Sharper Image Ionic Breeze - Air Purifier - Professional Plus Review

We don't have this exact model as our Ionic Breeze is several years old.  We used to have an inside dog and my husband and I both worked, so the dog was in the house for many hours at a time.  When we'd come home from work we could definitely smell "dog smell" in there as soon as we opened the door.  My nose is pretty sensitive, so others had commented they couldn't really smell it, but after a whole day of him being cooped up, it was very noticeable to me.  After we started using the Ionic Breeze, we didn't notice the dog smell.  I haven't tried any cheaper air purifiers other than some very small tabletop ones that weren't really comparable, so cheaper ones may work just as well.  Sometimes you get what you pay for in a name brand, sometimes not.  We bought ours during a good sale in which we got 2 large Ionic Breeze machines and 2 bathroom units.  They do pop and hiss when they are dirty and need to be cleaned.  To me, that is a good signal that it's time to clean them!  They are not designed to hold all the dirt in your air for an indefinite period of time, so if you don't clean them when they start making noise, they will shut themselves off.  The concept is very similar to how dust is attracted to your TV screen by static - and you know how dirty the TV screen can be - so you DO have to clean these periodically.  I can definitely tell a difference when we use them.  Other than the price, there are a couple of other cons I will note: 1.  There are areas where it is very difficult to clean (not on the collection area) and if your unit is not black, it will look dirty.  You'd have to use a cotton swab and really get in there in some places.   Cleaning the actual collection area is not hard at all, however.  2.  If you have a large house or multiple levels, like we do now, you will need several units - and they are very costly.