What is Digg?115 Comments
- smellinator, on 10/12/2007, -5/+69Clever headline. I'll give you a digg for that.
- SweetChuck, on 10/12/2007, -2/+30I'm not surprised by this at all. My aunt and uncle freeloader lived in my parents basement for years, they had one of those machines and it tarnished every piece of exposed metal in the basement. We had to replace every ceiling tile, and repaint the walls. It also destroyed several pieces of art.
- somerandomnerd, on 10/12/2007, -5/+28Ozone doesn't tarnish metals?
Right- and water doesn't get things wet.
Look up "oxidation." Then look up "ozone." See what you learn. - bigtallmofo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+24This is a serious problem with all of the ionic air purifiers. I had one for a couple years and you can even smell the ozone. The literature for the Sharper Image one says it smells like a fresh spring day... Yeah right. This is likely why Sharper Image is now advertising an "ozone guard" which is a dorky looking extension bolted on to the side of it.
This isn't even the worst part. The ionic air "purifiers" have been judged by several independent testing labs to be literally worthless in regard to cleaning the air. Sharper Image even sued Consumer Reports (who judged it "ineffective") for disparagement but could not refute that their product was worthless and ended up paying Consumer Reports attorney's fees of half a million dollars. See http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/sharper-image-lawsuit-ends-505-air-purifier-ionic-air-cleaner.htm?resultPageIndex=1&resultIndex=1&searchTerm=ionic for details.
Seriously - look up any indepedent review of this product (translated as someone not trying to sell you one) and see what they say about it. - compwizz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17Those Ionic air purifiers are a joke. They are terrible are removing airborne particles. I looked at a Consumer Reports magazine that rated all of the air purifiers, the Ionic Breeze was the worst one on the list. It didn't remove hardly any of the contaminates the HEPA purifiers did. The only thing that it did rate good on was noise. One of the ones that rated really good was the one from Oreck. It is really common sense, you need to move the air around to clean it. Those Ionic air purifiers don't have fans, so how do they circulate the air? And if you want to clean the air, you have to move it around to do it. I know that they charge the incoming air and that does create some movement, but no where near the affect of a fan. So don't listen to what they say on those commercials, save your money and buy a good HEPA filter, they are the best.
- markr, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17If digg had a /. style moderating system e.g. "funny" "informative" etc instead of a + / - style one, then comments like those above seconding / thirding etc wouldn't be necessary as people could mod a comment funny...
- tapo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12You don't need to worry about the effect, since you don't /need/ to use an ionizing air purifier (like the Sharper Image Ionic Breeze). The best bet for my allergies has been to use a standard HEPA filter. Sure, they can be noisy, but they work and don't pollute the air.
- richstyles, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12just buy plants
- chrizzler, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12erm.. the title is ripped from the article.. so while I find it also original it isnt the work from the digger.
- somerandomnerd, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13Since when was ozone and smog the same thing?
Low level ozone is a product of smog- not smog itself. - djdole, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Those Sharper Image commercials seriously piss me off.
It's hard to believe people actually buy into that *****.
They claim their product converts co2 and ozone in the air into pure oxygen. Now unless the FDA and about half a dozen other government agencies have approved in-home nuclear reactions, you can't "convert" carbon into oxygen. And being how ozone is already oxygen and will naturally decay into O2 (as many have already pointed out), it's quite annoying when they claim that it's all due to their product.
The BEST they could POSSIBLY do is scrub the carbon out of the co2, and collect the dust in the air, but since they don't contain the same technology as an aqualung, it's basically just a glorified dust collector.
People would be better off just opening their doors and windows and airing the place out every now and again, (and dusting once in a while). Well...that and actually doing research and learning so they woudn't be so easily duped. I guess it's just another example of how "a fool and his money are easily parted". - lordsandwich, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9This was mentioned as far back as Diggnation #1. The original article came from Consumer Reports.
- zydeco, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10What's almost as bad is that Sharper Image charges $300 and up for the contraptions, when there has to be MAYBE $30 of parts in the device. That's part of why SI sued Consumer Reports: the Ionic Breeze products make up a huge portion of their profits. No more Ionic Breeze, bye bye stock price.
- DASK, on 10/12/2007, -9/+16I use one as well; so far I have found the decrease in allergies to be worth the effect.. It definitely strips everything from the air and by using it on low, and with ventilation, the 'bumpercar track' smell can be reduced to zero.. so far no effect on the art :) it's a clear question of cost/benefit for the individual. For me with allergies, definitely worth it... get a properly tested unit appropriate for the size it's filtering and I disagree that there is a problem. Running one on full in a bedroom, or too large of a unit and there is ozone. Figure out if you have a need, then be sensible about the application, that is all :)
- asplodzor, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Here's an AP article from a year ago saying much the same thing, if anyone wanted another resource: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7391185/
- orykayd, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8It's not propaganda according to the EPA, and this is straight off of their website:
"In one study (Shaughnessy and Oatman, 1991), a large ozone generator recommended by the manufacturer for spaces "up to 3,000 square feet," was placed in a 350 square foot room and run at a high setting. The ozone in the room quickly reached concentrations that were exceptionally high--0.50 to 0.80 ppm which is 5-10 times higher than public health limits (see Table 1).
