If you've already taken your flu shot and want a little extra power to keep those pesky viruses at bay, you
may be tempted to check out Sanyo's Virus Washer, which the company claims kills airborne bugs via an "alpha
electrolytic water disinfectant system." However, we can't help but be a little dubious of such claims. As near as
we can tell, it's basically a humidifier coupled with an ionizer. Even if the device is able to kill viruses in the air
over a limited space, it's still not going to stop you from getting sick via more common causes like getting sneezed on
at close range or just shaking hands or touching a contaminated object. We think you'd do better following your mom's
advice and washing your hands frequently and keeping them away from your face during the flu season. But we're still
sure Sanyo's going to sell a lot of these; after all,
Sharper Image has
proven that an air-cleaning system doesn't need to be effective to be a big seller. And as much as we'd like to
think otherwise, we suspect that Japanese consumers will be as gullible as their American counterparts.
[Via
Akihabara News]
posted Jan 23rd 2006 11:07AM
good works..
you virus washer for information to give me.
lol rss feeds, dosnt give me the whole title so it said that it cleand viruses out of...
Now thats not what i wads thinking of lol
I know CR said these things are pretty much worthless, but my friends sometimes come over and smoke in my room and the smell is gone within 20 minutes, compared to my neighbor, whose room smells like an ashtray.
And what about the blades you have to clean off? Mine get so dirty that I have to clean it every few days or the thing starts hissing because nothing can stick to it.
They may not be as effective as HEPA filters, but they do work in my experience... and they don't make you pay $60 or whatever ridiculous price HEPA filters cost.
CR's biased comments aside - their testing labs alone questions the quality of the validity of their statments -, the only way to know is to use an electrostactic air cleaner. Ozone is a byproduct of the process, but the levels in no way ever approach what something like CR tries to imply. Easy to clean, maintain and more than effective. Great product from Sharper.
Wow, it kills free-floating viruses in air...just like, well, the air.
Your average living virus has a rough time staying coherent anyway in the chill, naked, dry air - when you've gotten infected, as you're correct to note, it's because you've encountered a live virus still clinging to skin, phlegm, mucous, a litttle droplet of something something for the road; they're not, generally speaking, just out there in the air...not that anyone has ever made money underestimating the Japanese fear of contamination.
With the filter-based models, it's not the HEPA filter you wind up changing all the time, but the coarser and much cheaper pre-filter, which are around $3.00 each. The pre-filter basically catches dust, and lots of it, before it can clog up the expensive HEPA filter.
I've had a fan and filter type air cleaner for about 5 years now, and have replaced the pre-filter countless times. The HEPA filter has only recently gotten to the point where it's time to replace it. Of course, I only use it a month or two out of the year when my allergies go into overdrive.
Jon Acheson
Looks like a bread toaster.
So... you stick this next to your computer and you don't need an anitvirus program anymore? Sweet!
Well, despite the fact that viruses aren't alive (they are just infectious genetic systems) and thus can't be killed, it seems decent albeit still a waste of money.
I have Asthma, so I have researched Air Cleaners.
On this Sanyo Product, I am guessing they use UV lights to do the virus killing (try that on your Hard Drive buster!). I added a UV system to my central AC.
Nobody gets sick in my house any more... um... as long as we don't go outside, let other people in, eat or drink... (Breathing is all good though!) :)
-Pie
The Sharper Image Ionic Breeze electrically binds ions to pariticles, weighing them down so they fall out of the air (to the floor, I guess!). Sure, it gets crap outta your air. Unfortunately, it PUTS crap back in your air... dangerous crap. Ozone crap... which, I understand, is the crap that makes your air smell good!
Sharper Image: Smells good AND pollutes your air! Sniffff... Soooo good, soooo ozoney!! Mmmmm.... :)
Ozone is very bad for your lung. It can cause asthmatic reactions all by its lonesome, making it -- to some people -- potentially deadly. The Sharper Image product produces quite a lot of ozone, and should definitely be avoided. No asthmatic in their right mind would use one of these.
Note that I never read any Consumer reports about this, it's all from unrelated and independent sources.
The best air cleaner is HEPA. That's just the way it is. They're loud and expensive... which is also why the Sharper Image sells so well. Add UV, and they're even more expensive!! Now you can kinda see why the Sharper Image product sells: it's cheap, and smells good.
-Pie
Ugh. Forgot to mention this (don't ban me!).
The Sharper Image actually sued IQAir to keep them from releasing LAB REPORTS stating that the SI product is actually WORSE for your lung.
http://www.iqair.us/sharperimage.html
-Pie
If you're so paranoid about the ozone, just pick up one of the catalysts that comes with the current Ionic Breezes, which converts most of the ozone the thing puts out back to oxygen.
Problem solved.
There is an alternative that has been tested by multiple independant labs around the world. www.airfree.com It's basically a little ceramic over at 400F that cooks the air that passes through it. Kills Bateria, Viruses, Mold , Fungus, renders inert pet dander, reduces mites that feed on mold/fungus and renders inert their feces. We use one in my sons room and his allergy eyes are much better. We also employ a HEPA to remove particles but this unit actually appears to sterilize the air.
Takes about 45W of electricity and doesn't raise the temperature of the room noticeable. I don't work for the company but my empiracle observations of the product have made me like it.
The Ionic Breeze puts out ozone, as does any electrostatic device. But it is within the federal limitations, and even Consumer Reports said so.
Yes, ozone is harmful, in large enough quantities. But the federal limit is 50 parts per BILLION. And the IB puts out less than that. The notion that that little amount of ozone will do anything of significance to you is ridiculous.
And the fact is that the IB works. It removes smells from the air, mainly cigarette smells which is why I got one in the first place. It does exactly what it's advertised to do. It's not as good as a HEPA filter+fan, but it's also not as loud as a fan, it's just totally silent. And I don't care about dust, I care about smells.
Don't expect the thing to perform miracles and you'll be happy with it. I love the Ionic Breeze, it's a great little unit.
Don't know about this one, but I picked up a Sharp FPR30CX that has "Plasmacluster" technology a few weeks ago and am quite pleased with it.
http://www.sharp.ca/products/index.asp?cat=75&pc=82&id=586
The thing that swung me to get it was the Athsma Society of Canada actually gave this line the thumbs up, and it has a HEPA filter so it can't all be bad.
And I think the Plasmacluster thing does really work. I'm looking after a cat for my parents while they're away and the cat doesn't really get along with my cat, so there's occasional territory issues with spraying, and yesterday one of the little darlings made a little smelly puddle in the corner of the kitchen. I cleaned it up but there was still a residual smell so I thought this would make a good test. I brought the Sharp unit into the kitchen and let it run just on fan (so the charcoal and HEPA filters were treating the air) and after a few hours, I could still smell the cat spray, albeit a bit weaker. So then I kicked the Plasmacluster setting on, and within 30 minutes, the smell was totally gone. I was quite impressed.
Ozone is not good for you. There is enough in the air already. Electronic devices like laser printers generate it. Why add something that can damage lung tissue to the air when it's been shown that the concentrations required to actually kill viruses and bacteria in the air are higher than the recomended level for us to breath.
I forgot to mention the airfree units actually remove ozone from the air. Consumer Reports rates the Ionic Breeze as a terrible air purifier. There are many ways to just get smells out the air for a lot less money than an IB that also adds ozone to the air.
The airfree unit removes cigarette smell as well.
Again, I don't work for the company but we really like this little unit. We'll be getting another one for downstairs. No moving parts and nothing to replace.
I'm glad you like you IB but the reviews I've seen on it were poor.