Review on Winix 5500 2 Purifier PlasmaWave Reducing by Melissa Wilson

Ionized Air Purifiers are tested to no more than 50 ppb of ozone generated, they are not tested to 0 ppb. Ozone is harmful to health. When purchasing an air purifier, I found various forms of misleading information about a single filtration step called ionization (plasma, ion). It's true that if you create a strong electric field, you can strip electrons from particles like dust to electrify the dust and therefore be attracted to the anode plate instead of being collected in the air. The same process can also kill bacteria and mold. But it's also true that the same mechanism removes electrons from gases like oxygen and nitrogen. When the ionizer acts on oxygen, it turns into ozone. Ozone is a very unstable, highly reactive oxidant. Think of it like a free radical wanting to commit to something and most likely doing something bad or at least unintentional. It is poisonous. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) limits for ozone concentrations are 0.050 parts per million, or better yet, 50 parts per billion. There should be no more than 50 ozone molecules for every billion air molecules. It's a very, very, very small amount. It seems that since CARB set that limit, everything should be fine. Well, the troublesome component of smog is ozone. On smoky days, ozone levels often exceed 100 parts per million. In 2017, Southern California had ozone levels above 100 ppb for 145 consecutive days. Smog-related ozone tends to decrease nightly. However, if you use an ionizer 24/7 and add its ozone output to the background ozone level, you can create a real health hazard. The NIOSH recommended limit for ozone pollution is 100 ppb. Ozone levels of 500 ppb or higher are considered dangerous to life or health by NIOSH. For filtration, a mechanical filter is safer - a washable pre-filter, stack filter and activated carbon are all you really need.