I remember how my roommates and I used to have a minor spat whenever we ran out of fresh air filters for the negative ion air purifiers at our old college dorm rooms. It was always a sore point on whose turn it was to buy the filters.

Students in today’s dorms probably argue about which brand of negative ion air purifiers are best before they can move on to the nitty-gritty of whose turn it is to change the filters.

Negative ion air purifiers, no matter the brand, will probably work in the same way.

Airborne particles generally have a positive charge. Since opposite charges attract, the negative ions released by air cleaners attract the positively charged particles in the air.

Airborne negative ions will continue to attract dust and sundry particles until the heavy, ionized particles becomes so dense that they fall from the air. Since they are no longer airborne, the dust and other particles will no longer be inhaled and they are prevented from interfering with respiration and causing problems.

You can just vacuum, dust, or sweep away ionized particles. If they become airborne during cleaning, the ionization process will simply be repeated.

Negative ion air purifiers are no longer just used in dorm rooms and households. They have made their way into cars as well.

One interesting study comes courtesy of the Toyota Central R & D Laboratories, which showed ionization relieves fatigue and enhances cognition in drivers. Now THAT’s uplifting!

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