New-Aire - Maintenance Comparison

Maintaining Our New-Aire Purifier is a Snap -
Maintaining the Sharper Image™
"Ionic Breeze® Quadra® is, well, harder.

If you're thinking of buying a Sharper Image™ air purifier you should know this:

• Their heavily advertised "Ionic Breeze® Quadra®" air purifier needs maintenance every two weeks - if not more often. According to their manual the unit needs cleaning "...If the unit begins to arc or make a "static" type of sound..."
  
• Our New-Aire XJ-3000C air purifier needs very little maintenance - an easy filter and bulb change every 12-15 months.
  

About once a year for New-Aire versus 26 times a year for them. 26 times a year. If you don't have all the time in the world (and you want an air purifier that does more at a much better price) you need a New-Aire XJ-3000C.

(And their maintenance is complicated. See below.)

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The "Ionic Breeze® Quadra® Manual and FAQ: very interesting reading.

• You have to clean their purifier about every two weeks, more often if it makes an audible sound or the cleaning indicator flashes. (Later in the manual they tell us it actually needs cleaning every 1-2 weeks.)
• You can't skip this chore - and you have to do it every 1-2 weeks. They tell us that if cleaning is neglected, the purifier will shut down and that you can't use their purifier again until after the grid has been cleaned.

Just how hard is it to clean? Their TV commercials make it look pretty easy. (Pull out the plates, wipe them, put them back in.) The Ionic Breeze owner's manual tells a different story. You be the judge. They tell us that you must:

1. Remove the collection grid from the top of the unit.

2. Now you have to 'quickly' wipe the dust from each of the three collection bars of the grid.

3. Now you have to turn the entire unit upside down for three seconds before replacing the collection grid.

4. They stress that you must allow the collection grid to dry completely before putting it back in the main housing.

But wait - there's more! This is not the only cleaning you have to do. The manual says that if the purifer makes noise when it's working, you have to perform a much more thorough cleaning of the grid and ionizing wires. You have to

5. Pull the collection grid from the top of the unit.

6. Wash the grid with warm soapy water, rinse, and then allow to dry for 24 hours before returning to unit.

7. While the unit is still apart, you have to turn the main housing upside down several times before replacing the collection grid. The purpose for this, they say, is to remove any accumulated particles from the ionizing wires. However, don't forget, you'll have to let the grid dry for 24 hours before putting it back in the unit.

There's even more! Sharper Image™ ships a list of Frequently Asked Questions with their purifer. From that list you learn that if basic cleaning fails to stop the noise, you should try these extra cleaning instructions:

8. Unplug the unit and remove the collection grid.

9. Invert, rotate and shake the unit aggressively for several minutes. They explain that this will cause internal cleaning beads to scrape the ionizing wires inside the unit. They warn us that this procedure may require several attempts.

10. With the grid removed, up-end the unit and shake out collected dust from the base.

Now, if the noise still persists:

11. Once again, unplug the unit and pull the grid.

12. Open the back cover to expose the UV lamp area. (GP model only.)

13. Use a can of compressed air to blow debris and dust from the wire and from the other visible parts inside the unit. (They suggest that one could also use portable hair dryer.)

If the noise STILL still persists, they suggest you try the following. (They also suggest you do it 'cautiously'):

14. Yet again, unplug the unit and take out the collection grid.

15. Use a cotton swab attached to a stick, or cardboard from a dry-cleaner hanger or a long tube of rolled newspaper to wipe down the ionizing wires inside. They warn you to use only gentle pressure to avoid breaking the wires.

16. Blow away dust with compressed air.

17. Reassemble the unit.

They warn that this last delicate chore should be a "last-ditch" effort, since too much pressure could snap the wires and cause the unit to become defective.

By the way, elsewhere in the Sharper Image™ documentation you are advised that you will have to at least do the first stage of cleaning every time you light a candle near the unit, or when you enjoy a fire in a nearby fireplace.

Remember, you have to clean the Sharper Image™ purifier at least 26 times a year.

Our New-Aire XJ-3000C typically needs maintenance about once a year. (In fairness, if you don't mind vacuuming the front of the filter unit every couple months of you can extend the life of the filter to as long as two years. Just a moment or two every couple of months.)

On Sharper Image's™ $500 GP™ model, the one with the UV lamp, the bulb will need to be changed about once a year, the same as ours.

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