Do HEPA filters expire? Advertisement air filters are important as they help maintain proper airflow. They’re typically made of fibrous material. Top HEPA filters are made to last for months or even an entire year before they’re replaced. Air filters are made to last and to serve longer these days.
Larger HEPA filters may last longer than the smaller ones, but there are other factors at play, too. An air cleaner is affected by so many factors, including the location of the air purifier and how much indoor pollution it has to clean. Airflow is also a factor in poorly-ventilated areas. Many larger HEPA filters are designed to deal with structures that have more pollution and more people relying on the machine’s efficiency.
The average cleaning schedule for air purifiers is about three months to six months per cleaning session; not much different from HVAC units. Failure to clean your machine might mean that it will fail to capture small particles at a higher rate, resulting in poorer indoor air quality.
Branded or Generic Filters?
Expensive OEM filters provide lifetimes similar to the original brands, but don’t expect the same performance. The more expensive OEM filters may provide equal service life. If you have old HEPA filters at home, it’s best not to use them on a brand-new air purifier. Get new ones, instead.
Invest in Filters and Win Against Air Pollution
A replacement filter is not expensive and is essential to the normal operation of your air purifier. Be sure to replace filters within the timeframe recommended by the manufacturer to prolong the service life of your air purifier. A filter wears rapidly in areas where there are more pollutants to remove from the air.
Filters have a service life ranging from a few months to a year (max). This part of the air purifier helps remove contaminants from the air. The majority of brands work best in a strictly residential setting. Check the filter installed in your unit to find out when you should clean and replace the filters. They also have an expiration date that you should be mindful of.
Air purifier filter life might vary, so it’s vital to know how many times you need to replace the filter in your machine—this issue relies upon various factors, such as filter type, size, and usage. Air filters are made of fibrous material paper typically.
Managing Air Filters at Home
There are several methods to realize it’s time to replace a filter.
Indicator lights on some models may glow red when it’s time to replace the filter.
If yours doesn’t, you can replace the filter at the manufacturer’s suggested interval regardless of how often it has to be changed. The fibrous material paper typically holds for a few months (or a year, for the higher quality ones) with 12 hours of use daily.
Maximum Operation for Branded Filters
Different filters, like those in Dyson or Philips, can survive up to 5 years under ideal conditions; however, two to three years is more practical in rooms with more significant concentrations of particulate matter.
The average lifespan of your purifier’s carbon filter is between three and five years.
However, keep in mind that not all models share the same specs—so it’s best to check other guidelines like our “Philips Air Purifier Filter: How Long Do They Last” blog for references.
There are air purifier models that will need more regular filter changes, so be sure to carefully read the instructions for your air purifier (such as the Iupilon’s guide to “Can You Use Dyson Air Purifier Without Filter“) to establish its filter life.
Storing HEPA Filters
There are numerous kinds of air purifier filters, each lasting for a long time based on how it removes contaminants from the air around you. Unused HEPA filters should be stored properly. Unused air filters work best when they’re kept clean and dry, too.
For instance, a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter is constructed from many layers of porous material. A cheap disposable filter will be less effective than a higher-quality one from a well-known brand. There are also some brands that advocate the use of washable HEPA filters, but they’re best disposed of when they’ve reached the end of their useful life.
When this material is saturated, it can no longer effectively trap other airborne particles, and the filter eventually fails.
On the other hand, carbon filters follow a similar but somewhat different mechanism.
Using chemically activated carbon, these filters absorb gaseous pollutants from the air, like smells and VOCs.
However, similar to HEPA filters, these filters will ultimately reach their maximum capacities and will no longer be able to extract any additional gases from the air in your home.
What Are Air Purifier Filters?
There has been an increase in home air purifiers in recent years, partly due to public anxiety about air quality.
Your air purifier at home must be used with a filter and other methods to remove the following particles.
Although your house was built to keep you safe from the elements, many of us now spend much more time in our homes to keep ourselves safe against viruses and pandemics.
