I know these filters can’t be cleaned with water but I’m curious if anyone is trying to extend their life by cleaning them, with a vacuum cleaner maybe? Years ago I have one of the round air filters with a large HEPA filter inside it, which was rated to last a year before needing to be replaced at a cost of $99. The Wyze Air Purifier filter is much smaller and filter with an average filter life of 6 months. Yes, I know the Wzye filter info says 6 to 12 months, but my first filter didn’t quite even make it to 6 months with an AQI around 10 most of the time. So that has me wondering if the filter life algorithm uses time, like with water filters. In any event, these filters can really get costly per year.
1 Like
Someone on another platform told me he used a vacuum to suck out a lot of the bigger dirt from the pre-filter and it cleaned a bunch out of his and he said it seemed to work well.
I am guessing a vacuum can’t really clean out the really tiny particles out of the innermost part of the filter though (ie: the Granulated Carbon part of the filter). It probably helps a little bit to vacuum them out, but I am only guessing. I could just as easily see some expert say that the vacuum messes things up, maybe disrupts the granulated carbon unevenly or causes slight tears or something of the outer pre-filter or who knows what else. I think we’re all mostly just guessing that vacuuming out a filter will improve it’s efficiency and slightly extend it’s lifespan even if it is not quite as good as a new one, maybe it’s slightly better than before it was vacuumed.
This could possibly be a good test someone like @Seapup could check someday with his fancy measurement tools…like measure how well a very used filter performs before it is vacuumed, then vacuum it out and measure again and see if it improves the air flow and air quality by cleaning the prefilter sometimes. IDK, it would be interesting though. If anyone ever tests that out with HVAC tools, please tag me and let me know, I’d love to hear the difference between how well a brand new filter performs vs a very used one vs a cleaned one. That would be an awesome test if you have the tools.
2 Likes
Carver, did you ever vacuum your filter ?
Mine is at 13% and I don’t want to buy a replacement filter (right now)
Do you think if I used the attachment tool from the cordless vacuum and just vacuum the outside a bit that’ll help expand the life ?
Also @Seapup if I recall correctly you were gonna do these tests ? Did you ever get to it
Thanks
Yes, but how effective it is probably depends a lot on what the filter sucked up. I assume that a vacuum mostly pulls off the larger stuff from the pre-filter, but all the smaller stuff, including some gases, etc would be absorbed in the middle area and not vacuumed out.
It definitely helps, but I think over time it gets less effective.
Would definitely be best to hear actual measurements.
1 Like
I vacuumed mine and honestly it didn’t remove much. But even if it did get some of the smaller particles, they would have been blown back out into my room by the vacuum cleaner, my vacuum doesn’t have a HEPA filter. I’d just reset the counter because I think, unless your air has high particulate matter, there is no need to replace the filter so soon as they are just too expensive.
1 Like