"In an EPA study, several different devices were placed in a home environment, in various rooms, with doors alternately opened and closed, and with the central ventilation system fan alternately turned on and off. The results showed that some ozone generators, when run at a high setting with interior doors closed, would frequently produce concentrations of 0.20 - 0.30 ppm. A powerful unit set on high with the interior doors opened achieved values of 0.12 to 0.20 ppm in adjacent rooms. When units were not run on high, and interior doors were open, concentrations generally did not exceed public health standards (US EPA, 1995).
"The concentrations reported above were adjusted to exclude that portion of the ozone concentration brought in from the outdoors. Indoor concentrations of ozone brought in from outside are typically 0.01- 0.02 ppm, but could be as high as 0.03 - 0.05 ppm (Hayes, 1991; U.S. EPA, 1996b; Weschler et al., 1989, 1996; Zhang and Lioy; 1994). If the outdoor portion of ozone were included in the indoor concentrations reported above, the concentrations inside would have been correspondingly higher, increasing the risk of excessive ozone exposure."
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/ozonegen.html
The link is above, go check it out yourselves - donatj, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8My mom purchased an Ionizer and upon using my dad started getting terrible chest pains. I don't doubt this at all.
- somerandomnerd, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Apart from being very bad for your lungs, that is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropospheric_ozone#Health_effects - Jugalator, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Wow, if the effects are that noticeable, I guess it doesn't help that ozone is toxic in large enough levels (which I assume the "worst smog days in LA" might be). And being confined in a room, I wouldn't like to be in that room. Ground level ozone is leading to premature deaths even today, and especially people suffering from asthma should take heed as it has been shown to harm lung function and the respiratory system. It's also been somewhat linked to Alzheimer's.
- brufleth, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Huh, my dad (an MD) mentioned this as an aside about 10 years ago when I got an air purifier for my room to help with my allergies. Of course nobody in our family took him too seriously and he said it all depended on how you felt about breathing higher than normal ozone levels. Guess he was right.
- donatj, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Ozone is known to slow the hearts ability to regulate speed, adding extra strain to it.
- kermit44, on 10/12/2007, -0/+45ppm = 5000ppb, which is WAY over any concentration that is 'pretty harmless'. A harmless concentration is zero. Ozone is not pure oxygen, it is hugely volitile and unstable. When the O3 breaks down into O2+O- in the presence of UV light, the O- is even more dangerous to biological tissues than the original ozone molecule.
- trogdor282, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Saying something is "just" this or that shows lack of basic understanding of chemistry. Put some friendly nitrogen and carbon together and you get Cyanide.
- SniperX, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5A great example of how a good title can be a deciding factor of whether or not a story will get dugg to the main page.
- GreenLantern33, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6That's what I was wondering. I thought smog formed from the words smoke and fog, meaning industrial pollutants?
- geoboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4You are correct, sir. In fact, the "also potentially hazardous TO YOUR HEALTH!" quote in Diggnation's intro is from Alex reading the description to this Digg story: http://www.digg.com/technology/Proof_that_the_Ionic_Breeze_Air_Purifier_is_Junk
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Ask anyone in the air conditioning industry. They know about ozone, and ozone generators - you are to only use them when not at home! They generate free radicals that probably destroy pollutants but also enter your body and cause cancer - least that's what scientists say makes cancer. Ozone is a free radical
- ScottNY, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5At least the title wasn't "Amazing Apple iPod Wii XBox oh and air purifiers make smog too"
- Acill, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I found it a bit funny that an article talking about the dangers of these machines has google ads that link to places to buy them. I guess they need to still work the bugs out of google ads.
- twinklyJesus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Tandy Corp. owns Radio Shack...and Circuit City, always has. They are two separate companies owned by a common parent company.
- VorpalK, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Which, of course, is why radicals should be locked up! It's so obvious!
What? - Xalorous, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smog
Learn something new every day... - brotherfigure, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5I made the mistake of buying one from Sharper Image years ago. All it did was make the bedroom smell like Kinkos, and the static electrical discharge between the rods and the ionizing wires sound like a bug zapper.
My dust problems weren't solved until I bought a real air purifier. It's a Mitsubishi PlasmaPure, by the way. It's quiet, and works like a charm. - swax, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Its funny you say its extremely small, but I can still smell it. You do know that if you can smell ozone there is an unsafe amount of it in the air right? Ionic air purifiers should be banned.
- PumpkinEscobar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3These ozone air cleaners do not trap the dust particles in the air, they charge them and the dust then sticks to the walls and furniture. I have a Shaklee Air Source and the dust around where it sits is heavier than elsewhere.
