WASHINGTON, April 5 (UPI) -- Ionizing air cleaners do a poor job of air cleaning and can expose users to lung-damaging levels of ozone, says the USA Today, citing a Consumer Reports study.
The May issue of the magazine says its testers examined six popular ionizing cleaners and one HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter.
It found most did more harm than good, producing potentially harmful ozone while doing a poor job of removing dust, smoke and pollen.
"Anyone who has respiratory problems might think, 'The closer I get this thing to my head while I'm sleeping, the better.' Those people will be exposed to relatively high levels of ozone, which is not a good thing," says Mark Connelly, the magazine's director of testing.
Casey Fisher, president of Surround Air, which makes one of the models on Consumer Report's "not recommended" list, disputed the results. He told USA Today tests conducted by "an independent lab prove the ozone level produced by the XJ-2000 is well below safety standards at as close as 1 foot away, and even less."
There is no government oversight of ionizing air cleaners.
