Is this breeze full of hot air?
Written: Nov 15 '04 (Updated Dec 25 '04)
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Pros: Quiet, attractive, compact
Cons: Very expensive, hard to clean, generates ozone
The Bottom Line: This product eliminates odors. Other than that, I haven't noticed a difference.
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| Ahab1973's Full Review: Sharper Image Ionic Breeze Quadra SI637 Air Purifi... |
Note: This review, like most reviews on this site, is completely unscientific. It is based upon a three week evaluation of this product in my home. All observations arise simply from what I can hear, smell or taste.
Also, it should be noted, for the record, that I did not purchase this product. It was given to me as a gift by a family member. I had no expectations for this product other than the control of objectionable odors in my smoking room. I do not suffer from severe allergies and therefore, can’t evaluate this product in that regard. This review is based solely upon the effectiveness of this product as a form of odor control.
I’ve never been one to watch a lot of TV. Even so, it’s hard to miss the infomercials that Sharper Image saturates TV land with in the process of promoting this product. I’ve seen the commercials and although I admit, I was rather intrigued by the concept of an entirely electronic air “filter”, the price always seemed quite prohibitive, considering the fact that I merely wanted to satisfy my curiosity.
Thus, I never purchased one. I was a little surprised when my mom brought this thing to me. I’ve long complained about the strong, lingering smoke odor in my room. Although I’ve tried very hard, I’ve been unable to completely stop smoking and therefore, the odor is inevitable.
Over the years, I’ve tried a wide variety of methods to try and at least cut down a little on this odor. I’ve tried sprays, powders, incense, frequent vacuuming, you name it. Nothing really ever seemed to work.
As any moderate to heavy smoker well knows, you get used to the smell after a while and you don’t really notice it until you’ve been outside your home for a few hours and return. The cigarette odor that hits you when you walk in the door is almost overwhelming (At least to me).
Quite frankly, no matter how simple the terminology that’s used to describe the science behind this technology, it’s beyond me. Thus, again, this review is written in complete laymen’s terms.
What’s in a name? Sharper Image? Frankly, it stuns me beyond belief that any company would take on such a name and expect to be taken seriously by any seasoned consumer. The very name, it would seem to me, implies trickery. I’ve seen some of Sharper Image’s other products at my local Circuit City. Almost without exception, the ones that I’ve been able to mess around with were way overpriced. Indeed their products do look sleek and high tech. If I wanted to buy a compact audio system with looks being my main criteria, I’d definitely go for the Sharper Image system. The sound, however, is no better than you could reasonably expect from a low priced boom box.
Anyway, not to stray off topic, the Ionic Breeze Quadra looks the part if you go by name only. The technology certainly does seem space age. This thing would disappear into the landscape on the starship Enterprise were it not for the decidedly 2004 era power cable. It really is sleek looking and unobtrusive in almost any environment. But does it do what Sharper Image claims it does?
OK, let’s face it, when it comes to the air quality in one’s home, most of us are completely at the mercy of our own senses in making the determination of clean air versus dirty air. If we can smell the air and it smells unpleasant, we figure it’s probably not the cleanest air in the world. Dust is another obvious manifestation of dirty air. I don’t know anyone who’s ever taken a white cloth, wiped the front of their TV tube and didn’t exclaim “Gross!”. Yep, dust is just a reality in the modern world. But is there really any way to get rid of it? Well, I’ve tried some air “filters” that actually utilize a physical filter and even then, there was still plenty of dust present for my weekly dusting.
I’d have to say that when it comes to dust and airborne particles, there’s really no way to get rid of it all. Nevertheless, my interest in this product was never for health reasons. If I was overly concerned about the quality of the air I’m breathing, I’d quit smoking in a hurry.
Upon receiving the Ionic Breeze Quadra, it was a simple matter to find an empty spot in my room, plug it in and let it do it’s thing. There’s a three way electronic switch on the top of the unit, along with the three indicator lights for low, medium and high. I set the unit to high when I set it up and have only changed settings a few times out of curiosity. Just as you see in the infomercial, the unit does emit a slight breeze from the front of the grille. So, the unit does move air.
The concept of the design, it seems is that the air is sucked into the back of the unit by electronic means and passes over the three stainless collector plates. Airborne particles of dust are compelled to adhere to the surface of these collector plates by means of static electricity, it seems.
So, does it work? That’s quite a subjective question. Within hours of setting the unit up, I noticed that the air didn’t smell nearly as bad. I could detect a slight odor of ozone, which, by the way is a very powerful oxidizing agent. The Sharper Image literature claims that the amount of ozone generated by this unit is well below the safe threshold but it’s something you should be aware of if you’re contemplating the purchase of one of these.
