The sharper image pioneers of ionicair purifiers were the manufacturers of the ionic breeze quadra air purifier.
It used static electricity instead of an actual filter to filter the air just like
the first ionic breeze. Although the ionic breeze is no longer in production, we
can still find these at quite a few retail outlets. Below is quick comparison
of the ionic breeze quadra air purifier with some other options.
The quadra term is probably going tobe the first difference that most people notice between the quadra air purifier
and the original. There is no clear cut explanation as to why that particular
term was used. The first ionic breeze seems to have been just as effective atdoing its job. Just like the original, the sharper image suggested it be usedin large or medium sized rooms. There is no noticeable difference in features
between the two units.
Pretty much every quadra air purifier
product on the market is going to be compared against true Hepa purifiers.
Comparing them directly can be a bit difficult, though, since an ionic purifier
works in a completely different manner than a Hepa air purifier. In an ionic
purifier, there is a bar that is charged with static electricity to attractsolid particles floating by and that are simply cleaned off.
With Hepa purifiers, a filter
element catches the contaminants that cannot fit through tiny openings as air
is forced through. The filter has to be thrown away and a replacement
purchased. Quadra air purifier will almost always lag behind a Hepa purifier
when considering sheer efficiency. Hepa purifiers are a lot more expensive to
use, especially in considering replacement filter costs.
After everything is said and done,
an ionic breeze Quadra air purifier will do roughly the same job as a Hepa
purifier, if we give it enough time. There is also the advantage of silentoperation which comes from using no fans. If we look at reviews written by
people who actually bought the products, we will see that, although it was
lambasted by the media, the Quadra air purifier was actually liked. That was
not enough to keep the sharper image from having to declare bankruptcy due to
all the bad publicity.
There has been no new ionic breeze quadraair purifier products produced since bankruptcy, even though the sharper image
name lives on under the roof of another company. Warranty service and spareparts are probably straight out. We have no way of knowing how long a Quadra
air purifier which could have been produced as far back as 2000 even if billed
as new by the reseller.
There are other alternatives besides Hepa purifiers. The ionic pro air purifier produced by the aptly named IP- LLC is one of the latest ionic purifiers. Since they are still in business, parts will be easier to get and service will be available and prices are roughly the same as ionic breeze air purifiers. Unless we find an ionic breeze quadra air purifier is really cheap, we probably should steer clear.
