So as I'm getting a bit older, and being that Central Texas isn't a great place for allergies...  I'm finding that even in the winter (which has been really mild this year... I think fall gave winter the slip and teamed up with spring to give it a whirlie), I'm stuffed up and I often wake up not being able to breathe through my nose.

So I was watching TV, and sure enough, one of those commercials for that Sharper Image Ionic Breeze thing came on.  

Got me to thinking. I do have a small (large shoebox - boot size- small) desktop type filter.  I bought it a couple years ago, and I think it did help a little bit, but the fan motor got a little noisy, so I can't run it when I'm sleeping.   I'm thinking about getting something larger to run in my bedroom, and probably another smaller/desktop size to run in the kitchen and one in the livingroom....

I did some looking around, and found that those Ionic Breeze purifiers can be had, refurbished, for about half of what they cost new... which is still a considerable amount more expensive than HEPA filters.  The bonus is, they take less juice to run, and you don't have to replace the filters, just clean the collection grid thingie.

I also read around, and found some not so great things about the Ionic Breeze units... that they didn't do as well as other 'ionic' purifiers, and that measureable ozone right in front of the unit was very high.  Sharper Image sued the consumer group that did the test, but lost.  

So I'm curious... Who has experience with these Ionic Breeze units?  Good feedback?  Bad?  I've found a HEPA unit that is roughly the same size/shape for much much less, but how long could I go before changing filters?  (that cost $20-40 each time)

I'd like to try something... I think if I get cleaner air in my home, I'll be able to sleep much better, and breathe much better.  

HEPA filters are noisy but they do work.
The Ionic breeze units don't do squat.
Vacuuming your carpets and general household cleaning also helps alot. Ditch carpets if you can since they are the worst offenders. If you have central air have your ducts cleaned out by a professional service. You'll be amazed by the amount of crap that can build up.
The Oreck units look promising but I haven't heard much about them other than the commercials and website info.

Meh, I live in an apartment, so my options are limited.  Can't rip up the rugz... when I have a house, I'll probably go with mostly wood flooring.  

I'm thinkin one of these:


www.holmesproducts.com/estore/product.aspx?CatalogId=3&CategoryId=0&ProductId=460

and/or a couple of these:


www.holmesproducts.com/estore/product.aspx?CatalogId=3&CategoryId=1138&ProductId=1147#

I can get a couple filters for around $35... but I really wonder how long they'll last if I run it often.  

Quoted: Meh, I live in an apartment, so my options are limited.  Can't rip up the rugz... when I have a house, I'll probably go with mostly wood flooring.   I'm thinkin one of these: thgsales.holmeshq.com/smartpic/SAP_IMAGES/300/HAP422-U.jpg www.holmesproducts.com/estore/product.aspx?CatalogId=3&CategoryId=0&ProductId=460 and/or a couple of these: thgsales.holmeshq.com/smartpic/SAP_IMAGES/300/HAP412BN-U.jpg www.holmesproducts.com/estore/product.aspx?CatalogId=3&CategoryId=1138&ProductId=1147# I can get a couple filters for around $35... but I really wonder how long they'll last if I run it often.

For fuck's sake, don't get the top one.  I have one on my desk now and it's so loud I have to turn it off when I'm on the phone - that is on the lowest setting.  A lot of functionality was sacrificed just to achieve the marketable tower form factor.  Ionic breezes are overpriced gimicks, the volume of air moved is too low to be effective.  Go with a square one with a centrifugal blower.  

I have one of those Honeywell round HEPA units. Noisy but does the job

I had both an ionic filter and a Honeywell HEPA filter in my office. The ionic filter picked up hardly anything, while the HEPA filter was loaded with all sorts of crap. Get a HEPA.

bump for the day crew