what is the smell coming from our air purifier?
We just purchased a new air purifier, and it has an odd smell coming from it. I believe it is an ionic type, I think I found it is the smell of ozone coming out, ut not sure. Is that harmful to people and animals?
You’re correct that what you smell is indeed ozone. It’s a byproduct of the ionic cleaners and is not harmful to people and animals unless you keep your head about 2-3 inches from the unit at all times. Once the air moves farther than that it dissipates so quick there’s nothing to worry about. The old Ionic Breezes from Sharper Image had a honeycomb filter (same stuff a catalytic converter is made of) which completely eliminated the ozone problem to appease the media. Enjoy your clean air, and don’t turn off the filter because your air will revert back to the same state it was before you had the cleaner.
Ionizers are designed to produce a very limited amount of ozone. Even so, they are designed for large rooms. If you put one of these in a small or confined space, or leave it on for long periods of time, yes you can harm plants, humans, and animals.
[EDIT:
To the person(s) that give me "down votes" for not playing up ozone... the US-EPA has stacks of studies that show, among other things, that ozone exposure is a carcinogen in mice and 100% fatal in cases where enough is applied. So by thinking that ozone is harmless, and encouraging thoughtless use, you could be in legal trouble. Like they could find you...
Use your heads.]
No it is not harmful , clean it each month, and do not sit and smell it.Ions it is cleans the air
sorry never use them