Air Purifier Filters

Air purifier filters are necessary for the unit to work properly. Filters do exactly what their name says: filter the impurities from the air around us. They must be highly efficient and have a high capacity to hold trapped contaminants if we're to get our money's worth from these filters. Thus the companies that manufacture air purifying filters have developed certain standards that all reputable manufacturers adhere to across the board.

One of these standards is that the filter have a high surface area. This relates directly to filter capacity, since the more surface area in a filter, the more dirt it can hold and the less often you'll have to replace the filter. How do we increase surface area in air filters? One way would be to manufacture gigantic air filters, but this would be very silly. Rather, the answer is through pleating the surface of the filter.

Choices in Air Purifier Filters

Putting pleats on the surface of an air filter increases its surface area without increasing its size. Thus, pleats are the first thing you should look for in an air purifier filter. Still, air purifier filters vary in quality depending on how they're manufactured, and with what materials. The best air purifying filters are made from blends of synthetic materials. Each company has its own, patented formula for synthetic blends. Generally speaking, ordinary foam filters work less well than specially-engineered synthetic blends, and this isn't bringing carbon into the equation, either.

What about carbon? So far we've only discussed standard particulate air purifier filters; that is, filters that absorb airborne particles that can interfere with respiration and general health. However, there is another source of contamination to indoor air, and that is chemical gases. Believe it or not, these gases are prevalent in nearly every indoor environment, and that includes the home, office, and public settings such as schools, shopping malls, and the like. Carbon filters for air purification take care of this problem, against which particulate filters are ineffective.