Southern California is a wonderful place to live. It is frequently sunny, clear, and the weather is not very temperamental. In some years we can wear shorts and t-shirt all year long. I cannot think of any place in the U.S. that has weather quite like ours. The major problem we have is that we have an extremely high amount of air pollution. This causes problems for the health of the population. If you are an athlete you know that Southern California smog is very bad for the respiratory system. I once had my lungs clogged up for 2 months due to running in a bad smog day, not fun. So an air purifier is a good investment for anyone living in a smoggy city, it really does work.
The fresh air product is one that I can say worked as expected and provided a noticeable difference within my home. We gave it several different tests over the couple weeks our friends loaned us the unit. It was provided as a trial system and initially was set up in my home on top of my TV cabinet. Having the filter next to the air vents provides maximum exposure to circulate air through the home. It was straightforward to use, simply plug in and let it run.
The first test completed was to spray a cloth with ammonia. I took a whiff of cloth prior to the test and was overpowered by the fumes. We next put the cloth in front of the purifier and within a minute (or so) the smell was gone. Amazing, the purifier removed the smell!
The purifier then ran for a few days. The first morning, when I came into the family room, I certainly noticed the scent or smell left from the purifier. I’m not sure how to describe, except a clean smell, almost overpowering. But, that was easily remedied the following day, when I became used to the smell, and was no longer a disturbance. There are also easy controls on the front to change the level of output or usage, we ran the system on ‘normal’ for all but a couple of tests.
The next test I completed was to set up the unit in my bathroom. I set the unit on purify, closed the door and left it for two hours. After completing the cycle, I reentered the room and moved the purifier. There was a tremendous odor in the bathroom immediately following the purification, but soon dissipated through the bedroom and slowly dissipated within the evening, causing no other concerns. But once the smell dissipated I did notice a cleaner smelling bathroom. It appeared to have done its job.
I then set up the unit by the intake fan of the air conditioner unit and turned on the fan. I ran the system for approximately 6 hours and simply noticed that the air seemed fresher throughout the house.
The last test completed was to put the system in my car overnight. After completing this test, I certainly noticed that any odd smells were removed and was temporarily left with a cleaner smelling car. But once I got into the car later I noticed that a lot of the old smells did come back.
I know that there is more to the unit than smell, but that is my first indication that it is working. I would recommend the unit to those persons sensitive to allergies to remove air born allergens. I know that the unit worked as expected and was able to clean the air and certainly noticed that when cooking, the smells dissipated sooner than without the system.
My friends experience with the Ecoquest Fresh Air Purifier
I have two friends that own this product, (one of which is starting to sell this, hence my opportunity to test one out.) One of my friends is a school teacher and she has been using this in her classroom for a couple of years now. She loves it and has noticed a real difference inside her classroom. She is able to breath more easily in a typically smelly elementary classroom. Obviously she is very pleased with the results.
My other friend (the one starting to sell this and the one I referenced in my Ionic Breeze reviews) has some severe allergy problems. She has owned one of these units for a little over a year and absolutely loves it. Her experience (and this trial) is what sold me on this and may lead to a Christmas present for myself. She is able to breath more easily inside her house and does not complain about her allergies as much as she has in the past.
Here is the really kicker. We moved them into a mobile home this past summer. The home was owned by a single female with her pet dog. The first thing I noticed when I first came in the double wide was a “pet shop odor”. It was disgusting. I didn’t think my friend could handle the smell given her allergy. Well one of the first things we unpacked was their fresh air purifier. We put it in the high sanitize mode and left it in the trailer overnight. The next morning we came over to help move and set up stuff. The first thing I noticed was the absence of that “pet shop smell”. It was gone. I was amazed and impressed. And this wasn’t absent from just one room, it was absent from the entire trailer.
As a side note, my friend’s husband has an issue with snoring. After they got the unit she noticed that her husband’s snoring was greatly reduced after using this unit in their bedroom.
Setup of the Ecoquest Fresh Air Purifier System and how it works.
Easy set up. Make sure the filters are in place, plug in, and turned on. Set the level appropriate for the home size or area that is being purified. Pretty simple and straightforward, not complicated at all.
The noise of the System
There is a quite fan noise constantly running unlike the sharper image units. This takes a little getting used to but isn’t horrible. I had to increase the volume of the television a setting or two.
Where in the room should you place the System?
Place the unit near to the household vent to assist with circulation of the air out of the unit.
Should you run the System continuously?
Yes, this should not pose a problem as long as you don’t put it at the highest setting. Also having it on continuously will not allow bad air to build up.
How do you clean the System?
While not hard to do it, it is a little time consuming. You need a Phillips head screwdriver to complete this operation. You first unscrew the back. Then you unscrew a second backing. From there you have access to a filter unit and you unscrew that unit. Once you have the second backing and the filter out, you vacuum these with your vacuum to suck up all of the dust.
How do you know when you have to clean it?
This unit has an alert on it that tells you when to clean it. Depending on the air quality in your home this will be once every 2 to 10 months.
Precautions I have chosen to take because of the ozone concern.
I will not place any air purification System near anyone that is sleeping because the Ozone gas can sometimes cause dry throat. As long as the machine is 5 feet away from where I sleep then I personally do not have any problems with my throat in the morning. Because of this I will not place them in my children’s rooms, but I have no problem leaving one in the hallway at low. Just my person choices.
My take on ozone.
A lot of people are afraid of ozone, and for good reason. At high doses it can be harmful. This is the reason more research should be conducted since the jury is still out on this subject. But I saw a comment with someone comparing cyanide with ozone. I thought it was funny because the comment seemed full of paranoia. The same type of paranoia occurred with fluorine a few decades ago. Fluorine at high concentrations is used in the manufacturer of rat poison. So when the government was talking about putting fluorine in the water supply, the general public was afraid because they did not want poison in the water supply. What they did not realize is that the fluorine was in a low concentration in our water that was not harmful, and also would be beneficial to your teeth.
The same argument can be made with chlorine. Chlorine is a very reactive substance and chlorine gas has been used to kill. But in low doses it is a great way to disinfect household items and keep pool water clean. Chlorine is a necessary element in our society.
Once more research is done (and it needs to be) then we will know for sure, but for the time being I’m not too worried about these types of machines. And for the time being I am not listening to the paranoia that exists in this area of the industry.
Fresh clean smell?
There is a smell that comes from the unit. My understanding is that this is ozone. Excessive amounts of it can be harmful but leaving it at the lower setting did not produce any problems with me or any family member. I didn’t develop a sour throat or any other symptoms because of it. Keep in mind that the high setting is designed to be used when no one is in the room/house. Low settings appear to be fine.
How many do you need?
One for a home up to 3300sqft
Stats
Claims to cover 20 square feet to 3000 square feet depending on air conditions inside the structure.
height = 11.75" width = 8" depth = 9.75"
weight = 19 pounds
Price
$747
(“reasonable financing available”) (example: 199/month)
Other air fresheners.
Sharper Image Ionic Breeze Compact SI397
Ionic Breeze Quadra
Ionic breeze for the bathroom
Xango, Mangosteen fruit juice.
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