Comparing Air Purifiers - 2 Critical Comparisons

When comparing air purifiers you face never ending marketing hype, lopsided reviews, questionable claims and bold science-defying lies. The danger to you reaches far beyond your time and pocketbook. There are numerous products sold as air cleaners that are actually hazardous to your health. Yet the absence of government regulation allows them to continue selling to unsuspecting customers.

Don't be an air purifier conman's next mark! Be informed and vigilant when comparing air purifiers. You have available truly effective options for improving your health and well being through air purification. Successfully achieving the results you really want begins with recognizing those players who are definitely not helpful. Let's begin by exposing two major pitfalls thousands of poor souls have fallen into.

Pitfall #1: The Media Blizzard Snow Job

It never ceases to mortify me, the huge investment of creativity, intelligence and effort, not to mention money, expended to market products of dubious quality and usefulness. If a fraction of that effort went into design and development the products might actually measure up to the hype. It's no exaggeration to say the majority of people have wasted their money buying over-hyped air purifiers they saw on TV infomercials. The classic case in point is the once omnipresent Sharper Image Ionic Breeze. At the height of its marketing campaign Sharper Image had secured 25% of the total air purifier market, raking in hundreds of millions in sales. An astounding accomplishment!

So why are they bankrupt now? I don't pretend to convey the whole story here, only the part relevant to your need for caution when comparing air purifiers. It seems customers began to see the fatal flaw in ionic style air purifiers. Namely, they don't clean the air. Oh, they do have upwards of 80% collection efficiency if well designed and when new and the collector plates are clean. But scientific studies show collection efficiency can plummet to less than 20% in as few as three days, making maintenance cleaning a constant chore. And airflow rates are necessarily very low because as the air moves faster the efficiency drops even lower. Low airflow means precious little air is actually cleaned.

I'll abstain from bringing up the ionic air purifier ozone danger that unwitting customers welcomed into their homes. Why beat a dead horse? Machines like this do little air cleaning and offer you even less in the way of health benefits. The ads cost millions, so you pay even more for these "gotta-have-it-now" products. When comparing air purifiers remember: Popularity counts for nothing, stylish design counts for nothing, a discount and bonus counts for nothing. Don't let yourself be blinded by the media blizzard.

Pitfall #2: The Primrose Path

You're one smart cookie! And you're not alone. There's a veritable grab bag chock full of smart cookies like you just waiting to be devoured by the air purifier cookie monsters. Yes, you diligently go about your air purifier research, examining everything you can find on the web. Unfortunately, thousands of web pages are deliberately false, misleading, incomplete, or just plain incompetent.

Your typical search engine result lists thousands of air purifiers all in direct competition with one another. Confusion, contradiction, claims and counterclaims are the rule, not the exception. While there are many good air purifier suppliers and honest reviews most search engine results are a complete waste of time. Obscure jargon keeps you in the dark, as if you need a PhD to unravel the meaning of acronyms like HEPA, CADR, VOC, AHAM, and others.

Certain charitable organizations like the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America are paid licensing fees so their name and seal can be added to marketing materials, conveying an aura of approval and quality. These tactics are designed to confuse, overwhelm and mislead all the while under the guise of informing and assuring you their product is the best ever. I urge you to go forward eyes wide open and see the industry's primrose path for what it is: A mine field.

Where Do We Go From Here Now That We've Gone Too Far

You may well believe after reading the above that finding the right air purifier is a lost cause. It's not, and you can do it easily as long as you follow a few simple steps. First, you need to focus clearly on the reason why you need an air purifier. This helps you always ask, "Does this air purifier deliver what I really need?" Second, once you focus on the real health benefit you need, determine the standard of clean air necessary to deliver that benefit. Comparing air purifiers against one another is pointless. An air purifier must be measured against a specific standard for clean air.

Third, determine which air purifier technologies are able to deliver the standard of clean air. Doing this allows you to completely ignore certain types of air purifiers, a major time saver in your search. Fourth, understand what factors constitute quality and performance in your chosen air purifier type. This way, you know what to look for when comparing air purifiers. At this point, you'll realize that there are only a few air purifier manufacturers that really deliver on their promise. You'll feel confident that you can make a good choice. All that's left to do is decide what your budget will allow, which choice gives you the most for the cost, or if you're willing to pay a premium for the absolute top performer.

If you would like additional details about comparing air purifiers I'd like to invite you to take advantage of my Seven Simple Steps to Discovering Your Best Air Purifier by visiting my site.

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