- rabiddogma, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3This is kind of an old story. But worthy I guess since a lot of people don't seem to know about this yet. There was a story (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7391185/) I read about a year ago where the company that makes the Ionic breeze, Sharper Image was suing Consumer Reports for blowing the wistle on this sham.
- hiro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2There are some very clueless bar room "scientists" commenting on this thread!
Frightening to think that some of them have responsible jobs that could have an impact on our daily lives
I mean, who wants cold fries with their burger? - To0n1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2All smog is pollution, but not all pollution is smog.
It's been stated above in numerous posts that O3 can (and does) degenerate into O2 and 1 O- (aka, an ion).
Let's review what Oxygen is. A poison (in sufficient quantities) an Oxidizer (rust promotion), a carcinogen (when an ion, causing free radicals), an explosive (when compressed), and a fuel source.
Retake some HS Chemistry (and maybe some biology, college introductory level) to understand the full effects =) - kermit44, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4OZONE IS HUGELY BAD FOR EVERYTHING LIVING. I am a PhD in Plant Biology studying the damage caused to crops by ozone (its bad - billions of $$ lost each year just from corn and soybean alone). All plants are harmed some by ozone over 40ppb (ppb NOT ppm parts per billion is 1000X less than parts per billion - so whoever thought that ozone under 5ppm wouldnt hurt you is DEAD wrong... 5ppm = 5000ppb and ozone warning days alert you when the atmospheric concentration gets over 70ppb)
ozone is more than just that 'burnt smell' - if you can smell it, then it is WAY over a healthy concentration, and get out now, it is causing lots of damage to your lung tissue. Allergies are uncomfortable (I know, I have them!), ozone can cause damage that will shorten your life.
Ozone is NOT pure oxygen. Have you heard about the health benifits of antioxidants? antioxidants fight oxidizing compounds, which cause aging effects, cancer, and much more - ozone is an oxidizing compound - causes damage to all things biological. - donatj, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5I believe you meen Ionic?
- blincoln, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Those Ionic air purifiers don't have fans, so how do they circulate the air?"
They work like an ion drive, or sort of like the silent submarine drive in The Hunt For Red October - the ionized grid effectively pulls air through with no moving parts. It is *much* less effective than a fan, however, which is why they're not very good at it.
The "lifters" that crazy UFO fanatics build work on the same principle. The underwater version is called a magneto-hydrodynamic drive. NASA first used an ion drive on the Deep Space One probe, and IIRC its thrust was compared to a mosquito flapping its wings. - mgarland, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Ozone is not a free radical. A disassociated oxygen atom (which can be generated when ozone - O3 - interacts with other molecules) is the free radical that can bond with and damage DNA.
- greenflash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Talking about smog, i'm going to Asia this summer and the smog is often very bad, especially when the Indonesians burn down their forests. Does anyone know a good smog protection mask suitable for travel?
- code_of_life, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2dude, read the title and read the article,
Air Purifiers that purify via ionization produce O3, thats EXACTLY what the ionic breeze does.
There is no "OZONE GENERATOR".
Quote:
"Here's how to create your own personal Stage 2 Smog Alert: Buy an indoor air purifier.
Using a popular process called ionization, the air cleaners can actually generate ozone levels in a room that exceed the worst smog days in Los Angeles, a new study finds. " - gert2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1They could put CFCs in the purifiers.
- Otto, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2azrael: It depends on what you're getting it *for*.
If you're getting one to clean the air of dust and other heavy airborne particles, then a HEPA filter is your best bet. Something with a big enough fan that can suck up all the air in the room. Bigger = better. Just be aware that you have to replace those filters and it ain't quiet.
If you only want to suck up smoke and other light particulates, then there's nothing particularly bad about the Ionic Breeze except the ridiculously high price. It does not generate enough ozone to increase the ozone levels in any given room, because it is not an ozone generator. It's an electrostatic filter. It'll work for smoke, but that's about all it will work for. And it costs way too much. Although it is totally silent.
Anything else out there doesn't much work. You can either blow air through a filter or use the electrostatic filter mechanism. Anything that claims to generate ozone (as the main way it cleans the air) doesn't work and is bad for you, as explained above. - DASK, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Exactly. Ozone helps create the nitrogen derivatives that characterize smog; the other ingredients are volatile organic chemicals, etc. If we all walked when possible and use these to strip pollutants... no problem :)
- Arrakistor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Actually, ozone is bad for plants. It slows growth rates by over 30% in pollution levels.
- code_of_life, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2anyone want a slightly used Sharper Image Ionic Breeze ?
- MrGeneric, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Add a filter coated with palladium, as catalyst, and the ozone will decompose to O2, problem solved.
Next! -
Show 51 - 100 of 114 discussions
Browsing Digg on your phone just got easier with our enhancements to the 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is