Dust is a light thief
Air vs leaf
Floating dust blocks little light. Dust sitting on the leaf blocks a lot
What dust is
Fibers, hair, smoke, microbes and oily droplets, most carrying a positive charge that keeps them aloft
Wash
A fine mist cleans leaves. Shut lamps off and let glass cool first so water cannot shatter a hot bulb
Intake filter
Catch dust and spores before they enter the room
What negative ions do
After rain
Falling water leaves extra negative ions, which is why air smells clean
Precipitate
Negative ions neutralize positively charged particles so dust, spores and odor drop out
Growth
Rosenthal reports faster growth in negatively charged rooms than in positively charged, dry or industrial air
Odor
Enough ions can make even a loud flowering room smell empty
When to run an ionizer
Safe window
Fine in veg and the first weeks of flower
Last three weeks
Do not run an ionizer inside the flowering room. It can neutralize aroma compounds that are not fully sealed in the trichome
Neighbor rooms
During late flower, run ionizers in surrounding rooms instead of over the plants
Pinch test
Terpenes inside intact heads still smell when you break a calyx. The lost smell is the unprotected surface fraction
Catch the grime
Filters
Better units collect the precipitate on a washable pad
Cheap units
Residue often lands within about two feet. Newspaper under the unit catches it
Foil trap
Grounded aluminum foil can act as a simple collector. Replace it when it is filthy
Power
Ion generators use very little electricity