Almost-buyers remorse (or, Is the Sharper Image Ionic Breeze bad for you?)

[AuntieEmma[$]]

My shopping story:

I saw one of these in someone's house and liked it -- it got all the stinky smells out of the air and made the house smell nice and fresh, it was totally quiet, and the person who owned it, a heavy smoker, swore by it for getting the smoke out of the air. Plus, I remember hearing somewhere that it puts out negative ions which are supposed to give you that good feeling that you get at the beach or after a thunderstorm.

So I wanted one. I wanted one bad. I've got all sorts of stinky smells, alas, and was excited to think here was an easy way to get rid of them. (I know, I should just stop smoking, but until then ...) Soon after, I saw an ad for it and it was $350! No way I was going to pay that. They give you a second one for half price, but I didn't want a second one. So I started poking around.

Found there was a slightly smaller model for $250. Still too much. Then found sharper image sold "almost new" and "factory reconditioned" models for 30% and 40% off, respectively, which was getting better. Better still, I found they were selling a whole bunch of them on ebay for an even bigger discount.. Put in a bid (my first ebay bid ever!), but it got away from me.

Poked around some more, found they were also auctioning them off on the sharper image site, and they were selling for less there than they were on ebay. Now I felt like the Smart Shopper! Winning bids for the $250 model had been running around $75.

So I put in a bid for $75 this morning. Then I started poking around on google groups. Found out two disconcerting things. (1) Consumer Reports had tested air cleaning systems and said that the Ionic Breeze didn't do anything. (2) The thing puts out ozone, which the EPA says is really bad for you.

So then I started hoping that I would lose the auction. Had my fingers crossed.

And ... I did lose the auction. Felt relief, initially, but now I'm not so sure. I mean, it did seem to work in the house that I was in. And I really wanted that at-the-beach feeling.

The ozone thing scares me though.

But if it was really harmful, wouldn't it have been recalled?

What to do, what to do?

[magenta321]

Not a doctor, not a scientist disclaimer...

I have one. We've had it for more than five years, I believe. My mother unplugs it sometimes. I can tell instantly. My allergies increase. It drives her nuts that I can tell!

When it's turned on, the air also smells different. When it is first turned on, I can smell the difference just from the side of the room it is on to the other side of the room. Eventually, I can't smell the difference any more.

Everyone else in my house thinks I'm nuts. They can't smell it.

It attracts dust on to those bars. Lots of dust. That's all dust that is not up my nose and making me sneeze, nor is it making my nose run, contributing to my post nasal drip, contributing to my asthma, contributing to my tendency to get bronchitus.

I think it works. I'm not sure what they don't believe it is taking out of the air. Whatever it's not taking out of the air, I really don't care. It's taking the dust out, it's taking the pollen out, and it is taking the odor out. That's enough for me.

As far as Ozone, I believe that is a singular molecule of Oxygen, correct? Instead of being O2, it's just O. Dunno what is wrong with Ozone. It hasn't made us sick, as far as I can tell. It's about four feet away from me as I type this. Shrug.

So, again, I'm not a doctor, nor a scientist, but, I totally recommend it, based on my personal experience.

[poseidon]

Auntie said in post # :
Found out two disconcerting things. (1) Consumer Reports had tested air cleaning systems and said that the Ionic Breeze didn't do anything. (2) The thing puts out ozone, which the EPA says is really bad for you.

--snip--

The ozone thing scares me though.

--snip--

But if it was really harmful, wouldn't it have been recalled?

Let me address these concerns:

In the insurance restoration biz, they use ozone machines all the time. They're used mostly for smoke and/or fire damage in a building. Ozone in large amounts can be dangerous to your health and whenever an ozone machine is used, we have to put the residents/tenants/whatever in a hotel until the ozone machine is turned off.

Ozone is bad for your household products. Anything made with latex or rubber will break down when exposed to ozone. This includes the elastic bands in your clothing, etc. Granted, your home products have to be exposed to a LOT of ozone, but still, it does break down latex and rubber.

