- for a reduced price of $7 rather than the regular $40. Newly purchased Ionic Breeze models ship with the OzoneGuard included.

At Air-Purifiers-America.com, editors also give the Ionic Breeze Quadra a rating of "poor," adding that the Breeze was "the worst performing unit we tested, in that it only removed 30% of the particles at the unit and 5% in the room."

In spite of the poor results reported by Consumer Reports and Air-Purifiers-America.com, we did find some professional endorsements for the Ionic Breeze. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) has awarded its Label of Truth to the Ionic Breeze. We contacted William McLin, the Executive Director of AAFA, who stated that though this is not a seal of endorsement, it does mean that AAFA's Medical-Scientific Council (volunteer MDs, PhDs and other experts) examined the research behind The Sharper Image's claims and deemed the claims to be true. AAFA would not release their research findings to us, but instead referred us back to The Sharper Image. The British Allergy Foundation has also given the Ionic Breeze its Seal of Approval. After performing independent testing, they find "the Ionic Breeze reduces the allergen load in the air sufficiently to be of benefit to allergy sufferers." The details of this testing were not made available to us.

Consumer Reports includes a supplement in its May 2005 report titled, "Air cleaners: The truth behind the accolades" which addresses the apparent endorsement from The British Allergy Foundation and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. In light of the magazine's findings about those organizations, and our feelings that the weight of evidence favors the conclusion of multiple tests conducted by Consumer Reports magazine and Air-Purifiers-America.com, we've chosen not to include the Ionic Breeze air purifiers in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers.

Testing results are also consistently poor for another high profile, heavily advertised home air cleaner, the Oreck XL Tabletop Professional (*est. $470) . Like the Ionic Breeze, the Oreck did a poor job removing allergens from the air. In addition, like the Ionic Breeze, the Oreck XL charges particles and produces some ozone (the ozone smell gave one editor a headache during testing at Air-Purifiers-America.com.) A newer Oreck air purifier, the Oreck XL Tower Professional, did better in testing, but still lags far behind other air purifiers. At Air-Purifiers-America.com, the Oreck XL Tower removed 83% of airborne particles in the room, but only 25% at the unit, probably because of its electrostatic plates, which charge some particles and emit some ozone in the process. While the XL Tower represents a significant improvement over the XL Tabletop, that's not enough for the editors to recommend it in light of its ozone emissions and poor performance relative to other HEPA and combination air purifiers, most of which also cost less.  ... Continued

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The IQAir HealthPro and Blueair are the most frequently recommended models in reviews. Both are high-end units. Though we saw it tested only once, the Alen A350 appears to come close to the performance of the IQAir HealthPro. As for less expensive air purifiers, the Whirlpool AP45030 and nearly identical AP51030 test better than other air cleaners in their price class.