Air Purifiers come in many forms and can be very confusing. There are Ionizers, HEPA Filters, Ozoneators, and Biozines, just to name a few. All of these filters do different things, and you need to be very careful before you purchase one so you will purchase the correct one for your specific needs.

Why is important to have a filter system in your house or office? Your regular furnace or air conditioner filter system just circulates the air inside your house, over and over again. The air goes through a simple filter system, which removes large particles of dirt, but is relatively ineffective for smaller dust particles such as dust mites, harmful bacteria or viruses. These things can all cause asthma and/or allergies when inhaled for long periods of time.

According to Ron Beres, Green Nest co-founder: ?The EPA has deemed indoor air quality one of the top five environmental health risks the U.S. faces today. According to a Massachusetts special legislative report, 50% of all illnesses are caused by indoor air pollution. Our homes and the products and materials in them are literally making us sick.? That is why it is so important to get the right filter system for your needs.

Lets start with the Ionizers and move our way along.

Ion Generators basically make dirt heavier with a negative charge. This new negatively charged dirt drops to the floor or clings to the surface of the room, almost like static electricity. Ionizers are not usually used alone, have a very limited range, and just one may not be enough for a large room. Ion generators can clean the air, but cannot purify it. When my husband and I installed an Ionizer to our furnace filter system, we noticed a lot more dust and dirt on the furniture. I'm not really into dusting every day, so we eventually added a HEPA filter.

HEPA filters collect the dust and dander that is floating around in the air, so if you have an Ionizer dropping charged dirt, the HPEA filter will suck it in and remove it. HEPA filters trap dirt and clean the air, but are not much help for odors.

Ozone Generators generate a gas called ozone, which will purify the air and remove odors. Ozone's properties as a bactericide, viricide, fungicide and deodorizer are well accepted by the scientific community, however, exposure to high levels can be harmful and some studies have shown that they can be a respiratory irritant. There is actually no consensus as to when ozone levels become harmful to humans, but based on available research, regulatory agencies such as the FDA have set safe levels at .05 ppm (parts per million) for continual exposure and OSHA has set 0.1 ppm as a maximum for 8-hour exposures. Most Ozone generators run at a safe level, cleaning the air, as well as purifying and leaving a clean fresh scent.

Biozine purifiers are new and use a technology called ?PureWave" that uses ultraviolet germicidal light waves, purifying hydroxyls, activated oxygen, and photo-ionization (whew, that's a mouthful!). What makes this air purification technology important and unique is that it unites four of the most accepted and powerful methods for destroying contaminants, with the resulting synergy producing a stronger process than the sum of the individual methods. The outcome is the ?best" air purification process, clean and purified air.

So, there it is in a nutshell! You can choose your air purification system(s) according to the size of your room, and/or your particular health needs.