Ozone Air Purifier: The Air Purifier Equivalent of Flesh-Eating Bacteria...
Ozone air purifiers are no good. If you want to read why, read on. Otherwise, you'd be much better off starting with our best air purifier or top 10 air purifier lists...
According to the Environmental Protection Agency,
"When inhaled, ozone can damage the lungs. Relatively low amounts can cause chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath, and, throat irritation. Ozone may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections... Healthy people, as well as those with respiratory difficulty, can experience breathing problems when exposed to ozone.
Exercise during exposure to ozone causes a greater amount of ozone to be inhaled, and increases the risk of harmful respiratory effects. Recovery from the harmful effects can occur following short-term exposure to low levels of ozone, but health effects may become more damaging and recovery less certain at higher levels or from longer exposures"
...Would you want an ozone air purifier after reading that?
She Blinded Me With Science...
An ozone air purifier emits ozone (ozone is a molecule comprised of 3 oxygen molecules) deliberately in an attempt to clean the air. Two oxygen molecules make oxygen we breathe--essential to life. The third oxygen molecule can detach from the ozone molecule and re-attach to molecules of other substances--including your lungs.
Just in case you weren't sure, that's not a good thing.
Again, according to the EPA,
"The same chemical properties that allow high concentrations of ozone to react with organic material outside the body give it the ability to react with similar organic material that makes up the body, and potentially cause harmful health consequences."
Suing the Pants Off Alpine and Sharper Image...
Ionic air purifiers can also produce ozone, and the Sharper Image admitted so much de facto by adding an attachment to their ionic breeze that reduced levels of ozone that their ozone air purifier was producing. As of February 2008, the Sharper Image was in bankruptcy due to defending itself against lawsuits surrounding the Ionic Breeze.
Alpine air purifiers got smacked down in court by the gov. for making false claims about supposed health benefits of it's ozone air purifiers. Alpine air has re-emerged as Ecoquest, and is still in 
operation today making Fresh Air and Living Air purifiers. They won't use the word 'ozone' but will use words like 'activated oxygen.'
You can also read more about the litigation soap opera in my article on ionic air purifiers, which also can emit ozone.
Summary:
- Ozone is bad for you
- Don't buy a box that makes ozone for your home
Even more amazing is that Ecoquest retails the Fresh air for $799. (Get me the duct tape before my head explodes...)
Skip the ozone air purifier and you could spend under this and get our top pick, the Blueair, with the upgraded smoke-stop filters...
Don't think I need to say much more...
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