Home air filters (not shop)

[Cecil]

I have a forced air furnace, and the dust it terrible.  Adding a hepa filter to the furnace, in my opinion, reduces the airflow and thus heating efficiency.  Therefore I believe I will buy room hepa filters.  What does the brain trust say?

[fredhargis]

I have a forced air furnace, and the dust it terrible.  Adding a hepa filter to the furnace, in my opinion, reduces the airflow and thus heating efficiency.  Therefore I believe I will buy room hepa filters.  What does the brain trust say?

I think your observation is correct. Even without the complication of reduced flow in the furnace, I don't think they work as well as room units anyway. It just seems to me that all the house air doesn't get to the furnace filter, this is especially true in houses with less than optimal duct systems. That said, I can't be accused of being part of the "brain trust", so we'll see what the others say.

[daddo]

You're right. The 1" hepa type filters are very restrictive, but if you buy the "good" filter and not the "Best", it will help a lot, and change it once a month (When you pay the electric bill- helps remember).  They mark some as 3 months- this is not true. On the other hand, if you use the cheap fiberglass "see-through" type filters, don't expect it to trap much.

 Seal up the house (air leaks) and check that the dryer duct isn't leaking, and never opening the exterior doors helps.


  A lot of the "dust" comes from clothes (fibers)- I suspect dryers always leak somewhere.

  Seal any return ducts.

If your furnace is in an attic, you may be able to install a 4" hepa filter unit. This will trap it all and replace the media filter once a year.
 Example; April air model 2210.

[Cecil]

Seal up the house (air leaks) and check that the dryer duct isn't leaking, and never opening the exterior doors helps.


  A lot of the "dust" comes from clothes (fibers)- I suspect dryers always leak somewhere.

My dryer vent does not leak, it is well sealed.  I have been using an energy efficient, "Amish" dryer since I moved here.

However, The house was built in the 1940's.  It has new windows, and much has been done to seal it up, but there is still a draft or two.

[barnowl]

I just bought a Winix 5500-2 air purifier after researching them.

$155 at Amazon.

https://winixamerica.com/product/5500-2/

The replacement filter is #116130, which is $79.99 at Winix, or $61.97 at Amazon.

I got the following information directly from Winix:

The Winix C555 is the same purifier as the 5500-2, as marketed at Costco.

Their replacement filter (which I will be buying) is #116131, for $59.99, and has an anti-microbial coating.

[Robert Adams]

If I had the room in our house when replacing the HVAC I would have gone with a pocket filter. Same type that is in the good shop air filtration units but bigger. They are very common in commercial applications. 24x24x36 is what I would have gone with and it's a one time a year filter change and filters much better. Those are available in hundreds of size and filter quality combinations and overall very affordable.

[newzll5]

If I had the room in our house when replacing the HVAC I would have gone with a pocket filter. Same type that is in the good shop air filtration units but bigger. They are very common in commercial applications. 24x24x36 is what I would have gone with and it's a one time a year filter change and filters much better. Those are available in hundreds of size and filter quality combinations and overall very affordable.

But I would rather ask some experts first, not just reading reviews online. I've read some reviews before I had to replace my old filter with a new one, and I face an issue because of the wrong mounting procedure. By the way, here is a page related to home air quality test that helped me somehow with that issue of air purification, you probably may want to visit it.