# Ionic Breeze, The Straightdope **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 13, 2004, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959 "2004-10-13T04:14:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/1 "2004-10-13T04:14:37Z")
Recently I brought my mom out here for a reunion/wedding. While she was here she spent a night at friends house where she encountered the Ionic Breeze. She says she had the best nights sleep since she was diagnosed with COPD. Her friend gave it to her and I shipped it to her last week. The skeptic in me has an instictive dislike when I hear words like "ionic, magnetic therapy, etc. So whats the Straightdope on this device? I’ve also heard that it may in fact excaberate respiratory problems, is that true? As always, thanks for your responses. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/2 "2004-10-13T04:43:45Z")
Funny! I clicked on this thread to comment that anything using Ions or Magnets is usually crap. And you covered both already! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/3 "2004-10-13T05:03:52Z")
The “ionic breeze” thing is complete baloney. It’s just an electrostatic air filter, and not a very good one. You can buy better air filters anywhere for far less money. It’s possible it could make respiratory problems worse because it gives off ozone, a corrosive gas, but unless you were in a very small room it’s unlikely. It doesn’t give off much. Frankly, it doesn’t do much of anything except empty your wallet. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/4 "2004-10-13T08:15:53Z")
- - - There are testing reports online done on air cleaners that have been performed or comissioned by respiratory ailment organizations: [http://www.chiro.org/LINKS/ABSTRACTS/Fails\_Twice.shtml](http://www.chiro.org/LINKS/ABSTRACTS/Fails_Twice.shtml) ~ ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/5 "2004-10-13T12:11:13Z")
My Mother In Law (always in seach of cool things) asked me about it recently. I told her (I believe I read it here) that she could get pretty much the same effect by dusting off her TV regularly and letting it attract the dust back on just like the Ionic Breeze does. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/6 "2004-10-13T12:27:53Z")
There was a Consumer Reports segment on TV some time back about the Ionic Breeze “Air Filters/Cleaners.” First it does not circulate all of the air in the room for processing as the fan effect is indadequate. Hence their air cleaning ability is quite limited. Second it does collect a lot of very small very black particulates that wipe off with a damp cloth or paper towel. Third and most important it is grossly overpriced. $400 or so for the super models. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/7 "2004-10-13T13:47:26Z")
Sharper Image seems to specialize in goods that are useless or overpriced or both. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/8 "2004-10-13T14:28:07Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Sharper Image seems to specialize in goods that are useless or overpriced or both. :dubious: But you know you still go in just to sit in the massage chairs. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/9 "2004-10-13T14:33:51Z")
> [@Flander](#): > > But you know you still go in just to sit in the massage chairs. 🙂 I always figured that was their sole purpose, providing free massages to people who try to look like they actually were shopping for something before finally succumbing to the Chair. You know what I mean: you walk in, idle around looking at golf devices no person would ever need, feign interest in the “Executive Dartboard! Plated in Nickel, but made to look faintly silverish!”, tap on the stupid static-electric illuminated globe thingies a few times before :eek there’s a massaging chair? Who knew! Let me try it out in complete surprise! Oh yes, I might actually buy one of these things, sure. :slip out the “surreptitiously” while salesperson is inviting someone to “Squeeze the memoryfoam!” ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/10 "2004-10-13T14:50:05Z")
I had a thread on this awhile back (it’s not coming up in search) and the concensus was (with some impressive scientific-sounding information) that they’re ineffective at best and dangerous at worst (something about too much ozone being created if the thing starts to break down). ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/11 "2004-10-13T14:52:07Z")
I’m looking at the Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2004 On page 235 there’s a chart that evaluates 17 Air Cleaners. In the text it says: **"The top three (models) can quickly clear smoke and dust from a room; the worst is little better than nothing at all."** My bolding. The Ionic Breeze Quadra, second last on the chart, gets a POOR overall score. Likewise it gets POOR marks for Dust and Smoke removal. The Ionic Breeze gets Excellent marks for quiet operation., and Very Good for ease of use. Which you might find humorous. (What the hell, if it’s doing almost nothing, the unit ought to be quiet and user friendly, right?) Best of all is the room Area. The rating seems to suggest the optimal room size for the Ionic Breeze Quadra to be 14 square feet. But at 16th from the top, this one’s not the very worst. Right below it, in last place, is Honeywell’s Environizer 90200. Gets almost the same lousy marks, but the effective Area is a ludicrous 2 square feet. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/12 "2004-10-13T14:52:27Z")
Skepticism is easy. You get to appear “in the know” by default! I can’t comment on the Ionic Breeze specifically, though I’ve read some criticisms about it. While the efficacy of negative ionization of the air is still debated, there is certainly sufficient evidence to raise it from the category of “baloney.” There also seems to be more evidence supporting the beneficial effects versus disproving them. It’s probably not the miracle panacea that Sharper Image would have you believe, but that doesn’t mean it’s worthless. It’s important to know that some ionizers produce a not insignificant amount of ozone, which is a lung irritant. Here are studies that indicate some amount of promise in some areas. I’ve no doubt that the methods of some are debatable. They always are. > **[Treatment of seasonal affective disorder with a high-output negative ionizer...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9395604/?dopt=Abstract)** > > This study was designed to evaluate the antidepressant effect of negative ions in the ambient air as a potential treatment modality for seasonal affective disorder. Twenty-five subjects with winter depression underwent a double-blind controlled trial... [http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/Publications.htm?seq\_no\_115=144346](http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/Publications.htm?seq_no_115=144346) > **[An investigation of the effects of negative air ions on responses to...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8064146/?dopt=Abstract)** > > The influence of negative air ions on rectal temperature (Tr), heart rate (HR), oxygen uptake (VO2) and ventilation (VE) was examined in male subjects (n = 8) at rest and during two successive exercise bouts of 90 W and 180 W, each for 20 min on a... > **[Negative air ionization improves memory and attention in learning-disabled...