Ionic Air Cleaner
Ions play a significant role in our environment and everyday life. Ions can be positive or negative. Negative ions are used in ionic air cleaners. Positive ions are found in car exhaust, factory exhaust, heavy machinery byproducts, soot, dust, smoke, and other pollutants.
It's the positive ions we have to worry about when dealing with pollution. Negative ions can clear the air of soot, dust, and other pollutants--the offending particles simply fall right out of the air.
Like magnets that attract, the negative ions will cling to the positive ions and they will stick together. Their combined weights make them too heavy to remain floating in the air, and they'll fall harmlessly to the ground.
How Ionic Air Cleaners Work
So how do we get our hands on these negative ions? Nature produces them for us, in some measure. Waterfalls, waves crashing on the beach, and changes in the weather all produce negative ions. Ionic air cleaners use negative ions to clear the air in your home of pollutants. They'll work best when placed high up on a bookshelf or other tall object in a room. Since negative ions are heavier than positive ions, once they are emitted into the air, they'll sink. That's why it really won't do any good to place your ionic air cleaner on the floor--your negative ions will plunk down onto the ground without grabbing any positive ions. Also, since air currents tend to flow better nearest the ceiling, the negative ions will be able to move easily through the room.
Many companies advertise ionic air cleaners that clean the air of the entire house. This is an overstated claim because negative ions can't travel that far. They last about thirty seconds, typically. Then, they either attach to positive ions or collide with solid or conductive objects. Some units are wall mountable, so you can place them as high as possible in a room or install them just below your vents for maximum effectiveness.
