# Air Purifiers?



## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Anyone know a good affordable air purifier that helps with pet odors?


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## Memoryguy (Aug 10, 2010)

I had bought a purifier many years ago when I was still in college. It was a knockoff brand of Ionic Breeze and was about $100. Not sure about how effective it is, but better than nothing I suppose. Ionic Pro it is called.

I have it set up right next to the cage about 2 feet away. The point is to try to lessen dust particles and odor in the living room. I had it put away in the closet all these years and finally have found a real use for it. So far so good.


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## sorraia (Nov 10, 2007)

Some air purifiers you need to be careful about. The ones that work by "ionizing" the air are actually potentially harmful. Some of these models produce ozone, which is NOT safe for living tissue (ozone is not a stable molecule, and has a very strong oxidizing effect, this is harmful to living tissue). Ozone is actually considered a pollutant in the lower air levels (aka the air we breath). Before I found this out, I used these kinds of purifiers and also noticed a LOT more dust build up on the walls, hanging pictures, etc anything that was not regularly moved. This is part of the ionizing effect. The charged particles need a place to stick to. Imagine if that place ends up being our sensitive pets' lungs!

A better purifier is a hepa filter. It is more expensive, but much better. It works through actual filtration: particles are trapped in a filter instead of just charging the particles so they "stick" to a non-filtering surface. Plain hepa filters do not charge the air, or produce ozone. Some may contain a carbon filter, which helps with odors. Others contain a UV light, which helps kill some airborne bacteria and viruses. I bought a Honeywell hepa filter at Costco. I think it was around $100. It is not the highest quality brand out there, but it does the trick. I've noticed a big decrease in my allergies when using it.


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## Memoryguy (Aug 10, 2010)

Sorraia said:


> Some air purifiers you need to be careful about. The ones that work by "ionizing" the air are actually potentially harmful. Some of these models produce ozone, which is NOT safe for living tissue (ozone is not a stable molecule, and has a very strong oxidizing effect, this is harmful to living tissue). Ozone is actually considered a pollutant in the lower air levels (aka the air we breath). Before I found this out, I used these kinds of purifiers and also noticed a LOT more dust build up on the walls, hanging pictures, etc anything that was not regularly moved. This is part of the ionizing effect. The charged particles need a place to stick to. Imagine if that place ends up being our sensitive pets' lungs!
> 
> A better purifier is a hepa filter. It is more expensive, but much better. It works through actual filtration: particles are trapped in a filter instead of just charging the particles so they "stick" to a non-filtering surface. Plain hepa filters do not charge the air, or produce ozone. Some may contain a carbon filter, which helps with odors. Others contain a UV light, which helps kill some airborne bacteria and viruses. I bought a Honeywell hepa filter at Costco. I think it was around $100. It is not the highest quality brand out there, but it does the trick. I've noticed a big decrease in my allergies when using it.



Wow, thanks for the headsup. I searched up a few articles that mentioned its risks and it seems like it does more harm than good. 

So, the key here is to avoid anything that has to do with ion generator? Because Honeywell do carry some Hepa Purifiers with ionizer. That's a no go right? 

Is there a link where you can direct me to the one you have? I'm actually looking into purchasing one right now.


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## sorraia (Nov 10, 2007)

Memoryguy said:


> Sorraia said:
> 
> 
> > Some air purifiers you need to be careful about. The ones that work by "ionizing" the air are actually potentially harmful. Some of these models produce ozone, which is NOT safe for living tissue (ozone is not a stable molecule, and has a very strong oxidizing effect, this is harmful to living tissue). Ozone is actually considered a pollutant in the lower air levels (aka the air we breath). Before I found this out, I used these kinds of purifiers and also noticed a LOT more dust build up on the walls, hanging pictures, etc anything that was not regularly moved. This is part of the ionizing effect. The charged particles need a place to stick to. Imagine if that place ends up being our sensitive pets' lungs!
> ...


Yeah if it has an ionizer I would avoid it. 

This is the purifier I have: 
http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-170...4?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1283051494&sr=8-4

But there are many other options out there, some better than others. Home Depot also has several purifiers that look pretty good. 

The important part is to look for the hepa filter, and make sure it does not have an ionizer. Carbon filters in addition to the hepa filter and UV lights are just added bonuses. Depending on WHY you need the purifier, some of these bonuses may be worthwhile. The more you get, the better it will clean the air, but also the more expensive the purifier gets.


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## Memoryguy (Aug 10, 2010)

I just purchased a Honeywell Hepa tower purifier. Made sure it was a real hepa and not those "hepa types."


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

So I am still looking for a good Purifier, I looked into the honeywell towers, Should I get a permanent hepa filter? Are the filters expensive to buy?
Also will it help with animal Odors? I have 8 rats in my room, plus a hamster, and a bearded dragon. My Vacuum has a hepa filter and it worked wonders.


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## Memoryguy (Aug 10, 2010)

I've started using the new air purifier for close to 3 weeks now. It's good and I think it really helps with odor.

A real HEPA purifier comes with a carbon pre filter and a HEPA filter. A pack of 2 pre filters cost me 15 bucks and 2 HEPA filter 40 bucks. 

Supposedly you change the pre filters every 3 months and the HEPA filter once a year.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Yeah I just got one. With a Permanent HEPA filter, and Carbon filters I got a few of.

It cost me about 165$ for the machine plus about 15 for some extra carbon pre filters.
I did some research to find the best affordable one so I waited a bit to find a good sized one for the right price.
I am really hoping this helps, cause I am also painfully allergic to my rats and bunnies and I will never get rid of them, so I would do a lot to make it better.


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## Memoryguy (Aug 10, 2010)

Please let me know how it works out for you. I have a cousin who loves animals but suffers from asthma, and I've suggested she look into a HEPA air purifier.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

I will let you know, my BF has Asthma so I will let you know how it helps someone with Asthma also.


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## sorraia (Nov 10, 2007)

I suffer from allergies too, and though not diagnosed, i suspect I also have allergic asthma. When I use the hepa filter, I DEFINITELY notice a (good) difference in my allergy reactions and respiratory health.
(I say "when" because I moved 4 months ago and haven't set it up yet)


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