Ozone air purification – is an ozone purifier safe or not? You may think that the best home air purifier may emit some ozone or even a lot of ozone. But just how much is too much? When is the breaking point met that it is no longer purifying our air, but it is hurting you. Most individuals realize that with the indoor air quality being 9 times worse than the outdoor air quality, it is becoming a necessity to use some sort of purification in the home. By using a filter-less one, you gain the advantage of having 100% effectiveness (or close to it) every day. However, at what risk. If it is purifying the air with a potentially toxic fume, then it isn’t worth it. This is what the ozone emitting purifiers are doing. Just for the record, their are safe filter-less purifiers too. Again these are purifier and not filters. If you suffer from allergies, typically you’ll want an air purifier with filters. In many cases, out customers prefer one of our safe filter-less sanitizers combined with an allergy purifier. This way they have the best protection.
Unfortunately, with the ones that use filters, you run the risk of the filter getting clogged or dirty (if it is doing its job) so you need to clean this filter or change it regularly. However, if you don’t maintain a clean filter all the time, the effectiveness drops drastically. Furthermore, as the filter begins to get dirty, the quality also begins to go down. This isn’t a good thing. Many people use these home air purifiers to reduce the risk of allergies. Therefore, their problem is not solved. Even worse, it may be increased because now they need to change or clean these dirty filters. There is no maintenance free solution if you really want healthy air. You must learn to make a conscience effort to keep these filters clean and well-maintained: your health depends on it. Make a chart or keep it on the family calendar. It really isn’t that big of a deal – in fact, you probably are already doing something similar with your water purification. Right?
Let’s examine the home air purifiers that can emit ozone. If the ozone is too great, an individual with asthma may have more difficulties breathing. We certainly don’t want to add ozone to the atmosphere. Sensitive individuals may experience headaches from the aroma. A few years ago, studies showed that we should just wean in to full use of these purifiers. Let them run a bit and gradually increase the hours that the unit is on.
However, more current research has shown that NO OZONE is the BEST OZONE. Any ozone air purification system will generate some ozone. We know ozone can cause lung cancer when combined with hydrogen and water in our lungs so need to learn to choose other options to protect our health to the fullest.
So where is the happy medium of a home air purifier that can reduce the risk of allergies and still work effectively all the time. Since California is the strictest of the environmental laws, it is a good rule of thumb to cross check your air purifier against the California list of Potential Hazardous Ozone Generators that are sold as air purifiers. By checking this list, you are assured that it does not emit too much ozone.
Furthermore, just because an air purifier uses an ionizers does not mean that it emits ozone. For example, BlueAir actually lowers the ozone in the surrounding area because of the technology of the air purifier. Do your research because this is an investment not just monetarily but also for your health. Call the suppliers if in doubt to assure yourself that the unit emits no ozone. Because remember no ozone is the best ozone.
By: Barb Lulay