Two ozone generators deemed Not Acceptable
YONKERS, N.Y., Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In its latest tests of air purifiers, Consumer Reports' experts concluded that products that draw air through fabric filters are among the most effective at removing dust and smoke. And, unlike some other kinds of purifiers, they do not produce any irritating ozone.
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While ozone in the upper atmosphere protects people from the sun's ultraviolet rays, ground-level ozone is an irritant that can aggravate asthma and lessen lung function. Studies also suggest that ozone creates other irritants as it reacts with household products such as scented cleaners and air fresheners. Among these irritants are formaldehyde, a carcinogen; and acrolein, a toxic irritant found in cigarette smoke.
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Consumer Reports tested portable air purifiers, furnace filters, and professionally-installed whole-house purifiers, as well as two portable ozone generators for a report in the December issue, which goes on sale at newsstands November 6.
Whirlpool's Whispure AP45030S, at $230, is Consumer Reports' top choice among the 27 portable filter purifiers that were tested and rated followed by the Kenmore Progressive 83202, at $270. The highest rated models did a better job of cleaning at their lowest, quietest speeds than many others did at their higher, noisier settings.
Among whole-house air purifiers that don't produce ozone, the Lennox Healthy Climate HC16 was CR's top choice among professionally-installed filter systems; it was also a CR Best Buy at $350. The Healthy Climate system uses non-HEPA filtration and emits no ozone.
Two do-it-yourself furnace filters --- 3M Filtrete 1700, at $20, and 3M Filtrete Ultra Allergen Reduction 1250, at $16 --- did nearly as good a job at removing dust and are a simple, inexpensive upgrade from a standard furnace filter. But they aren't the best at removing smoke --- an issue if there are people living in the house who smoke.
"There is little definitive medical evidence that using an air cleaner will help people's allergies and asthma," said Celia Kuperszmid Lehrman, deputy home editor for Consumer Reports. "If you don't have asthma or aren't allergic to pet allergens and dust, and keep your house reasonably clean, you probably don't need an air purifier."
Lehrman also pointed out that many of the germ-cleaning claims of air purifiers--which are supposed to rid your home of airborne bacteria in addition to dust, pollen and smoke--are oversold: While CR's tests of five portable air purifiers that made those claims confirmed that they reduce germs in the air, so should any purifier that effectively removes dust and smoke.
Full tests and ratings of air purifiers appear in the December issue of Consumer Reports, on sale now. The complete report is also available to subscribers at http://www.ConsumerReports.org.
Not Acceptable: Two Ozone Generators
Ozone generators, another type of purifier, are a growing part of the market. They create large amounts of ozone by design and claim to use it to purify the air.
Consumer Reports rated two such models --- the $850 EcoQuest Fresh Air and the $230 EdenPure Area --- Not Acceptable because even at the generators' low everyday settings, their ozone production quickly exceeded the 50 parts per billion limit (ppb) set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for medical devices. Purifiers aren't considered medical devices by the FDA. Ozone concentrations in CR's test room measured about 650 to 990 ppb for the EdenPure, depending on the setting. The EcoQuest produced about 110 to 350 ppb at its normal and high settings, and up to 4,300 ppb at its "away" settings, which the compa