Personally, I believe it is the ozone generated by this unit that’s responsible for most of the deodorizing that occurs. Again, the amount of ozone generated is said to be trace amounts and well below the danger level. Nevertheless, after the unit was in operation for a day or two, there was no question there was ozone in the air. That thunderstorm smell is a telltale sign of ozone.
At any rate, this unit is very effective at cutting down on odors of all kinds. Yes, it generates a bit of it’s own type of odor but most people find the smell of ozone, in small quantities to be rather pleasant.
I’ve cleaned the collector plates at least twice now and there was a significant amount of gunk built up on their surfaces. Now anyone who has ever done any significant amount of cleaning in a room where someone’s been smoking knows that the gunk from cigarettes sticks to everything like glue (My lungs ache just thinking about it). Frankly, cleaning these collector plates is not nearly as easy as the Sharper Image infomercial would seem to imply. I first tried wiping the surface with the included micro fiber cloth, slightly moistened. What happened? Nothing. The moistened cloth barely made a dent in the gunk that had accumulated. Now there are three of these plates, each of them double sided. The problem is that they are mounted so closely to one another that it’s really difficult to get any kind of cleaning implement in there, much less be able to see what you’re doing.
Granted, this cleaning process might be much easier if the unit is used in an environment that is free of cigarette smoke but still, I don‘t think it would be anywhere near as easy to clean as the commercial would seem to indicate.
This unit makes an audible crackling noise when the plates need to be cleaned. The sound is not that bad but allowing it to go much longer without cleaning could damage the electronics, or so I’m told by those in the know. I’ve read many of the other reviews on this product and one issue that kept creeping up was the fact that these units, in many cases, don’t seem to last much longer than six months to a year. I know solid state electronics to be fairly durable and reliable. The only thing they don’t seem to weather too well is arching, which can happen rather easily inside this unit when it’s dirty.
The literature also goes to great lengths to point out that the array must be completely dry after cleaning before the unit is put back into operation. I think, perhaps that some owners just get impatient and slide the array back in while there’s still a little moisture in some of the less visible places.
Thus, I believe the key to the longevity of these units to be keeping up on the maintenance. If you’re considering buying one of these, ask yourself if you’re willing to take about 30 minutes to an hour out of each week to clean it properly. That’s about the length of time it takes and the work can be pretty tedious. There are also a couple of hinged plastic flaps at the base of the collector array which look as though they might easily snap off if you’re not careful. At least one other review I’ve read spoke of this. They don’t appear to be so fragile that they’d simply fall off of their own accord but accidents happen. One drop would probably be all it would take to break them right off. A single incident of bad aim with the cleaning cloth could also spell curtains for these little guys. Bottom line - If great care is taken whilst handling and the plates are meticulously cleaned at least weekly, this unit should last quite a while. Although the case is made of plastic, it doesn’t look or feel sloppily made. As something of an electronics geek, I’ve seen my fair share of poorly designed, sloppily constructed gadgets and the Ionic Breeze Quadra just doesn’t seem to show any telltale signs of either.
I guess time will tell. I’ll update this review if I have serious problems.
Conclusion: In spite of the fact that this product lives up to my expectations, it must be remembered that I paid absolutely nothing for it and therefore, didn’t have lofty expectations. Honestly, I probably never would have purchased something like this for myself. If I did, I’d expect it to live up to each and every claim made by it’s manufacturer. Sharper Image has obviously made cleaning the unit appear to be much easier than it actually is through deceptive advertising. After cleaning this unit only a couple of times, the part in the ad where it shows a person clean one of the plates in just seconds is really insulting. While I realize that nicotine isn’t your run of the mill gunk, I don’t imagine the cleaning process would ever be quite as simple as they’d have you believe. This unit is not even close to maintenance free.
Considering the fact that they go to great lengths to demonstrate that cleaning is a breeze, it’s not much of a stretch to imagine that some of their other claims might be just a tad too good to be true. As I stated, this unit does effectively cut down on unpleasant odors but I was not able to notice any other differences before and after the use of the Ionic Breeze Quadra.
My recommendation if you’re interested in clean air is that you don’t smoke and do some serious research before you spend your hard earned money on something that may only make a marginal difference, if any, on the actual quality of your air. If you suffer from allergies, your doctor can probably help you more than any air cleaner can. Remember that all manufacturers are in the business of depriving you of your money and many of them won’t hesitate to resort to underhanded tactics in the process of doing so.
Update - December 25 - 04 - Whilst in the process of rereading my old reviews, I felt that I should explain my 3 star rating, given that I've stated that I don't recommend the product.
The rating is based upon the product's sheer geek appeal and the fact that it does what I, personally, want it to do. As I noted, I don't think it lives up to it's manufacturer's claims. Hence, the "no" recommendation.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): gift
Battery Life: N/A
Noise Level: Almost noiseless
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Epinions.com ID:
Ahab1973
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Member: Brian
Location: USA
Reviews written: 132
Trusted by: 65 members
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