HEPA filters are the workhorses of most air purifiers, and when they can’t do their job any longer, you need to replace them. How often should you change a HEPA filter? The answer is different for every home and depends on how much dust your home accumulates.
In this blog post, we will go over some factors that affect when to change HEPA filter air purifier – so that you know when it’s time.
Why Is It Important to Change Your HEPA Filter Regularly?
Air purifier filters are designed to capture 99% of particles in the air. There’s a HEPA filter that captures even more allergens and air pollutants. As they capture these particles, the filters will get dirty and need to be replaced regularly.
A regular filter change also ensures that the air is being purified in the most efficient way possible. When a carbon filter gets so dirty that it’s no longer doing its job, less of the particles will get captured and airflow can be restricted.
How Often Should I Change My HEPA Filter?
The active filter material usually contains charcoal. This filtration medium will get saturated with microbes (bacteria, fungi, further by particulate matter), and needs to be cleaned or replaced once every 6-12 months depending on your indoor air quality, environmental factors and usage.
When a HEPA filter is clean, it blocks 100% of the particles that are 1 micrometer or larger. But as the air filter starts to fill up with dirt and dust, it gets less efficient at blocking finer particles until eventually and dirty filters can’t block any of those smaller than 1 micrometer.
How to Know When to Change the Air Filter?
There are two major signs that indicate when it is time to change the filter. The first sign might be a slowing down of airflow from the air purifier, which indicates particles have clogged its surface and reduced its ability to clean effectively. A second indication will come when you start noticing an increase in dust on your furniture or other surfaces.
In general, it is recommended to change air filters once every six months. If you have a large family or pets in your home that cause more dust and dander to accumulate, you might need to replace the filter on an annual basis.
For people who suffer from asthma or allergies, experts recommend changing out the HEPA filter when symptoms worsen or when seasonal allergies are at their height.
Other Signs You Need to Change Your HEPA Filter
When it is time to replace your HEPA carbon filter, you’ll know when:
- You notice a musty smell in your home
- Filter Change Indicator Light is on.
- You’re sneezing more than usual
- You see noticeable dust bunnies around the house or on furniture
- Your allergy symptoms are acting up
- The air is feeling stuffier.
- If you notice a change in the quality of air
- When there are new odors coming from the vents that weren’t present before
- If filters are dirty, smoky, or stained with pet hair
- When filters don’t seem to be working as well as they should be – this is usually indicated by a decrease in airflow
Why Do I Need to Change My HEPA Filter?
HEPA filter air purifier needs to be changed because they can not filter the air when it has dirt and dust. The HEPA filter is covered by dust when it’s time to change the HEPA filter air purifier. Below I mention why I need to change the HEPA filter.
To Remove Allergens From the Air
To remove allergens from the air you need to change your HEPA filter. The particles of allergens will accumulate on the surface when it’s time for a new one.
The best way to remove allergen from the air is by using an Air Purifier with a HEPA filter. It removes 99% of dust and pollen in less than three minutes.
The HEPA filter collects all the dust particles in a single unit and after time it will need to be replaced. Changing your air filter is important for people with asthma sufferers, allergies or other medical problems.
These people can be very sensitive to something called allergens which can make breathing difficult. Changing your air filter will help prevent this.
To Stop Bacteria From Growing in Your Home
If the air is not clean, bacteria will grow. And we do not want them to grow. So you have to change the HEPA filter.
To stop bacteria from growing in your home, you should change the HEPA filter. This will not only remove allergens but also get rid of any bacterial and fungal spores that are lingering around in people’s homes. When it comes to air quality, filters can make a huge difference.
To Improve the Quality of Your Indoor Air
To improve the poor air quality of your indoor air, you should change the filter.
To improve your indoor air quality, you should change the filters on a regular basis (at least once per year). To improve the quality of your indoor air, make sure any fans in the house are not blowing outside air into rooms with people inside them.
To Keep Your Home Healthy and Clean
To keep your home healthy and clean, you should change the filter.
The air filters are needed for when dust or other particles get into our homes that can cause health problems such as asthma attacks in children. There is also a concern of mold spores growing inside houses due to the moisture from cleaning products we use indoors and not outside where it belongs (i.e., when we use a vacuum cleaner).
To Remove Allergens From the Air
It is hard to breathe when there are allergens in the air. You can fix this problem by changing your filter.
Some of these harmful particles can be airborne and cause a number of respiratory problems such as allergies or nasal congestion during allergy season. Replacement filters will help reduce this risk by keeping them free of dust mites, animal dander, mold spores, and other things that can trigger allergies.
To Improve the Quality of Your Indoor Air
A carbon filter can also help improve the quality of your indoor air. This is important because we spend a lot more time indoors than outdoors, and this makes it easy for us to get sick when there are contaminants in our environment.
Dirt particles from outside sources such as pollen or smoke can be especially harmful when they mix with other harmful pollutants like second-hand cigarette smoke or cooking oils.
It’s also important to change carbon filters when the type of filter you have is no longer effective for its intended purpose, and this could be because it has become clogged with too much dust or has been in use for a long time. A dirty HEPA filter will reduce its effectiveness by trapping particles that are too small for it to filter.
Benefits of Changing the Hepa Filters Often
The benefits of changing the dirty HEPA filters often
- provide for cleaner and healthier breathing
- can reduce the effects of asthma, allergies and other chronic respiratory illnesses.
- keeps particles from accumulating on furniture throughout your house (which can be a source of frustration when trying to clean)
- will save you money in many cases by reducing energy costs associated with running an air conditioner to filter the air
- helps prolong the life of your furnace by preventing it from having to work as hard when there are fewer particles in the recirculating air.
Conclusion
Keep in mind that HEPA filters clean the air by trapping particles of various sizes. The most common particle they trap is 0.003 microns or smaller, which is about 25 percent of airborne bacteria and other viruses as well as pet dander, mold formation spores and dust mites.
This means you should change your filter at least once every three months, but you may want to change it more often depending on the size of your filter.
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