There are a vast number of different types of air filtration filters that are used today to clean and filter the indoor air of contaminants – including chemical compounds, odorous compounds, and even fine particulate matter. Many of the air filters that are on the market today for consumers will generally focus on the chemical and odor pollutant removal from the air, rather than having the ability to trap particulate matter that is identified as fine particles in the air space. This shortage of air filters focusing on fine particulate removal is due to the strong, uncompromising capability of a True HEPA filter to accomplish the removal of small particulate matter when used in an air purifier or air handling system.

HEPA filtration stands for High Efficiency Particulate Arresting or Air, and this filtration is the highest standard for physical air filtration being used by air purifiers today. In addition to being used in air purifiers, HEPA filters have also been integrated into vacuum cleaners, automobiles and even aircrafts. Therefore, this type of air filtration is a highly used and valued method of filtration in many air purifiers, and thus it’s important to learn more about how this superior filtration works when used in an air purifier and the difference between other HEPA filters that claim to be a “True HEPA”.

In this article we are going to learn more about HEPA filters, including the differences between HEPA vs True HEPA, how does a HEPA filter work, and how does this type of filtration compare to other air filtration methods like carbon technology.

How Do HEPA Filters Work

HEPA filters are a type of mechanical air filter that works by forcing air through a fine mesh that traps harmful particles such as pollen, dust mites, pet dander, tobacco smoke, and other fine particulate matter in the air. Particles found in the air range in size and these measurements are based off of the micron measurement. Microns are one-millionth of a meter and this is the measurement that is used to measure particulate matter in the air. Depending on the size of the particle, the HEPA filter will trap the contaminants in a complex web of fibers.

HEPA filters are bestowed this name based on their ability to capture fine particulate matter larger than 0.3 microns on its media surface – and this can include all particles that can reach into your lungs, with 0.3 microns in size being the smallest size particle to enter into the human lungs. As the airborne contaminants collide with the HEPA’s fibers and become trapped, it will keep effectively filtering out both small and large contaminants from the air.

HEPA vs True HEPA

When you are looking for a HEPA filter, you may notice that some of these filters claim to be a “True HEPA”, what does this really mean when comparing a HEPA vs True HEPA? It has been stated that to be identified as a True HEPA this type of HEPA filter must be able to remove 99.99% of airborne particles that enter into the filter, down to 0.3 microns in size. This efficiency rating expressed by particles is for every 10,000 particles that are flowing through a HEPA filter, only about 3 of these particles escape back into your air after being filtered through this filtration method.

A True HEPA is mostly composed of a highly dense paper, which can be made of very thin fibers with distances between 0.3 and 2.0 microns. This allows for the filter to capture a broad array of fine particulate matter, ranging in size from small, medium and large in the air. Additionally, the highly dense paper used as the pleated filter media of the HEPA filter is typically housed in a metal or plastic frame with a seal around it that prevents air particles from escaping what the True HEPA has caught during its filtration process.

What Do HEPA Filters Remove

The power of HEPA filtration is its superior capability to trap particulate matters that can be found floating throughout the indoor air space of a home or other personal indoor environment. In particular, however, the HEPA filtration will be effective at removing those pesky particulates from the air like pet dander, pollen, dust mites, mold spores, bacteria, and viruses that are larger than 0.3 microns in size. Anything that is present in the air that is smaller than 0.3 microns will not be collected in the filter media of a HEPA filter and will become recirculated back into your indoor air quality.

When it comes to the ability of HEPA filters to capture and remove other pollutants from the air such as gaseous and odorous compounds, the filter will not have the efficiency or filtration power to remove these pollutants in the air. Thus, that is why often times air purifiers will contain a HEPA filter used in conjunction with another filter for noxious and toxic chemical and odor removal from the air, like carbon technology.

HEPA vs Carbon Filter

Carbon air filters are one of the most popularly used air filters for consumers, due to its ability to effectively “adsorb” chemical and odor compounds onto the carbon filter media, trapping them onto the fibers of the carbon as it comes into contact with the filter as air is pushed through it. Many air purification companies will use a carbon air filter for chemical and odor adsorption, along with the use of True HEPA filter to provide particulate filtration in the air – making the air purifier a well-rounded pollutant removing device for your indoor environment.  However, when it comes to using carbon air filters to remove these different compounds from the air, it can produce a negative reaction where the filter will begin re-releasing the collected pollutants from the carbon filter media and back into the air when the filter becomes full – thus working counterproductively in the indoor environment.

Instead of using the traditional carbon filtration method, the EnviroKlenz air quality solution can be the safe and effective air filtration option you have been looking for in your home. EnviroKlenz uses a proprietary safe earth mineral technology that works effectively to capture, contain, and neutralize a broad spectrum of noxious and toxic chemicals and odors from the air, completely neutralizing them from the environment rather than storing them on a filter media like carbon. In addition to the use of this proprietary EnviroKlenz technology for chemical and odor neutralization, the EnviroKlenz Air Purifier also contains a hospital-grade HEPA filter for fine particulate removal as small as 0.3 microns in size at a 99.99 percent efficiency, which is higher than a True HEPA filter.