In this neighbor dispute, air-purifier maker clears the air

They say good fences make good neighbors, but in one New York City apartment building, an air-filtration system was key to keeping the peace.

The dispute became known last winter after news stories reported that a couple, lawyers who live in an upscale Upper West Side apartment building, had sued a neighbor on their floor because cigarette smoke was wafting from her condominium into the common hallway. The plaintiffs have a young son whose health, they claimed, was being affected by the secondhand smoke.

New Yorkers love a good real-estate dispute, and this one had the makings of a reality-TV classic (the defendant had also been accused of having her dog urinate on a the plaintiffs’ stroller). But the parties settled the matter out of court, thanks in part to the third-party efforts of Aerus, which makes vacuums and air purifiers.

Shortly after the suit was filed, Aerus offered to install an air-filtration system for free in the defendant’s apartment to help capture the smoke from her cigarettes. In a New York Times article, Joseph P. Urso, chief executive of Aerus, said the filtering system was instrumental to reaching a settlement.

We’re currently working on a story on neighborly disputes, and would love to hear your stories about any nuisances you’ve had to deal with, including issues related to topics like noise, fences, trees, boundaries/property lines, safety, and esthetics.

If you have a compelling tale to tell, send us an e-mail with all the details. As always, we’ll respect your privacy—read our privacy policy—and will keep your information confidential. Please indicate if you’re willing to be contacted by a reporter working on this story.—Daniel DiClerico

Essential information: When you’re in the market for an air purifier, read our latest report on these devices and follow our advice to determine whether you need one and to choose the right model for your home. Ratings of room and whole-house models are available to subscribers.

Sharper Image to shutter its retail stores

Planning to shop at a Sharper Image store for a Father’s Day gift?

News flash: Under new ownership, the retailer has put $50 million worth of inventory at its remaining 86 stores on a closeout sale as it morphs into a company without any brick-and-mortar stores. All merchandise, the San Francisco-based company announced, is selling for 20 to 40 percent off the regular price. On Monday, June 9, the Sharper Image Web site had only a listing of retail locations, a link to send the company an e-mail, and this message: “Sorry to keep you in the dark. But, there’s something big coming. Soon. Stay tuned.”

Even with the price breaks, we don’t favor the Sharper Image Hybrid Germicidal Purifier SI724GRY electrostatic precipitator-type room air cleaner, $500. It rated only a fair in our latest review of room and whole-house air purifiers.

(Part of the financial hardship that led to the company’s February 2008 declaration of Chapter 11 bankruptcy and its May 2008 sale for $49 million grew out of a proposed settlement to a class-action suit filed on behalf of millions of consumers who purchased a Sharper Image Ionic Breeze Silent air purifier after April 1, 1999. Learn more about the legal issues in this January 2008 story from the Home & Garden blog.)

The company’s retail stores will accept all major credit cards, but all sales are final. Forget about discounts based on prior purchases or other discount offers; the company says it won’t accept them. And if you have any Sharper Image gift cards, read about the restrictions the company placed on the gift cards after it filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February and learn about the efforts by competitors to lure away chagrined customers.—Ed Perratore

Essential information: When you’re in the market for an air purifier, use our advice to determine whether you need one and learn how to choose the right model for your home. Ratings of room and whole-house models are available to subscribers. You'll find Father's Day gift ideas on our dads and grads page.

Claim Check: Venta-Airwasher “Humidicleaner”

The claim. The Venta-Airwasher—a “humidifier & purifier—two in one," according to the manufacturer’s Web site—is supposed to trap particles as small as 10 microns while adding moisture to the air. Four models of these German-made products are available for rooms of different sizes: LW 14 (1.2-gallon capacity, $200); LW 24 (2-gallon capacity, $300); LW 44 (3-gallon capacity, $400); and LW 84 (6-gallon capacity, $1,440).

