Everyday objects also cloak specific terms and complicated words with technical progress, often indicating rather simple functionality and features. An example of this trend is visible in vacuum cleaners, which has recently been associated with HEPA technology and concerns the particulate filter.
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What is the HEPA filter?
What is the HEPA filter? We have certainly heard of it. Let’s see what it is. HEPA stands for High-Efficiency Particulate Air filter, which means ” high-efficiency particulate filter. ” It is a highly efficient filtration system, so high as to be between 85% of the poorest models and 99.995% of the best ones. It is called an ” absolute filter. ”
The HEPA filter was born in the nuclear field, where it was important to prevent certain radioactive particles from escaping from the workplace. So his is an extremely advanced technology, one of the most advanced in our homes today and beyond.
These filters are used in chemical laboratories, operating rooms, and in all those circumstances in which it is essential to protect the body or the environment from certain chemical elements. Thus, we can find filters of this kind in vacuum cleaners, air conditioners, and the so-called ” laminar flow ” hoods at home.
Generally, a filter of this type consists of microfibre sheets, usually borosilicate, mounted in series to compose a set of filter layers, separated by aluminum capsules. The fluid that passes through the series of filter sheets is gradually sterilized, as the polluting solid particles, i.e., the particulates, remain trapped in the sheets along the way.
This process can also use the HEPA filter to sterilize objects and substances: once the filter has passed through, the resulting air or fluid flow can be perfectly sterile.
The vacuum cleaner with HEPA filter
We have seen what the HEPA filter is, but what is it for? This filtration system has become an integral part of the best vacuum cleaners on the market.
What is the HEPA filter for at home? Well, to catch the dirt!
If we have always been convinced that we are cleaning our home properly, it is good to know that before the advent of high-efficiency filtering, technology, mold, mites, and pollen remained outside our reach and vacuum cleaner.
We have always collected and aspirated visible dust in practice, leaving many particles dangerous for health, particularly for allergic or asthmatic subjects and children.
The HEPA filter is a significant evolution in domestic cleaning, comparable in vacuum cleaners only to the invention of Dyson, to whom we owe the famous bagless vacuum cleaner.
As mentioned, it is found today in many vacuum cleaners, but also electric brooms, robots, and vacuum cleaners. So it is good to know what it is and understand which HEPA type best meets our needs.
How does the HEPA filter work?
Once we have seen what a HEPA filter is used for, let’s briefly see how the technology works. A good HEPA filter is generally divided into a foam one first, which helps retain the most voluminous residues of dust and dirt that could ruin the rest of the filter and the actual filter.
This is composed of those filtering sheets mentioned above and is protected and isolated by a glass-fiber coating. Generally, the thicker this coating, the more effective the filter will be.
During the house dust suction, the particles impact the first part of the filter at high speed, which will retain the larger ones. The rest of the flow will pass slowly next to the fiberglass: slowing down as they pass the various filter sheets will eventually get stuck in the filter’s terminal part.
Bear in mind that the best HEPA filters on the market can retain even particles of the size of 0.3 microns. Unfortunately, it is such a microscopic measure that we could not calculate or appreciate it except in a specialized laboratory.
Although they are rather delicate parts, HEPA filters have a duration that can exceed two years and have more than simple maintenance. In addition, the high-efficiency filter is even washable! To keep your filter in excellent condition for longer, remove it from the vacuum cleaner or electric broom, pass it under running water and leave it to air dry before putting it back in the vacuum cleaner compartment.
Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to wash the HEPA filter in the dishwasher: the operation will have to be done manually.
What do we find on the market?
It starts to become clearer that if we have pets in the house or children or suffer from asthma or allergies, a vacuum cleaner equipped with a HEPA filter could significantly improve our quality of life.
Let’s see what the commercial terms to look for when we decide to buy one and the dangers that sneak into the shrewdest marketing strategies.
There is a European regulation, EN 1822-1: 2009, which defines the filters on the market:
- E10-E12: they are called EPA filters, and they are also called semi-absolute filters; an E10 filter manages to capture about 85% of the particulates.
- H13-H14: these are the real HEPA filters, with very high efficiency, called absolute filters; they manage to break down the particulate matter present in the air by 99.9%.
- U15-U17: these are ULPA (Ultra Low Penetration Air) filters, which have a filtration efficiency between 99.9995% (U15) and 99.999995% (U17).
It will not be difficult to come across HEPA-like, HEPA-style, or 99% HEPA labels, which indicate filtration systems that have not obtained HEPA certification or are tested in non-recognized laboratories. However, this type of wording does not guarantee true HEPA filters’ standards, so the term True HEPA was later coined, literally ” true HEPA. ”
If you avoid any confusion, it will be good to search for the complete wording relating to our vacuum cleaner’s filtering system without risking running into almost HEPA filters or, in the worst cases, not even comparable to True HEPA.
Clean air in the house!
The vacuum cleaner, modest is not foreign to technological evolution: first, Dyson revolutionized the instrument by inventing the ” cyclonic ” system, which eliminated the bag; today, research in the nuclear field has succeeded in giving our homes an air free of dangerous particulates thanks to the HEPA filter.
The evolution then affected the filtering efficiency: from the EPA (Efficiency Particulate Air filter), we moved to the most popular and most powerful HEPA to get to the ULPA mentioned above systems that eliminate 99.999% particulates the air.
To date, most of the vacuum cleaners on the market are equipped with such filtering systems. However, the increase in conditions such as allergies and asthmatic diseases induces more attention to the air quality in the home.
All that remains is to choose your vacuum cleaner, or if you prefer your electric broom, keeping in mind the potential of the different levels of filtering efficiency and choosing the power that best suits your needs.