Allergy, Asthma, Respiratory Care Medical Center

TITLE: A COMPARISON OF AIR CLEANERS

Authors: Megan Kim, Marsha DeCastro MD, Kenneth Kim MD

INTRODUCTION: With many air purifiers available on the market, our objective was to compare two of the leading air purifiers against the product currently endorsed by the Allergy and Asthma Foundation (AAFA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We compared two leading air purifiers (AP) , Living Air and Honeywell HEPA, compared to the reference AP, Ionic Breeze by Sharper Image, by the following variables: Percent (%) Particle Clearance, Time to Maximal Particle Clearance, and % Particle Clearance at pre-set distance points over time. Two houses with rooms measuring 14x12 ft (House #1) and 11x10 ft (House #2) with visible mold intrusion were chosen. A ParticleScan CR Laser Particle Counter was used to measure baseline particle load, and the APs were introduced by random assignment in each house with a 3-h interval between trials and the reference AP was evaluated the next day in the same rooms. Particle load was measured by use of a particle detector at half hour intervals up to 3 hours and at various distances from the APs up to 15 feet. RESULTS: In House #1, the Honeywell cleared 72% of the particles in 1 h and the Living Air cleared out 43% in 1 h, while the Ionic Breeze cleared only 28% of the particles in 3 hours. In House #2, the Honeywell decreased 84% of the particles in 1 h and the Living Air cleared 50% in 1 h, while the Ionic Breeze cleared only 16% in 3 hours. CONCLUSIONS: Overall the order of effectiveness of the air purifiers in both houses was the Honeywell, Living Air, and lastly the AAFA–endorsed Ionic Breeze. The Honeywell reached a maximum effectiveness at 3 h but had the greatest effect at 1 h and was the only cleaner that was effective at 15 feet as well as 0 feet.