This is my second try at using an ionic air cleansing system. The Ionic Pro is modestly priced and the technology has come a long way since the first high cost electronic air cleaners. When compared to more traditional electric motor and multi filter HEPA units, the Ionic Pro uses less electriciy and runs quietly.Ionic blade technology has long been used by NASA and in commercial aircraft. It began finding its way into homes initally as add-on units to newly installed furnaces. The current stand-alone towers evolved as separate appliances.
Like the other "Ionic" air cleaning systems, this unit still emits ozone. Though billed in the owner's guide as a "clean scent," the ozone aroma can be overpowering to some people. If you have ever been in a room where power tools have been in use, an electric train set has been running, or a new computer monitor was turned on for the first time you have encountered ozone. In all fairness, the Ionic Pro has come a long way from its predecessors in terms of filtering, basically breaking up 03 ozone into 02 oxygen, the electric arc scent. When I bought my first ionic air cleansers several years ago I ended up returning them because of the annoying ozone scent -even though I was the only person in my household who seemed to notice the ozone smell. There are ionic air cleaners that have just about licked this problem with the addition of three filters. Unfortunately these brands are commensurately more expensive. The Ionic Pro is equipped with a solitary filter. Thus far during my use of the product the scent is bearable. However, for those who are intolerant of even a hint of ozone I recommend you opt for a more expensive multi-filter brand.
As other reviewers have noted, the Ionic Pro is hardly maintenance free. This is the price you pay for not having to buy expensive HEPA replacement filters and using less electricity. The collection blades must be cleaned at least every week. The downside to this is that the manufacturer recommends that the blades be allowed to dry 24 hours before reinstalling them in the unit. The booklet recommends that you order an additional set of blades. Although I am not yet at the point of ordering a second set of blades I did notice that they are now hard to find for this particular unit.
The other challenge with this unit is that it is not designed to handle larger airborne debris such as pet hair. Unlike a true HEPA filter that simply screens out the hair, any hair entering the Ionic Pro will cause it snap and crackle until you vacuum it out. In reading other reviews on the Ionic Pro I want to point out that most of the debris causing the crackling will not be found on the collection blades. There is a thin wire filament toward the rear of the unit. It has its own cleaning swipe that can be accessed at the top of the tower, but that will usually not stop the crackle. I use a long thin bristle brush, the type you use to clean the coils under a refrigerator, and brush off the outside and inside of the rear air inlets behind the wire. This does the trick.
Prior to buying the Ionic Pro I had two Honeywell circular HEPA air cleaners. With a child in the family with allergies it is a fact of life that you change your furnace filters regularly and own one or more air cleaning systems. Mind you, I have no immediate plans to dispose of the hard working Honeywell units. Even my son's allergist recommended that we stick to using true HEPA air cleaning systems versus ionizing tower units. Still I noticed an ever increasing number of offices, including medical office waiting rooms, using ionic air cleaners. More challenging was the fact that my HEPA unit uses expensive filters that can no longer be found on store shelves. Although you can buy the charcoal pre-filter (designed to fit any number of air cleaning systems) in stores like WalMart, the large cylandrical filters are only available through mail order -and they are not cheap. As an added note, the original filters for my unit are no longer available. I recently ordered two 2-pack "permanent" replacement filters complete with spacers and two additional charcoal pre-filters. The replacement cost, admittedly to change the filters in two Honeywell units, came to $179.00.
Another selling point for the Ionic Pro is that it is much quieter than the Honeywell. My teenagers keep shutting off the old reliable HEPA units while watching television because it is too noisy. As there is no benefit to an air cleaner unless it is running I decided to add the Ionic Pro as a second line of allergin defense.
There are a lot of varied opinions on the usefulness of Ionic Pro. The product works well, but you should not view it as a solitary cure filtering the air in your home.
Postscript: In April 2011 our Ionic Pro Turbo finally gave up the ghost. The thin wire filament, in the rear of the unit, parted sometime during the night. It does not appear repairable. The unit will no longer turn on. Time to search for a new model.
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