Ozone has to be produced in large quantities to really work well. I know nothing of the machine you're talking about, and I have no idea as to the tests that Consumer Reports uses. I have a really rough time trusting Consumer Reports (which is why I always preferred Epinions). Any product reviewer who accepts advertising dollars is, IMO, going to be swayed to review their bread-and-butter with a little more leeway than not, and will possibly review the competition with a lot less leeway. Consumer Reports does accept advertising dollars, and they can chime in all they want that they're unbiased, but I've seen enough garbage that they've reviewed positively that are pieces of crapola or stuff that they've hated that are just wonderful beyond words.

So far as recalls go, I'm not totally sure on the numbers involved, but there have to be a certain number of valid complaints on a product before it is supposed to be recalled, or the government can force a recall on a product proven dangerous.

Ozone in small doses is no big deal. It is a naturally-occurring substance. Often you'll smell larger quantities of it after a good lightning storm. I believe ozone is O-3, not just O.

Hope that helps,
Jeff

[AuntieEmma[$]]

Margaret -- your experience sounds like my friend's. She loves her Ionic Breeze! Plus you reminded me that getting rid of dust was another reason I wanted to buy it.

Jeff -- thanks for the insurance industry inside info. But what do you mean about Consumer Reports taking advertising dollars? (They don't run ads.)

As far as what I had been reading before -- the thing about newsgroups is they tend to be very negative and alarmist, so this is a dilemma for me -- discount what they say, or pay attention to it?? The groups did point me to two things, though, that did scare me:

The EPA on ozone-generating air cleaners

Someone had copied the Consumer Report's article. I can't find it now, but here's a summary..

But I still want one!!!

What to do???

Signed,
The Confused Consumer

[poseidon]

Auntie: Not exactly sure, but it has been stated time and time again (it could, of course, be a hoax) that CR does indeed accept advertising dollars. Of course, I check their website and they state that they don't. Shrug.

Either way, I'd trust our fellow Epinionators way, way before I'd trust CR. Just the experience of stuff going wrong with their recommendations (biggest disappointment was the purchase of my new 1987 VW Golf based upon CRs recommendation as it being their top choice, and then finding in 1990 that the '87 Golf was pushed to "Cars to Avoid" list and I had numerous, numerous problems with my own).

[AuntieEmma[$]]

it has been stated time and time again (it could, of course, be a hoax) that CR does indeed accept advertising dollars

I never heard that before. CR has been around a LONG time, and as far as I know, they've always had a completely unblemished reputation for impartiality. They STAKE their reputation on not accepting advertising. It would be quite shocking if that were not true.

I'd trust our fellow Epinionators way, way before I'd trust CR

I think it's apples and oranges. Epinionators (and newsgroup posters) can give their subjective experience over the long haul with various products, but they can't do the kind of objective scientific testing that CR does. CR, on the other hand, can't tell you what it's like to live with a product over time. Sometimes one approach is more useful, sometimes the other.

I did read a bunch of Epinions on the Ionic Breeze. Most people liked it a lot, though they tended to think it was overpriced (which wouldn't be a consideration for me if I got it at auction). But if CR is correct, how to reconcile the two?

Actually, even more than what CR says (because even if it's true that the machine, say, is just masking odors, rather than eliminating from the air the things that caused them, that would still be worthwhile for me) what really worries me is that EPA report, which says that ozone is harmful to the lungs.

I don't know whether I can discount that or not, whether it only applies to people with unusual sensitivities or allergies to ozone, or whether it's potentially harmful to everyone.

I want this machine! I want to believe that it's not harmful, but I don't know what to think.

(biggest disappointment was the purchase of my new 1987 VW Golf based upon CRs recommendation as it being their top choice, and then finding in 1990 that the '87 Golf was pushed to "Cars to Avoid" list and I had numerous, numerous problems with my own).

Is it possible than rather than CR being swayed by supposed advertiser dollars, the problems only started showing up after the cars had been in circulation for a while?