How to Clean an Ionizer

A nasty assortment of floating particles infest the air in your home, such as pet dander, dust particles, bacteria and mold spores. Electrical equipment emits a constant stream of contaminating positive ions into the air any time it is powered up. The negative ions emitted by the ionizer will remove contaminants and deposit them on a collecting plate. Cleaning an ionizer is an easy task.

Things You'll Need

• Paper towels
• Water
• Trash can

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Instructions

• 1

  Set a regular schedule of cleanings and mark it on a calendar. The time between cleanings will depend on how often the ionizer operates. You can determine an appropriate schedule based on how often you need to clean the ionizer the first two or three times.

• 2

  Wear rubber gloves if you'd rather not have the collected particulates touch your skin. There is no danger in the contact but the stuff can leave marks on your hands which can then transfer to clothing or furniture.

• 3

  Bring your ionizer outside or to a mud room and remove the plates by following the instructions that came with your unit. Do so gently, as the collected particulates can be disturbed, and brush off the plates back into the air.

• 4

  Barely dampen a paper or cloth towel; if it drips water, it's too wet. Starting from top to bottom, make one single stroke with the damp towel down the length of the plate. Make sure you get all the edges and corners.

• 5

  Flip the damp towel over and run it down the other side of the plate. Continue until the sides of all the plates have been wiped free of the contaminants, and then dispose of the dirty towels in the trash.