Reply to Thread

Originally Posted by pmeunier

I was just looking at the new BestAir 1300 series filters (product number "PF<height>x<width>"), combining a MERV 11 filter with odor control in a low cost filter. They claim to use "carbon fusion", with new patents pending, and the filters don't look like the typical carbon-impregnated fibers; the filter is gray. So, I'm wondering how that compares to all the varieties of carbon filters on the market.

There's granular activated charcoal (GAC), which can be fairly expensive and loses activity quickly if not protected by a MERV 11 filter. Then there's "dry processed carbon composite media" (Flanders' DPCC), "Celbond Particulate Structures Technolgy" (Koch's Odorkleen), whatever those mean, and the typical carbon-impregnated fibers. Some are optimized for acid gases, others for alkaline ones. The carbon-impregnated type filters seem to vary widely in quality and ozone removal effectiveness.

Obviously the more carbon weight there is, the more absorption can happen, but I'm wondering also about things like catalytic ozone removal. I wonder if this "carbon fusion" filter corresponds to the mysterious filter mentioned in "A pilot study of energy efficient air cleaning for ozone" (2002), Lara A. Gundel, Douglas P. Sullivan, Gregory Y. Katsapov and William J. Fisk. It is described as a "filter that contained a thin layer of small activated carbon particles in a pleated configuration." It seemed rather effective for ozone removal.

I wish there was some standard way of comparing all these carbon filters? Which is most effective for ozone, odor absorption, etc, etc? Who has the time to try them all and evaluate them?

If you are looking to buy filter, try “unitedfilter”, here is a huge list of filters from furnace filter, air filter, electrostatic filter, hvac filters, accumulair filter, air bear filter, merv filter to carbon filters. They provide best quality filters in cheap prices with full guarantee.

Originally Posted by dlove

Cant you asked the owners what carpet they installed and type of padding used under it? That's where i would start. Then you can ask the manufacture how to clean it. Most carpet sold today are low or have no VOC. And once you know what you have, maybe a good cleaning is all you need.

I had already gotten in touch with the leasing office and apartment manager. They first did a carpet cleaning and deodorizing, but after 1 week the smells were back. After that they had the carpet installer come out and he said that there was nothing wrong with the carpet. They also did a moisture measurement with a stick to make sure it's not mold. They also told me that they use the exact same carpet in the other 250 units of the building as well as in other buildings all over the state. So I'm not sure if it is truly the carpet off-gassing or if it's maybe just stuff stuck in the paint that is releasing into the air and then the carpet absorbs it. The odor is so intense that all my clothes in the closet (where there is no vent and so no real air circulation) smell like it. When I pack a suitcase and arrive at my destination, I can smell my apartment in that suitcase and the clothes for about 1 week.

So my thoughts were:
Step 1: Try a carbon filter for the central air system and see if that does the trick
Step 2: if Step 1 is not successful: Buy a professional air purifier as I live in Houston and there is tons of other problems as well (smog, pollen, ozone, etc.)

But before I make an investment into the professional air purifier that will only be able to do one room, I would really like to find out which filter gives me the best result for the AC system I have.

Cant you asked the owners what carpet they installed and type of padding used under it? That's where i would start. Then you can ask the manufacture how to clean it. Most carpet sold today are low or have no VOC. And once you know what you have, maybe a good cleaning is all you need.

Thanks for the info! So even without activated carbon you would not recommend a good quality MERV 11 pleated filter?

My apartment is a little less than 750 square feet and based on the Goodman specs the airflow seems actually sufficient rotating the air about 6 times per hour...
external static pressure: .1 .2 .3 .4 .5
CFM: 837 787 734 665 587

My entire ductwork is also only about 6 feet in three directions from the air handler, so there shouldn't be much resistance there either.

So doesn't this mean if I'm currently getting 837 cfm of airflow that I would get maybe 665 cfm after putting a more restrictive filter in?

rh
You need to stay away from any filter that is going to restrict your airflow. With a 14X18X1 filter opening my bet is that you have marginal or insufficient return air in your system the way that it is. The filters you have found combining particle filtration with a MERV number and carbon would probably be too restrictive.

You might look at something like the Odor Relief filter at http://www.texairfilters.com/commercial.htm. This has a relatively high level of carbon and has low restriction.

