One of the most thwarting things to go through is having allergies or asthma. A few years back while living in New York, I knew I had allergies but, I never imagined it would cause as many problems as it did. I was fine one day and then the next I could hardly breath, I kept feeling like I was going to pass out. It turns out the pollen that year was incredibly high and was bothering everyone but for some reason it was bothering me even more. I actually ended up in the hospital a week later because it got to the point where I literally could not catch my breath. They said that I was having really bad allergy symptoms but that I was also having asthma symptoms because of the allergies. It was really scary feeling like that. And I have to wonder if we had an air purifier if I would have ever gone through that conundrum in the first place!



Now in my new home we decided to buy an air purifier and it has been the best investment I could have ever possibly made. I looked online for lots of different brands, and types, but we ended up getting a Sharper Image SI830 UV Ionic Air Purifier. It costs about $150 but again, it was well worth it, and I needn't go through the problems I did go through in New York. This thing has been a godsend. The system itself was rated as one of the best, so that's another reason I chose this one.

This purifier is inexpensive, quiet (which is a definite plus), and it's small so you don't have to worry about it taking up a whole lot of room. On one website they even called this the "greener" option because it only runs on 13 watts 24/7 and there is no filters to replace so it costs less money than other purifiers! So, what exactly does a UV (ultra violet) do?

Well simply put, the active component is the fluorescent light tube. The inside of the tube is usually coated with a phosphor to produce type UVA radiation and some blue light. The outside of the tube features a fiberglass mesh where each strand is coated with a nanometer thin layer of semiconductor crystals. The air circulating over the light tube is cleaned by photo-catalytic oxidation. If the purifier uses germicidal type UVC (which most do) it uses radiation to kill germs, destroying their DNA. Yes, it's all very scientific but it makes sense when you really think about it. Oh and by the way for those wondering the UV rays and radiation that comes from the purifier is not harmful. And they won't cause irritation to skin or eyes either.