Ion generator in my air purifier?

What is the ion generator for in my air purifier?  I've only been using the filter so far, but the instructions say I can press this button and it makes dust more likely to settle and get trapped in the filter.  

But I don't really understand because some places online say that these ions combine with other things in the air and can be a health hazard.  

What does it do?
What situations is it safe to use?  For example, when I'm doing a big clean?  Every day?  Only in big rooms?  Never?

There's a lot of contradictory information about this online, so I come here.  

Both statements are true. It does in fact help attract and trap dust. And it does cause some reactions to happen that is bad for health.

It's like chlorinating well water, can be needed but it does come with some side effect. So just drinking as is or UV or Ozone or Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide.

Overall I would say don't use the ion feature.

What about turning it on for times when I'm dealing with a lot of dust.  Maybe an hour or so when I deep clean the house or have a dusty task?  Leave it off most of the rest of the time?

In the summer I would just open some windows and door. Clean, then go outside for some fresh air until it settles.

For the winter I would get a humidifier, but not the 'dust making' ones only a wicking/evaporative one.

I have seen a post made by Dale where he uses what looks like a leaf blower to dust down his house and that removes his dust for a long time vs what most of us do, which is just to make it airborne until it resettles again, making a mess yet again.

All that said, just 1hrs on is better than 2hrs on or 24hrs on every single day.

raven ranson wrote:What is the ion generator for in my air purifier?  I've only been using the filter so far, but the instructions say I can press this button and it makes dust more likely to settle and get trapped in the filter.  

But I don't really understand because some places online say that these ions combine with other things in the air and can be a health hazard.  

What does it do?
What situations is it safe to use?  For example, when I'm doing a big clean?  Every day?  Only in big rooms?  Never?

There's a lot of contradictory information about this online, so I come here.  

Perhaps you've already seen it but here's a link that I found helpful to get the basics: Negative ion benefits

S Bengi wrote:In the summer I would just open some windows and door. Clean, then go outside for some fresh air until it settles.

That's exactly why I got the filter.  I used to do that, but the outside air here has a lot of smoke (wild fire in the summer, woodsmoke in the winter) and pollen (nearly year 'round).  I don't like the idea of these coming into my newly clean house.  

I'm also not wanting the dust to settle because I'll just have to clean the same dust again later.  I want to remove the dust from the house.  The filter has been great for that, but there are times when I create a lot of dust.  I'm looking for ways to deal with this and wondering if the ion tool might be useful or if it's not worth the health risk.

With the wild fire, it might be the lessor of two evil.
Coway Airmega 400. This air purifier might be a better one, with less ions.

I know that regular filters trap and contain dust/etc. I think ion technology doesn't contain them, instead it just makes them buildup on the surface of things, and once you sweep again, they become airborne again.

But I think that might still be the lessor of two evil.

I did a lot of digging into this,   I found that it can be of benefit to create ozone and also charge the small particles  so that they stick to surfaces ( like your walls ).    

That said it can work against you as the air feed into it may also have other chemicals from your home that would generate harmful air,  like hair spray etc.

In my opinion ( others can and do disagree )   I believe the better option is to filter the air with an air purifier.       I only use ozone when the air feed to the ionizer is 95% oxygen, so that I am getting pure ozone, but I don't breath this as ozone is not good to breath but is most useful for "flushing a home" of smells.      They sell ozone machines that are used after fire damage has been done to remove the smoke smell.

The simplest and cheapest way I have found of doing this is a box fan and an air filter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVVGExTGCl8

Or this solar one with a 5 gal bucket ->

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa6Oa4hQzbE