Brookstone is that really cool gadget store you find in malls across America. It’s the one you walk into just because its fancy appliances are fun to play with. Brookstone Inc is actually a subsidiary of Osim International. Brookstone offers a number of air purifiers on their e-commerce website, but they actually have a model produced and distributed by them. It is also the model that you can usually find in its points of sale. It’s called Pure Ion Pro. It uses active processes like ozone and ionization to clean the air.

This Pure Ion Pro model only covers 100 square feet and costs $1.89 per square foot of clean air per year. It has an MSRP of $299.99 and is expected to cost $1888.50 over 10 years of use. This aesthetic model, meaning it looks pleasing to the eye, will provide some reduction in air pollution wherever it is used. But in the wide spectrum of options available on the market, this air system is a higher priced, lower value unit. A major concern is that there is no information on the actual effectiveness of the purifier in reducing airborne particles. With no efficiency rating, it’s hard to compare it to other options on the market.

The company only backs this air purifier with a one-year warranty. It will likely need replacement every 2-3 years. Unfortunately, a certain segment of the air purification industry has found that they can successfully build low-end air purifiers and market them in retail stores. I’m not sure what the long-term logic is, as customers are generally not happy with performance. However, in cases like Brookstone’s, there are also many satisfied customers. It would seem that these customers are satisfied with what this system offers them. It is also clear from many reviews, that they are also not aware of what other options are on the market and how they could be better.

The Pure Ion Pro does what it does well. But there is no doubt that the numbers do not offer the best cost-benefit ratio on the market. There are others that will offer the same or better performance. The standard cost range for air purifiers that use active purification processes is typically less than 25 cents per square foot of clean air per year. In many cases, it is in the range of 8 to 15 cents.

The Pure Ion Pro will provide good cleaning value for a small room environment, but if you really want to tackle a big air quality issue, I recommend researching your options before choosing an air purifier.