Effects of Ionic Breeze on a Baby

The Sharper Image reports that its Ionic Breeze air purifiers work by electrically charging dirt particles in the air and attracting the particles into the oppositely charged collection blades in the unit. The owner can then easily wipe the dirt particles off the blades.

Ionic Breeze is Quiet

• The Ionic Breeze is quiet because of its lack of a fan inside of the unit. It is a quiet way to clean the air in any room, including babies' rooms. The lack of a fan is a problem because the purifier can't effectively filter the dirty air out of the room without one. It can only catch a small amount of dirt particles onto its thin collector plates.

Re-Releasing Bad Air

• According to Consumers Union, all the dust and dirt the purifier doesn't collect, along with dust mites and other allergens, are re-released into the air. The dirt and allergens continue to float airborne for the baby to breathe. These purifiers also produce ozone. Ozone is a form of oxygen that is biologically corrosive. It can be an allergen to babies, as well as people with asthma and other lung diseases. A natural level of ozone is necessary to protect life from the sun's rays. This level of ozone is in the stratosphere, but ozone at ground level is harmful to health.

Pregnant Women and Ozone

• According to researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, pregnant women exposed to high ozone levels are at risk of having babies who are substantially underweight. These women are at risk for having babies born with intrauterine growth retardation, which means the babies only reach the 15th percentile of their expected size.

Lawsuits and Bankruptcy

• "Consumers Reports" filed a lawsuit claiming that Ionic Breeze purifiers not only don't work, but that they actually make the air quality worst by releasing ozone in excessive levels. The Sharper Image then filed bankruptcy in 2008, citing declining sales and the litigation against it.