Recycled Air Purifier Filters

Choose recycled air filters to improve your home or office indoor air quality while protecting the environment. The filters in most HVAC systems, vacuum cleaners, and air purifiers need replacing every 3 to 6 months. Recycling saves space in landfills. Staples® has a good selection of air filters for a wide range of cooling and heating appliances as well as air purifiers.

Pick the Right Recycled Air Filters for Your Appliances
Make sure to get the air filter recommended for your home or office appliance. Choose replacements with the same size, design, and efficiency as the one removed from your HVAC equipment. The most common filter types are fiberglass, pleated, high-efficiency, and HEPA filters. Fiberglass filters are thin and the least effective. While they remove some particulate contaminants from the air, the primary role of a fiberglass filter is to prevent dust from getting into the motor of a furnace or air conditioning unit. Since fiberglass is not recyclable, you are unlikely to find recycled filters made with this material.

Pleated air filters can remove up to 45 percent of air pollutants. To enjoy improved air quality from your HVAC appliances, choose high-efficiency filters. These are made of easily recyclable pleated paper or polyester fibers. They can filter out up to 85 percent of common household pollutants from the air. HEPA filters are even more efficient. They can remove more than 98 percent of very small particulate allergens.

Features to Consider When Shopping for Recycled Air Filters
Look for MERV ratings when shopping for recycled filters. MERV, or Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value, describes the efficiency of a filter at removing particulate pollutants from the air. The numerical scale for MERV starts at 1. The minimum MERV rating to look for in an air filter is 8. Pleated air filters usually have MERV scores between 10 and 13 while high-efficiency units can go as high as 16. HEPA filters have higher MERV ratings since they catch a wider range of particulate pollutants. If you want recycled filters that can remove smoke, fumes, and odors from the air, look for mechanical filters combined with activated carbon or charcoal. Activated carbon filters have large surface areas for adsorbing gases.

Are There Recycled Air Filters Treated With Antimicrobial Agents?
Yes. Air filters treated with antimicrobial agents are common in air purifiers meant for hospitals, laboratories, and similar environments where germ control is essential. You can also use these germicidal filters at home or in the office. They are especially effective for controlling mold growth. Some of them are mechanical filters impregnated with antimicrobial chemicals while others use UV lamps to kill harmful microbes.

Will Recycled Air Filters Affect the Performance of Your HVAC Equipment?
No. A recycled air filter should perform just as well as a new one. The recycling process reuses the materials of the spent filters after removing accumulated contaminants. The remanufactured filters are just as durable and efficient as new ones.

Can You Extend the Lifespan of Recycled Air Filters?
You can make the air filter in your air conditioning or similar HVAC system last longer by installing a pre-filter. Before doing so, make sure the appliance has space to fit a pre-filter in front of its main filter. Pre-filters catch large particles and those with activated carbon layers can also absorb smoke and noxious gases.