Was The Ionic Breeze Air Purifier Solely A Deception That Ultimately Destroyed The Sharper Image?

I'm sure we all remember the ads for the original Ionic Breeze air purifier. They could be found not only on TV, but also at Radio Shack and, if you could find one, retail stores owned by The Sharper Image. Then, poof, they disappeared, and so did The Sharper Image themselves. If you do some Googling, you'll find that people in general feel that The Sharper Image made lots of false claims about the Ionic Breeze. However, looking at reviews made by people who actually purchased the product, you'll hear all sorts of good stuff. So, let's compare the claims made by the ranting masses and media to what actually happened with the Ionic Breeze air purifier.

It's Been Said That The Ionic Breeze Air Purifiers Is Not Effective

The Sharper Image never claimed that the Ionic Breeze cleaned the air as well as True HEPA purifiers. Like good business people, they avoided the subject of efficiency altogether, for the most part. The stuff hit the fan when Consumer Reports said the Ionic Breeze silent air purifier cleaned only 30% of pollution out of the air. However, you have to consider that 100% of the polluted air will have to pass in and out of the machine quite a few times. Getting something 30% clean over and over again will, after time, get you almost to 100%. No, it's not as efficient, but one could say that ionic air purifiers, if given plenty of time, will do the job just as well as anything. They're also much cheaper to purchase, operate, and maintain. Also, don't forget that Consumer Reports only compared to True HEPA air purifiers as opposed to the much more common HEPA-type purifiers. HEPA-type air purifiers have no particular efficiency, while True HEPA machines are out of reach for many consumers.

Some Say The Ionic Breeze Produces Polluted Air

This comes from the idea that ionic air purifiers produce a dangerous amount of ozone when doing their job. This simply is not true. The confusion comes from ozone generators, which work in a fashion somewhat similar to ionic air purifiers, but produce far more ozone. In fact, Consumer Reports even said that the Ionic Breeze air purifier produces under 50ppb of ozone, which meets HEPA guidelines. For what it's worth, the original Ionic Breeze air purifier passed every HEPA guideline, except for efficiency.

Some Say The Ionic Breeze Air Purifier Killed The Sharper Image

The Sharper Image did end up filing for bankruptcy in 2008, but not due to lack of sales. The reason they went under is because The Sharper Image was a publicly traded company, and their reputation had been so badly damaged that the price of their stock plummeted to well under a dollar per share. Even at the time of bankruptcy, the company actually had over $50 million equity, not including liquid cash. They simply couldn't overcome the bad publicity, regardless of the quality of their products.

How Are Newer Ionic Air Purifiers Different?

New ionic air purifiers really aren't all that much better than the original, but the concept was so simple and effective that it would be really hard to improve upon. The simple fact is that an ionic air purifier will safely, albeit slowly, clean the air just as well as anything else, and cost a lot less doing it. Although the Ionic Breeze itself is nearly impossible to find, the Ionic Pro air purifier, as well as some generics, are readily obtainable.

Want to learn more about the Ionic Breeze Air Purifier, as well as the alternatives? Visit Ionic Air Purifier Info.