News media like The New York Times and Today have been talking about using HEPA filters as a material to make DIY face masks. There are even YouTube videos showing how to DIY a mask out of a HEPA filter. But just how well can HEPA filters capture virus-sized particles, and can HEPA […]
Category: Filters
Recent Filters Articles:
Are Fibers From HEPA Filters Harmful to Health?
HEPAs are air filters often used in air purifiers or central air systems to clean indoor air. They’re made from a mat of randomly aligned fibers that are usually made from polypropylene (PP) or fiberglass. That fact has made some people afraid of HEPA filters. There’s a controversy over whether fiberglass particles can cause lung […]
What Are HEPA Filters and How Do They Work?
Smart Air is a social enterprise providing free education to combat the impacts of air pollution and creator of the world’s most cost-effective air purifier. The term “HEPA filter” can be confusing. What does HEPA stand for? What is a HEPA filter made from, and what actually makes it a HEPA filter? What Exactly Is […]
Can HEPA Air Purifiers Capture the Coronavirus?
Data shows face masks can protect you from the coronavirus, but how about air purifiers? How effective are HEPA air filters at capturing the coronavirus? Can HEPA Filters Capture The Coronavirus? To answer this question, we need to first answer if HEPA filters can capture particles as small as the coroanavirus. The coronavirus measures 0.06 […]
How Long Does the Sqair’s HEPA Filter Last?
After launching the world’s most cost-effective purifier (the Sqair), we started testing the HEPA lifespan. I’ve long been skeptical of the lifespan numbers purifier companies give because (1) they provide no empirical justification for the number and (2) they give the same numbers in Switzerland or Delhi. Yet clearly the HEPA would last less time […]
Why a Weaker Filter Actually Makes a Stronger Purifier
Why does Smart Air’s latest air purifier, The Sqair, use a weaker filter–an H11 HEPA compared to the H12 and H13 HEPA filters out there? Tests of different filter grades revealed that weaker filters sometimes make stronger purifiers. Of course, purifier companies like to market their filters as top grade. Lots of purifiers […]
How Effective Are Kid’s Masks at Filtering Air Pollution?
As cities like Delhi, Beijing and Manila face toxic levels of air pollution, people are rushing to find effective pollution masks, particularly kid’s masks. But there’s a problem. Children’s faces are different from adults’. Add to that, children are constantly growing, meaning that the mask that fit last year might not fit this year. Kid’s […]
Can HEPA Filters Capture Nanoparticles?
Many big purifier companies claim only their HEPA filters capture nanoparticles, like this Molekule ad. Although this claim is false, even journalists repeat this myth. Why is this belief so pervasive? One reasonable explanation is that the definition of “HEPA” leads people down that route. For example, this definition on Wikipedia […]
Can You Clean a Car Air Filter With Compressed Air?
Working on DIY air purifiers for over 6 years, I’ve heard from a lot of people who have strong intuitions about cleaning car air filter. People tell me they wash their vehicle’s air filter, vacuum it, or bang it really hard. Opinions are plenty, but what about real, hard data? Can You Clean Air Filters […]
Renting Air Purifiers is More Expensive Than Buying Outright
Many purifier companies offer air purifier rental services as part of their business model. It sounds great: they offer to rent you an air purifier short term, and you save money in the process. This simple analysis will show why that system is flawed, and how renting air purifiers is just another way to make […]
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