# Do Ionizers Really Make Air Cleaner? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 27, 2006, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ionizers-really-make-air-cleaner/354427 "2006-04-27T06:05:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ionizers-really-make-air-cleaner/354427/1 "2006-04-27T06:05:10Z")
I recently purchase [this Lasko fan with Ionizer](http://www.laskoproducts.com/fans/model_4820.html) at Sam’s Club for $44.95. I bought it mostly because of the style - it will fit in the corner of my bedroom and I figured it looked good and it is quiet. However, it came with an ionizer and I am wondering if it is worth using that feature. I mean, I have seen Sharper Image hawking their overpriced Ionizers for the past several years and, if you believe their hype, it will clean the air and make you think you are on a beach in the South Pacific. Do ionizers really clean the air and do all the wonderful things that the manufacturers claim? Or is this high tech snake oil? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ionizers-really-make-air-cleaner/354427/2 "2006-04-27T06:17:50Z")
I haven’t researched this in particular, but anytime I see the word “ion” used to describe a product, my bullshit meter explodes. As far as I am very vague aware, there are two general types of ionizer thingies. There’s the kind that pulls charged dust out of the air by using electric charges, which, I don’t know if it works at all, but it at least has the benefit of being physcially plausible. Then there’s the kind that claims to pump ions out into the air, which will realign your chakras and clear your sinuses and cleanse your colon and whatnot. That I don’t buy into so much, as you may have picked up on. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ionizers-really-make-air-cleaner/354427/3 "2006-04-27T06:20:55Z")
After typing that, I figured I could at least take the trouble to click on the link. I didn’t see anywhere either on the webpage or the downloadable instructions where it explains their claims for the ionizer. All I could see was a line that said when the ionizer is on, it “helps with air purification.” Take from that what you will. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ionizers-really-make-air-cleaner/354427/4 "2006-04-27T06:30:19Z")
The claimed health benefits from breathing negative ions are pure BS. However I can report that when I helped my friend move out of his first share house after two years (said house right next to a busy road) the furniture left black - really really _ **black** _ - outlines on the walls, and he had had an ionizer (that he’s built and designed himself) running for the whole 2 years in that room. For instance where his bookshelves were up against the wall it was like black spraypaint had been used; the wall immediately behind the wood was clean but surrounded by quite dramatic black outlines. So perhaps it helps deposit smoke/dust particles out of the air, which would have some preventative health benefits that way. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ionizers-really-make-air-cleaner/354427/5 "2006-04-27T06:33:30Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > After typing that, I figured I could at least take the trouble to click on the link. I didn’t see anywhere either on the webpage or the downloadable instructions where it explains their claims for the ionizer. All I could see was a line that said when the ionizer is on, it “helps with air purification.” > > Take from that what you will. Oh, I agree…and at least this fan manufacturer sort of threw in the ionizer as an afterthought and wasn’t claiming its colon cleansing advantages. But still wondering if ionizers (especially those sold mainly for that purpose) have any real value in cleansing the air. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ionizers-really-make-air-cleaner/354427/6 "2006-04-27T12:16:33Z")
I’m a smoker and my wife is an ex-smoker. I have two air filters in “my” room, which is the only place in which I’m allowed to smoke. My wife recently read somewhere that ionizers were actually bad for you, and wants me to keep them off. Since I don’t much care one way or the other, I just go along with it and never looked into it myself. I’ll ask her where she got that information and post something about it later if I come across anything. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ionizers-really-make-air-cleaner/354427/7 "2006-04-27T12:45:05Z")
I recall reading that they work well in the area immediately surrounding the ionizer. So unless you are living with one strapped to your back, the effects are probably minimal. I bought a couple of those expensive units from Sharper Image a few years ago and they were a complete waste of money, not to mention a constant maintenance chore to clean them. I also read a technical review of them (after I bought them, of course) that said they were pretty much completely ineffective. ---
**Author:** ![MizGrand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@MizGrand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizGrand)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ionizers-really-make-air-cleaner/354427/8 "2006-04-27T13:13:46Z")
While we’re on the subject of ionizers, might I impose a slight hijack? thx! 🙂 I find no difference what-so-ever with the ion switch on my hairdryer. Just was thinking about it yesterday as I used it. I’ve tried it “on” and “off” and there’s no magical beautiful hair transformation. Anybody out there have different experience? I think ions are phony. ---
**Author:** ![Gladstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90db22/32.png) [@Gladstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gladstone)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ionizers-really-make-air-cleaner/354427/9 "2006-04-27T14:02:12Z")
[Wikipedia entry on air ionizers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_ionizer) > [@Digital Stimulus](#): > > My wife recently read somewhere that ionizers were actually bad for you, and wants me to keep them off. They do generate small amounts of ozone, which can build up in the air and damage the lungs, irritate the respiratory system and aggravate asthma, according to the [EPA](http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A45313-2005Apr11?language=printer) . ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ionizers-really-make-air-cleaner/354427/10 "2006-04-27T16:26:29Z")
Here’s what [Cecil has to say](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990910.html). ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-ionizers-really-make-air-cleaner/354427/11 "2006-04-30T05:38:34Z")
Thank you all. I will now use my fan as - a fan. Will turn off the Ionizer feature, although I did like the pretty blue light that showed it was on…