A Venta-Airwasher uses a series of rotating plastic discs to clean the air and add moisture to it. Those discs, mounted on an axle that constantly rotates, dip in and out of a water-filled reservoir. As the wet discs emerge from the reservoir, a built-in fan evaporates the water on them, boosting humidity in a space. Particles in the air are supposed to stick to the discs, then wash off as the discs pass through the reservoir again.

The check. We tested the LW 14 and LW 44 (shown) models as we usually test air purifiers, by measuring their clean-air-delivery rate with the fine dust and cigarette smoke (0.1 to 3 microns) that are of more concern to people with respiratory problems. To test their humidifying chops, we placed each device in a sealed chamber and let it run overnight, recording the humidity level in the room.

The Consumer Reports take. The claim of ridding the air of particles as small as 10 microns is kind of a nonstarter: A 10-micron or larger particle is so big that it's unlikely to remain aloft in the air for long.

Both models we tested proved no better at removing dust and smoke than no air purifier at all. They were, however, efficient at adding moisture to the room. Note that they lack a sensor and controls to let you set a humidity level. Without those features, humidity could rise too high and contribute to mold and mildew growth. What’s more, the Venta-Airwashers are pricey and require you to buy water additive and cleaning solution—a cost of about $90 per year.

Essential information: Watch this video to see how we tested the Venta-Airwasher. Before you buy any air purifier, read the expert advice in our latest report, and find out how well some models eliminate odors and learn how much maintenance your air purifier might require.

Inside CR Test Labs: Maintaining an air purifier

How well you maintain your air purifier will directly affect its performance over time

Do you remember the last time you cleaned the filter in your range hood or replaced the filter in your furnace or air conditioner? If no, you’re not alone. As part of our testing for “Filtering the Claims,” we wanted to see how air-cleaning performance would changes as an air purifier’s cleaning media became loaded with dust, smoke, and other airborne particles. We also hoped to determine if you  need to replace filters as manufacturers suggest or if doing so is a waste of money.

To measure how cleaning performance changes over time, we tested the Friedrich C-90B plate-type electrostatic precipitator, or EP, air purifier and the Whirlpool Whispure AP45030S and IQAir HealthPro Plus HEPA-filter models. We ran these air purifiers nonstop for one year in a very large commercial space whose air we expected to contain dust and smoke particles.

We also rearranged the devices in the space to ensure each machine experienced the same conditions. And throughout the year at regular intervals, we brought the purifiers back to our labs to gauge their cleaning performance.

While the performance of the two HEPA models declined gradually and at a similar rate, that of the Friedrich (shown) fell more abruptly—about 20 percent in one month. It took the entire year, including not changing the prefilters at the manufacturers’ recommended intervals, for the HEPA models to decline that much.

However, because the Friedrich’s initial performance was the best of this group, after a month its absolute performance, indicated by its clean-air-delivery rate, or CADR, was still higher than that of the IQAir when new—265 compared with 237. It took about another month without cleaning its plates before the Friedrich’s CADR dropped below 237. What’s more, after we cleaned its prefilter and collection plates, the Friedrich saw its CADR return to its original high value of 335, confirming the importance of maintenance.

The bottom line: You need to maintain your air purifier if you expect it to keep cleaning the air in your home. Our testing supports the typical maintenance recommendations from manufacturers. Note that our testing also shows that plate-type EPs generally require more-frequent filter cleaning than filter-based purifiers.

But you’ll likely spend more to maintain and run a filter-type purifier than you will for an electrostatic precipitator since the former type normally uses replacement filters and consumes more electricity.

Still, if you’re unlikely to perform the necessary maintenance, opt for a filter-type purifier, which we consider your best choice overall because it cleans the air without producing ozone. Research is increasingly warning against adding ozone to indoor air, though more studies need to be conducted to determine the effects of low-level ozone exposure on humans.—Ed Perratore

Essential information: Our Ratings of room and whole-house air purifiers include annual costs for energy and filters or other media. Read our advice on how to improve the air quality in your home without an air purifier.

Scam Alert: Avoid “dirty” duct cleaners

The scenario: You get a flyer in the mail from a company offering to clean the air ducts at your home for only $99. Intrigued by the low price, you contact the company and set up an appointment.