Therefore, you can be subject to higher concentrations of indoor pollutants and particles, which can cause or exacerbate respiratory illnesses.
Allergens, poisons, and other airborne pollutants can be removed from the air with an air purifier.
Instead of adding particles to the air, like humidifiers and essential oil diffusers, these devices remove them.
On Brands and Air Purifier Models
Air purifiers have additional functions than filters, such as sanitizing the air.
Which specific particles an air purifier can remove is a function of the model you select.
Some models have filters to collect dust and debris from the air as it passes through them, while others may be able to neutralize airborne contaminants without the need for filters.
Alternatively, you might use an air purifier that releases negative ions to draw the positive ions out of the air and neutralize them.
Ozone emissions are a possible drawback of this strategy.
It is possible to use a HEPA filter and an air purifier to remove allergens from the air.
An unfavorable immunological response, such as allergies or asthma, can be triggered by allergens.
Allergens in the air can come from various sources, the most frequent of which are pollen, animal dander, and dust mites.
Air purifiers with filters may eliminate smoke from various sources, including cigarette smoke and smoke from outdoor fires.
Even with an air purifier, the lingering odor of smoke and the potential for smoke damage to walls and ceilings remain.
Do HEPA Filters Have a Shelf Life?
Most HEPA filters have a 10-year shelf life, but that’s only if you store them correctly, in their original packing, away from excessive heat and cold, and a dry, climate-controlled place.
While 10 years is the norm, the filter must be changed if the pressure decrease is double what it was, to begin with.
HEPA filters are the specialized air filters used to keep purifiers operating at the required levels.
Why HEPA Filters Matter
In terms of importance, high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters stand out because of how well they trap particles of practically every size.
Odors and gaseous contaminants like volatile organic substances or ozone can be captured by filters incorporating an adsorbent or catalyst like charcoal.
Air purifiers rely heavily on HEPA filters.
Plastic or fiberglass particle air filters are particularly effective at trapping nanoparticles in addition to viruses, germs, pollen, and allergies.
A HEPA filter has a 10-year shelf life, assuming it has never been used, is still in its original packaging, is kept in a dry, temperature- and humidity-controlled environment, and is never exposed to extremes.
In addition, specific industries may mandate that filters be swapped even more frequently than every seven years.
Maintaining a HEPA filter’s integrity is critical for guaranteeing the level of cleanliness in your space.
However, there are other issues to consider while determining the filter’s replacement interval.
Filter pressure drop and load are two such factors.
If the pressure drop is too significant, the ductwork will have to work harder to keep the air exchange rates where they need to be, which will use more power.
If you see an increase in operating costs, it may be time to replace your HEPA filters.
How Long Do Air Purifiers Filters Last?
Depending on the air quality and environmental factors, HEPA filters should be changed anywhere from every six months to yearly.
Of course, the filter you use will determine the answer.
An air purifier can easily collect pollen, dust, and pet hair that float through the air. But after they’re trapped, what happens to all those tiny particles?
After being sucked out of the air, these contaminants are stored in the filter.
Over time, the air purifier’s performance suffers due to the buildup of these particles.
Permanent filters don’t wear out as disposable ones, but they need to be cleaned regularly to remove debris, pet fur, dust, and dirt that can accumulate on your device.
A Closer Look at Air Purification
There are a variety of anti-allergen technologies that can be used in air purifier filters.
Some use carbon to draw in small particles and cut down on odors in the home, while others use True HEPA to capture even the tiniest of particles. Both strategies can successfully remove hazardous particles from the air.
Carbon pre-filters of your air purifiers should be changed every three months, give or take, depending on the air quality and environmental factors.
While it is a good replacement guide to remember to change the filter in your air purifier, we know that this is probably not a high priority for you.
Some air purifiers have an indicator on the control panel that lights up when the filters need to be replaced due to the buildup of dust and other particles.