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6725789/?dopt=Abstract)** > > The effect of increased concentrations of ambient negative air ions on incidental visual memory for words and purposive auditory memory for dichotic digits was investigated in 20 normal grade 4 children, 8 learning-disabled children, and 8 mildly... > **[Bactericidal effects of negative air ions on airborne and surface Salmonella...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11198431/?dopt=Abstract)** > > The bactericidal effect of high levels of negative ions was studied using a custom-built electrostatic space charge device. To investigate whether the ion-enriched air exerted a bactericidal effect, an aerosol containing Salmonella Enteritidis (SE)... > **[Effect of negative ionisation of inspired air on the response of asthmatic...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6351332/?dopt=Abstract)** > > To evaluate the effect of negative ionisation of inspired air on bronchial reactivity, 11 asthmatic children were challenged twice by exercise and 10 were challenged twice by histamine inhalation. The children breathed negatively ionised air (4 X... > **[Subjective response to negative air ion exposure - PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7181816/?dopt=Abstract)** > > This study investigated specific subjective or psychological effects of relatively long exposure to negative ions generated by a conventional air purification device. Subjects--24 males matched for age, education, physical condition, and smoking... > **[Effect of air ionization on heart rate and perceived exertion during a...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/227680/?dopt=Abstract)** > > The influence of ionization of air on heart rate (HR) and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) during bicycle exercise was studied in nine healthy medical students selected according to a randomized schedule from the class of 90 students. The exercise... > **[Biological impact of small air ions - PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/959834/?dopt=Abstract)** > > The thrust of the experimental data presented here is that small air ions are biologically active. There is convincing evidence that both negative and positive ions (i) inhibit growth of bacteria and fungi on solid media; (ii) exert a lethal effect... > **[\[Effects of ionization of the air on some bacterial strains\] - PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2484482/?dopt=Abstract)** > > For some time a bactericidal activity is recognized by air ionization. Recently it has been demonstrated that while the bactericidal effect of the positive ions is due to physical factors, the negative ions operate either by physical or chemical... Again, I’m not saying that they probably work. I’m saying that they warrant something more than “baloney.” ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/13 "2004-10-13T15:00:37Z")
> [@Stuffy](#): > > Recently I brought my mom out here for a reunion/wedding. While she was here she spent a night at friends house where she encountered the Ionic Breeze. She says she had the best nights sleep since she was diagnosed with COPD. The problem here is, among all the possible differences between her normal routine and her night at the friend’s house (e.g. different climate, different air quality, different bed, different emotional state), only this gadget seems to have been considered. Not meaning to disparage your mom and her friend, but that lack of thinking is what enables people to get taken advantage of by con artists, big companies, politicians, cult leaders, etc. You seem to know how to think critically. Perhaps you can teach your mom. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/14 "2004-10-13T17:27:35Z")
Thanks all, **KidCharlemagne** I’ll start going through yur links later, is there one or two in particular that stand out? ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/15 "2004-10-13T18:33:06Z")
> [@Gary T](#): > > The problem here is, among all the possible differences between her normal routine and her night at the friend’s house (e.g. different climate, different air quality, different bed, different emotional state), only this gadget seems to have been considered. Not meaning to disparage your mom and her friend, but that lack of thinking is what enables people to get taken advantage of by con artists, big companies, politicians, cult leaders, etc. > > You seem to know how to think critically. Perhaps you can teach your mom. But **KidCh** has give us food for thought, wouldn’t you say? Maybe there _is_ something to those air cleaners. Have you explored the links, **Gary T**? I did. ---
**Author:** ![Keweenaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Keweenaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keweenaw)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/16 "2004-10-13T18:49:08Z")
I have two. We keep one in the laundry room. They seem to help with smells, if you don’t mind that like that lightning storm ozone type smell (or if you actually like it). My wife bought them without my input, I would have been/was very skeptical. Overall we’ve been fairly satisfied. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/17 "2004-10-13T19:01:25Z")
I have a ionizer in my bedroom. Not the Ionic Breeze brand, but the same kind of technology. Has a small blower to aid drawing air though the unit. Helps reduce the “man fume” smell. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/18 "2004-10-13T19:08:40Z")
> [@Keweenaw](#): > > I have two. We keep one in the laundry room. > > They seem to help with smells, if you don’t mind that like that lightning storm ozone type smell (or if you actually like it). > > My wife bought them without my input, I would have been/was very skeptical. > > Overall we’ve been fairly satisfied. That’s the ozone. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/19 "2004-10-13T19:39:10Z")
I know this is totally anecdotal, and I haven’t used other filters, but we have two of them. When we first moved into our (100-year-old) house, the smell from the basement was terrible, and as there also wasn’t a basement door, it was drifting all over the house. We put an Ionic Breeze in the basement, and the “basement funk” was GONE after the first day. It comes back if we unplug the filter, but as long as that thing is running, the air has no scent. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2004, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959/20 "2004-10-13T21:07:45Z")
> [@Antiochus](#): > > But **KidCh** has give us food for thought, wouldn’t you say? Maybe there _is_ something to those air cleaners. Have you explored the links, **Gary T**? It’s interesting information, but (unless I missed something) there’s no evidence that a Sharper Image Ionic Breeze unit will provide the air ionization in sufficient amounts. Not to mention that Consumer Reports’ review said that the lack of a fan (which creates the noise that the Sharper Image model touts a lack of) reduces its efficiency greatly in doing any kind of air cleaning; IIRC there were similar models by other companies which **had** fans, though I could be mistaken as I don’t have access to the review any longer. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ionic-breeze-the-straightdope/268959.md?page=2)