Do Negative Ion Generators Help?

[moresleep]

I remember seeing a post from someone somewhere who said he'd rigged up a negative ion generatior in line with his CPAP hose, and that using it had, within just a few days, markedly improved his level of energy. He believed negative ions helped lung function.

Does anyone here know anything about this? I know there are air filtering devices that use negative ions to attach to and clean particles from the air, and also devices that produce negative ions and ozone to kill germs and fumigate; but, this would have to be something quite different from that. Also, can you produce negative ions without also producing dangerous levels of ozone?

It's the wee hours of the morning and my brain is rambling...

[archangle]

I'm highly skeptical.

[mars]

Hi

A Forum search came up with a number of posts you might find interesting, but not quite the same as what you are after.

search.php?keywords=negative+ions

cheers

Mars

[TalonNYC]

There's a difference between ionizers and ionic cleaners. ionizers just put the ions into the air, can't see much help there. Ionic cleaners charge dust particles so that they get trapped by the oppositely charged blades in the device.

I haven't seen all that much evidence that the ionic cleaners work as well as traditional filters, so I've stuck with HEPA-class filter devices. Yes, they can be loud, but they do work.

[JohnBFisher]

... Ionic cleaners charge dust particles so that they get trapped by the oppositely charged blades in the device. ...

Of course there is a downside of this approach that Consumer Reports mentioned. Besides not working (see the following Wikipedia article about a court case that Consumer Reports won), these devices seldom capture ALL of the dust that circulates through them. But your walls and furniture WILL capture them. So, some of that ionicly charged dust ends up sticking to the walls like never before. That's one big YUCK!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_ionise ... court_case

[Alshain]

Yeah, don't do that. Air Ionizers create small amounts of ozone, which is toxic. This isn't that bad except when you are pumping it into a confined space like a cpap mask. This is not only ineffective, but dangerous. Your better option would be to put a HEPA filter in your room and simply filter the rooms air. That way by the time it reaches your CPAP filter, it's already been cleaned once.

[Uncle_Bob]

Have you asked your doctor?

[archangle]

Yeah, don't do that. Air Ionizers create small amounts of ozone, which is toxic. This isn't that bad except when you are pumping it into a confined space like a cpap mask. This is not only ineffective, but dangerous. Your better option would be to put a HEPA filter in your room and simply filter the rooms air. That way by the time it reaches your CPAP filter, it's already been cleaned once.

Good point about the ozone. Some people think a little bit of ozone is good, maybe because ozone kills germs. Others point out that ozone is somewhat toxic to humans, and that it takes dangerously high ozone concentrations to kill germs. http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/ozonegen.html

There are also a lot of old sayings about breathing the "clear mountain ozone." It's just a saying. There's not actually much, if any, higher ozone concentrations in clean mountain air. The ozone layer is a lot higher in the atmosphere. Some people think of ozone as good because of this myth. Some sellers encourage this idea.

In general, ozone in air is harmful to humans, not healthful.

[VA3AEQ]

Alshain and Archangle are 100% correct. Do not hook an ion generator inline with your CPAP hose.

Ozone (or any other charged molecule) is not good for your lungs or respiratory system.

Ozone in particular is a very good oxidizer. It will kill your lungs - think the killer smog in London in the 50's.

BAD BAD BAD