Clearing the air

Page 10 April 8, 2021 Berthoud Weekly Surveyor

Clearing the air

After the fires last year received a lot of uestions about filters, cleaning filters and smoke. ust a heads up, some smoke particles are really small and will not get caught in a normal furnace filter. ome are larger or they attach to other particles and can be removed by a normal filter. The best thing you can do during heavy smoke periods is clean or replace your filters more often. thought would touch base on some of the different types of filter systems, how often they needed to be cleaned or replaced. With filters for us people it is all about static pressure drop. The lower static pressure drop across a filter the better it is. When a filter gets loaded up or dirty the goes up and things start to break down. robably the biggest problem see in filters are people using a tight pleated filter made by a company, not to be named, that claims to be able to remove allergens, mold spores, viruses and bacteria. These tight pleats that are about apart restrict the airway too much and cause many problems with furnace and air conditioners. They have a really high . The way they test them is misleading and they can advertise that their product does as they say. The problem is by the time the filter gets plugged up enough to filter like they claim the system is starting to fail because of lack of airflow. ome people have ducting issues and need to use a flat non pleated filter if you are using one of these they need to be replaced every days. like to use a uality pleated filter that will probably cost around . ome of the best that have found are in no particular order, och, urolator, an andler, oneywell and ce ardware. ome of these will have to be ordered online but others can be found at local hardware stores. pleated filter should be replaced every three months. ost of the furnace manufacturers make a or media filter that goes into a cabinet. These have a low and are great as long as people continue to use the manufacturer’s recommended filter. on’t go online and get the knockoffs for a cheaper price . These big media filters should be replaced anywhere between six months and one year. ometimes they have be to replaced more often. any people using carbon filters for odors. These work great for odors but have a really high . on’t use them unless you have a technician come out and test the to make sure it is ok. lectronic ir leaners are the best normal filters out there but they are expensive to install. The manufacturers claim over a year period they are the cheapest filter you can buy because they have very little and keep your system running at top performance. ll the top manufacturers make a good electronic air cleaner. prefer oneywell but most of that is just personal preference. ’s just need to be cleaned. ome have post filters that they want replaced but just clean them also and have had good results with them. ’s can remove particles down to s of one micron which is very small. The human eye can see objects down to microns. ’s will remove molds, pollens, some viruses and dust. filters go even smaller but they usually come with a higher and we don’t see many of them in residential homes.

There is a company that makes filters from wit erland called ir and these filters are the best on the market with the lowest period. f you

Guest Columnist have really bad respiratory problems these are the filters to get. They are pretty expensive but only need to be replaced every three years. They will give you a reduction in particles down to s of a micron in the first hour of run time. don’t really like the plug in electrostatic type filters as don’t see much improvement for people that have them. feel they are sold as an add on for companies to make money but really don’t benefit the homeowner all that much. opefully, you are not deep in a good sleep after all that boring stuff, but Darren Knoll wait am not done yet. There are some good add on items for people that can really help with allergies and other respiratory problems. lasma on enerators. reat little devices that shoot plasma ions into the air. lasma ions cause particles to break down to their lowest molecular structure and then clump together with dust and other molecules, which then allows them to be removed by your normal filter. lasma generators are not terribly expensive and can be easily removed and taken with you if you move. lasma ion generators do kill bacteria, molds, viruses even O and pollens. ltra iolet lights work for some people but have run some tests and found many people do not feel a difference with them. They are also expensive as they need the bulbs replaced every couple of years. o if you are going to get a light installed make sure and check the price of the replacement bulb first. opefully, this will help people out and save you some money on utility bills and filter costs. f you have uestions give me a call at .