Stay away from electrostatic filters.

Your best bet is to buy an air purifier with a good quantity of activated carbon granules. Austin Air and Amaircare would be good candidates. Then run it 24/7.

Hi everyone,

May I dig out this old post? I am new to this whole topic and am just looking for a way to make the indoor air quality in my apartment better. I moved into a unit with new carpet about 6 months ago and still feel smell something that I assume is "new carpet smell". I don't care about the smell itself but am a bit worried about VOCs. The apartment building provides standard 14 x 18 x 1 fibre glass filters.

So I was hoping I could use my Apartment AC Unit (Goodman AWB18-05D for 750 sq ft 1 bedroom) as an air purifier system with the blower set to ON. And from googling and reading for the past 2 days, it seems like a carbon activated filter would do the best work ...

Here are the ones I found so far that sound interesting:
MERV 11 Carbon Pleated: http://www.ushomefilter.com/products...filter/14x18x1 (I assume this is the same type that you mentioned above?)

Accumulair Carbon Odor Block: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004VNCJGK/ref=biss_dp_t_asn (why do these not have a MERV rating?)

ODRX : http://www.filtera.com/ezodcarpleat.html (MERV 8 rated)

Gray Matter: http://www.airfiltersdelivered.com/s...4x18x1_12-pack (I assume I should not go with this MERV 7 and look for a higher MERV rating?)

Any ideas of which one I should go with? From reading the descriptions I cannot determine the technologies mentioned in the first post.

What I DO care about
1) removal of VOCs (offgassing)
2) removal of Ozone (Houston ... it has a problem)
3) removal of traffic generated pollution
4) removal of allergens (I'm not seriously affected but sometimes when the allergy levels get really high, I can get a little irritated)


Just to clarify what I'm NOT concerned about:
1) filter and energy cost (I'm ok to spend $15 dollars on a filter every 2 months if that's what it takes to increase my air quality - and in houston you need AC almost all day long anyway, so the portion of the blower running will not make a big impact)

2) strain on the ac unit (I'm renting and I'm upset that I have to deal with the off-gassing from the cheap carpet anyway, so blower replacement cost in a few years is not my problem)


Last question: What about electrostatic filters? Yes or No for my problem?


Thanks for your suggestions!

Thanks Breathe-Easy.

pm
The combination of efficient pleat media and activated carbon has been around for a number of years. The theory is that the activated carbon is dispersed on the media and therefore has a large amount of surface area.

My experience is that most people feel that the impregnated carbon media pleated filter is more effective at reducing odors and gasses. I do not know of any test results to prove this. Maybe since it looks black and has lots of carbon people perceive that it is better.

It takes a suprisingly small amount of carbon to neutralize ozone. I believe the study you reference used filters that were a combination of efficient pleat media and carbon "dust" like the ones you found on the web.

"Carbon fusion" filters?

I was just looking at the new BestAir 1300 series filters (product number "PF<height>x<width>"), combining a MERV 11 filter with odor control in a low cost filter. They claim to use "carbon fusion", with new patents pending, and the filters don't look like the typical carbon-impregnated fibers; the filter is gray. So, I'm wondering how that compares to all the varieties of carbon filters on the market.

There's granular activated charcoal (GAC), which can be fairly expensive and loses activity quickly if not protected by a MERV 11 filter. Then there's "dry processed carbon composite media" (Flanders' DPCC), "Celbond Particulate Structures Technolgy" (Koch's Odorkleen), whatever those mean, and the typical carbon-impregnated fibers. Some are optimized for acid gases, others for alkaline ones. The carbon-impregnated type filters seem to vary widely in quality and ozone removal effectiveness.

Obviously the more carbon weight there is, the more absorption can happen, but I'm wondering also about things like catalytic ozone removal. I wonder if this "carbon fusion" filter corresponds to the mysterious filter mentioned in "A pilot study of energy efficient air cleaning for ozone" (2002), Lara A. Gundel, Douglas P. Sullivan, Gregory Y. Katsapov and William J. Fisk. It is described as a "filter that contained a thin layer of small activated carbon particles in a pleated configuration." It seemed rather effective for ozone removal.

I wish there was some standard way of comparing all these carbon filters? Which is most effective for ozone, odor absorption, etc, etc? Who has the time to try them all and evaluate them?