When the company arrives at your house, the rep tries to sell you on a bunch of other services, including carpet cleaning or mold remediation, to improve the air quality inside your home. If you don’t bite at these invoice-increasing items, he gives your ducts a cursory cleaning before moving on to the next mark somewhere in your area.

That lowball offer should have been a red flag to avoid that firm. A reputable company will charge $400 to $1,000 to clean the ducts in a typical 2,000-square-foot house, says the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA). A quality job should take two pros, who’ll use specialized tools, about 4 to 6 hours to complete.

Even more important to know is that there’s no proof that cleaning ducts prevents health problems, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Nor do studies conclusively show that dirty ducts increase levels of airborne particulates in a home. Still, there are times when you should get your ducts cleaned:
• Have the ductwork cleaned if it contains visible mold buildup or has debris coming out of supply registers, or if the ducts are infested with vermin. Check for problems by removing the registers and shining a flashlight into the ductwork.
• Consider having your ductwork professionally inspected if someone in your home is suffering from unexplained allergies or illness. Before you do that, however, a doctor should rule out other causes.

To find a reputable duct cleaner, get referrals from the company that services your furnace. You’ll also find NADCA member contractors in your area on the association’s Web site. Before you sign a contract, ask for evidence of contamination, including a lab report if mold is a concern. And be sure the company cleans the entire HVAC system, including the ducts, heat exchanger, and air handler.

After the work has been completed, insist on a thorough visual inspection—all components of the HVAC system should be free of visible dust and debris. A top-shelf pro might even use remote photography to show you the clean ducts.

Essential information: Read “Filtering the Claims” for information on air purifiers.

Update in Sharper Image air-purifier class action

Last fall, a federal judge rejected the latest version of a proposed settlement to a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of millions of consumers who purchased The Sharper Image's Ionic Breeze air purifier after April 1999. Under the proposed settlement in Figueroa v. Sharper Image Corp., the company had agreed to provide plaintiffs store credit worth $19 for each air purifier they had bought—the machines cost up to several hundred dollars apiece—and to make available at the highly reduced price of $7 an “OzoneGuard” attachment to reduce ozone emissions in each purifier purchased.

Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga, a trial judge in the Federal District Court in Miami, ruled that the parties involved in the class action had not established that the settlement terms were “fair, adequate, or reasonable,” and that arguments referring to The Sharper Image’s “precarious” financial position did not make them so. (The Sharper Image reported a drop in sales for October. Meanwhile, there’s been a significant decline in of the value of the company stock.) The attorneys general from 34 states and the District of Columbia also opposed the settlement.

In her ruling, Judge Altonaga also cited the Senate Judiciary Committee, which before passing the Class Action Fairness Act in 2005 decried settlements in which plaintiffs receive promotional coupons or other nominal damages while the lawyers representing the members of the class action get substantial fees. In Figueroa v. Sharper Image Corp., attorneys’ fees for the plaintiffs totaled $2 million.

Among objections to the settlement was one from a class member who had spent more than $500 on two Ionic Breeze purifiers but would have received only coupons worth $38. “The settlement is plagued by a cumbersome claims process that will make it extremely difficult for class members to even obtain the inadequate relief provided by this settlement,” read the 61-page denial of the settlement. (See Judge Altonaga’s decision here.)

In their suit against Sharper Image, plaintiffs had referred to past Consumer Reports tests of the Ionic Breeze that found, as we said in 2002, “almost no measurable reduction in airborne particles” and judged the model poor at removing dust and smoke from the air. (Consumer Reports’ policy does not permit the magazine to involve itself in litigation between other parties.)

Before the proposed settlement, many of the suits against The Sharper Image had been combined into a single nationwide complaint. Plaintiffs in one of the initial suits against the company had also claimed that the company "falsely advertised that the Ionic Breeze air purifier cleans and purifies the air," and that the Ionic Breeze is harmful because it emits ozone in excess of 50 parts per billion.

