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  • The Best Filtrete™ Air Filters for Capturing Allergens

    Here’s how you can go the extra mile to get cleaner indoor air for your family.

    Family and child playing together during self quarantine stay at home. Asian family use time together fun activities stuck at home during time the coronavirus outbreak

    • Between puppy hugs, walks through gardens and bouquets on the end caps of every grocery store, spring can be a beautiful, allergen-filled time. Here’s how assessing your personal needs, living space and filtration levels can help mitigate air quality concerns.

      How to assess your needs and your space.

      If you’re on a mission to improve your indoor air quality, you’ve come to the right place. Key to know: there’s a variety of lifestyle factors that can make an impact on what type of filtration solutions you should get.

      The air particles you want to capture and the size of your living space really matters. For example, an apartment-dweller with no pets may have different indoor air quality needs than someone in a large house with multiple dogs who love to play outside. If you want to capture allergens from the air, you may need better filtration power than someone who doesn’t, regardless of living space.

      How to know if you should upgrade your HVAC filter.

      Upgrading any filter really comes down to knowing the type of particles you want to capture because not all filters are the same. Do you want to capture dust, pet dander and other allergens, virus or bacteria particles? For the most effective result, it’s important to choose a high-efficiency, electrostatic Filtrete™ Filter and remember to change it regularly.

      For 1” filters, we recommend changing it at least every 90 days. For deep pleat filters (4”, 5” or 6”), the replacement schedule should be every 12 months.

      The best Filtrete™ HVAC Air Filters for improving indoor air quality and reducing allergens.

      The higher the Microparticle Performance Rating (MPR), the more particles your filter can help capture. Here are things to consider as you shop for various allergen triggers:
       

      • Dust and mold: As annoying as things like dust, mold and pollen can be, the bright side is that they’re large and easy for filters to capture. (Think trying to catch a butterfly in a net vs. a fruit fly.) For good filtration, Filtrete™ Clean Living Filters with an MPR of at least 600 can help. If dust is an allergen trigger, consider our Dual-Action Micro Allergen Plus 2X Dust Defense Filter, which has a higher MPR and holds twice as much dust as other Filtrete™ Filters.
         
      • Pet allergens: Whether or not your pet is clingy, their dander certainly is. Because of its size and shape, pet dander easily sticks to fabrics around your home and can remain for months.¹ Our Allergen Defense Filters with MPR between 800 and 1200 can help mitigate those tiny particles.
         
      • Invisible allergen particles: Sometimes your typical air filter just won’t cut it. Choosing our top-tier filters could be your best bet to improve indoor air quality. The best filtration will come with our Healthy Living Filters, which include Filtrete™ Smart Air Filters. With MPR between 1500 and 2800, these filters are certified asthma & allergy friendly® by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Our high-performance filters are the best for helping to capture microscopic particles like allergens, bacteria and viruses.

      How to choose the right air purifier and filter.

      If you live in an apartment or space without an HVAC system, consider a portable Filtrete™ Air Purifier as a first step to improve your indoor air quality. Even if you live in a house with an HVAC, our devices offer an extra way to introduce fresher and cleaner air in specific rooms.

      We’ve expanded our air purifier line to include smart connected devices. In combination with our filter technology, these sleek devices can automatically monitor, react and purify air in medium or large rooms. They also connect to the Filtrete™ Smart App, so you can control your device from anywhere and access air quality information at your fingertips.

      Air purifiers, sometimes called air cleaners, are only as good as the filter inside. That’s why we made compatible air purifier filters when we launched our devices. Your filter size will depend on the size of your device—which is ultimately dictated by room size. But another difference to look for, especially if you or anyone at home is sensitive to allergens, is True HEPA vs. HEPA-Type.

      Filtrete™ True HEPA filters capture 99.97% of microscopic airborne particles*, such as allergens, dust, lint, mold spores, bacteria, viruses and pet dander. HEPA-Type filters capture 95%.**

      Similar to HVAC filters, it’s important to keep up with changing air purifier filters. You’ll need to change these every 6 to 12 months, depending on the one you buy and how often you run the device.

      How to remember to change your filters.

      No matter what Filtrete™ Filter you have, the Filtrete™ Smart App can send you notifications when it’s time to make a change. Either pair a Smart air filter via Bluetooth®, or simply scan the barcode on your packaging to start a countdown timer.

      Another layer of convenience comes with signing up for a subscription through one of our retail partners. Set your delivery schedule and they’ll arrive automatically.

      *As small as 0.3 microns from the air passing through the filter media. Initial efficiency value.

      **As small as 2 microns in size from the air passing through the filter. Initial efficiency value.

      Sources

      1. https://www.lung.org/clean-air/at-home/indoor-air-pollutants/pet-dander
      2. https://www.lung.org/clean-air/at-home/ventilation-buildings-breathe
      3. https://www.aafa.org/control-indoor-allergens