If you still need a nudge in the right direction, you can always sign up for a filter subscription and have fresh filters delivered to your home regularly.
Do Filters Have an Expiration Date?
There is no time limit on a filter’s useful life after purchasing it.
Most filters have a life span of 3 months to 4 months once they have been placed in your machine and put to use.
For information on how often you should replace the filter, check the instructions with the unit or consult the manual for your furnace.
As long as they are kept dry, filters have an indefinite shelf life and can be used indefinitely after purchase.
So long as they are kept dry, filters are in prime condition and ready for immediate deployment.
Even if a filter is only used once and then sits unused for a long time, such as in a vacation house, it will still need to be replaced at some point due to its brief exposure to moisture.
After a certain amount of time, a filter gets clogged and must be replaced.
When the filter in your furnace is dirty, it prevents proper airflow and can cause the system to fail. It is up to you to follow the filter’s manufacturer’s replacement guidelines.
Once a filter has prevented all germs and impurities from reaching your water supply by isolating them, blocking them from entering, or some combination of these methods, the filter is responsible for the clean water.
Depending on the sort of filter you use, bacteria may grow on it, rendering it ineffective and thus turning it into a petri dish for any number of airborne pollutants.
Once every three to four months is the recommended interval between filter changes. However, your air purifier filter may need to be changed monthly if it is a cheap disposable type.
The average lifespan of an OEM filter is six months to a year.
The filter needs to be checked frequently and changed earlier than usual if you have pets inside, smoke indoors, or are doing home renovations.
What Happens If You Don’t Change Your Air Purifier Filter?
You can probably anticipate that an air filter will absorb many airborne pollutants; when these contaminants are mixed, they will form a blockage.
It is reasonable to anticipate issues if the filters are not cleaned or replaced per the manufacturer’s instructions.
Understanding how air filters work is the first step in developing an appreciation for the gravity of the situation when one becomes blocked.
A filter-based air purifier uses fans to draw air through the filter, which is then cleaned of dust and other particles.
After that, a fan releases the filtered air back into the environment.
On the other hand, for a filter to be considered a true HEPA filter, it must be able to capture and dispose of 99.97 percent of particles measuring 0.3 microns or larger.
A filter-based air purifier uses fans to draw air through the filter, which is then cleaned of dust and other particles.
The total efficiency of filters is directly proportional to the frequency with which they are serviced.
For the HEPA filters to operate at their full potential, they should be removed and replaced every six months.
Purifiers that remove impurities from the air often have a filter as their primary component—a noticeable decrease in performance is the first indication that the air purifier’s filter is becoming blocked.
When an air filter is clogged with debris, it does more than stop functioning as a pollution barrier.
If you keep using the device, the fans will continue to pull air from the area, circulate it through the purification process, and then release it back into the room from which it was initially drawn.
Because this air had to travel through the clogged filter, it would have picked up some undesired impurities along the way.
There is a possibility that the prevalence of allergies and other comparable toxins may grow considerably.
How To Change Your Air Purifier Filter?
Filters recently purchased, cleaned, and maintained will remove unwanted particles from the air and improve airflow.
However, because your device is actively working to clean the air in your home, the filter could become clogged over time. If this happens, your device may not function as effectively.
When something like this occurs, it is time to switch out your filter.
- Make sure the air purifier is unplugged and turned off before continuing.
- Pull out the used air filter per the state indicated on the screen for the filter alert light.
- Throw away the used filter.
- Take everything that was in the packing off of the new filter.
- Replace the old filters in the air purifier with the new ones.
- Place the wall plug with the air purifier into the outlet on the wall.
- To reset the filter lifespan counter, you need to touch its child lock (if there is one) for three seconds.
- When the filter change indicator appears on the screen, it is imperative that you immediately replace the filter.
- After changing the filter, you should wash your hands.
- Because it has absorbed pollutants from the air, the surface of the pleated filter should not be touched, and you should also avoid smelling the filter.