Following Judge Altonaga’s decision, The Sharper Image issued a statement expressing that it was “clearly disappointed” in the ruling.—Ed Perratore

Essential information: If you suffer from asthma or allergies or have other concerns about the air quality in your home, you might own or be considering buying a room or whole-house air purifier. As we reported in the December 2007 article “Filtering the claims,” there’s little definitive medical evidence that air purifiers help relieve respiratory symptoms, and some models might pose a threat even to healthy users.

Try these basic air-cleaning steps before you buy an air purifier. If you decide to purchase one, be sure to read our December 2007 report. You'll find buying advice and Ratings of room air cleaners. (Ratings of room and whole-house models are available to subscribers.) To see how those appliances clean the air in your home, read “Purifier types,” plus our updated recommendations on electrostatic precipitators and our warnings about two ozone generators.                            

Q&A: Can air purifiers get rid of household odors?

Our kitchen is poorly ventilated, so cooking odors tend to linger. Will an air purifier eliminate the smells?

Some manufacturers of air purifiers claim their machines will remove odors from your home as well as improve the overall air quality there. Hoping to sniff out the truth, we put five room air purifiers to the test.

Manufacturers use a range of different technologies to enable their machines to remove odors:
• The Whirlpool Whispure AP45030S, $230, highly rated in “Filtering the claims,” uses a thin carbon-fiber mat that also serves as a prefilter to remove large particles.

• The Bio-Net EGF Enhanced, a $750 electrostatic precipitator–type purifier, has a small shallow cartridge loaded with carbon granules.

• The IQAir HealthPro Plus, $800, and the Austin Air Systems HealthMate HM-400 (shown), $450, are equipped with large cartridges filled with carbon granules.

• The Winix PlasmaWave 5000, $300, combines a carbon filter with “PlasmaWave” technology said to, generate “both positive and negative ions” to create plasma clusters that “instantly neutralize viruses, bacteria, chemical vapors and odors in the air.”

Over the course of several days, we ran each of the five machines through its paces in the same sealed chamber we used to test for dust and smoke removal. Read the results of the testing below.

Tip of the day: How to choose an air purifier

Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, continues to urge the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to set indoor ozone limits for all air purifiers and mandate performance tests and labels disclosing the results. CU also urges the Federal Trade Commission to investigate air purifier ads to determine the validity of health-related claims.

But if you're set on buying an air purifier, read our latest report “Filtering the claims” and see our Ratings of room and whole-house models (available to subscribers) and keep these points in mind:

Consider a whole-house air purifier. Forced-air heating/cooling systems circulate so much air that they can overwhelm portable purifiers. Whole-house purifiers are a better option. Better products range from $10 to $30 for do-it-yourself filters (shown) to $1,000-plus systems that have to be installed by a pro. The latter are more effective at removing dust and smoke.DIY furnace filters do nearly as good a job of removing dust but aren't as good at removing smoke. Buy a whole-house air purifier with a filter rather than an electrostatic precipitator, which produces some ozone.

Buy a bigger portable model. Portable air purifiers work best at high speeds but are quietest on low. Run the unit on the higher, louder setting when you're not in the room, and turn it down to low when you're nearby. Or buy an air purifier certified for a larger area. We believe a clean-air delivery rate (CADR) above 350 is excellent, and one below 100 is poor. Look for CADR figures with an Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) logo. Only those were confirmed by AHAM.

Avoid ozone generators. Makers of ozone generators often target home users with claims that the devices reduce allergens such as dust, smoke, pollen, germs, and mold.

But our tests found that even at the low everyday settings on some ozone generators, their ozone production quickly exceeded the Food and Drug Administration’s 50 parts per billion limit for medical devices. Purifiers aren't considered medical devices by the FDA.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warns that relatively low levels of ozone can cause chest pain and shortness of breath. Ozone might also worsen asthma and compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections. The EPA regulates outdoor ozone levels, but there is no federal agency that regulates indoor levels or air purifiers. California has recently banned the sale of ozone generators for most uses.—Ed Perratore