ReplyDishwasher works great!
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I have a Honeywell Air Cleaner. I was wondering if it is OK to wash the cells?
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Dishwasher works great!
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Don't use the heat dry though, it will bake on anything that didn't come off in the wash, air dry only.Originally Posted by second opinion
Karst means cave. So, I search for caves.
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carefull using dishwasher not to break any of the small wires or cause any of the fins to get bent and touch each other. If your dishwasher tines fold down that is best.
You can also wash them outside with a hose and cleaner.
There are better filtration methods than the cells now available.
Banned
That's the worst advice you could give. Simpy rinse with your garden hose, let dry and re-install.
Professional Member
Honeywell recommends using the dishwasher. Go to their web site and download the homeowners booklet.
Professional Member
My Dealer recommended soaking mine in hot water with laundry soap for at least 30 min, shake them around some, use a cloth and carefully wipe down the wires. Then rinse well with hot water. Shake as dry as you can and put back in unit. Let the blower run for 30 min before powering unit back on.
I'm a smoker and clean my cells at least every 30 days. The detergent pulls all of the residue off the collector plates. I have a cheap fiberglas type filter between the EAC and Furnace just to be sure the Secondary HX stays nice and clean. By Cleaning the cells on this schedule the extra filter very rarely gets dirty.
Banned
After EAC,there theroretically no particulates large enough for that filter to catch.
Last edited by dash; 01-05-2008 at 09:38 AM.
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After having to replace the 3 primary HX's due to the secondary being plugged up from the origingal homebuilder running the furnace while drywalling....
I'm not taking any chances on a plugged secondary or A-coil. Filters are CHEAP insurance.
Professional Member*
Honeywell wants to sell electronic air cleaners. Here's the real scoop.
If you've ever tried to clean an oven or bar-b-que grill with soap and water, then you'll see why it doesn't work. So why would Honeywell tell you to use the dishwasher? Because if they told the HO that they'll need to have the cells professionally cleaned with solvents, rinsed, dried and then reinstalled every month, the cost would be prohibitive and they wouldn't sell any EAC's. So they tell them to wash them in hot soapy water. Go ahead, next time you clean your grill, just use hot soapy water. Bet you can't budge the baked on black stuff. Right? Get a good grease solvent and you can do the job. The EPA has tested EACs and their conclusion is that they take out 99% of pollutants down to 3-microns in size for approximately 30-days. After that, their efficiency drops precipitously no near zero after about 90-days. So if you want to get great efficiency from an EAC, it needs to cleaned every 30-days with a grease solvent approved by the manufacturer. Or you can get an EAC with a disposable element and cell and not do anything but vacuum the frame when you change the element.
If YOU want change, YOU have to first change.
If you are waiting for the 'other guy' to change first, just remember, you're the 'other guy's' other guy. To continue to expect real change when you keep acting the same way as always, is folly. Won't happen. Real change will only happen when a majority of the people change the way they vote!
Banned
I understand your concern,but:
Cheap filters don't prevent clogging,your EAC does.The extra filter is a restriction,that could reduce air flow,and damage the heat exchanger.Testing the air flow is the only way to know.
Professional Member
Use coil cleaner and spray off with garden hose.
Banned
For a homeowner,hot water with dishwasher detergent,soak for 2 hours,then rinse and let dry.
Dishwasher works well too.
Professional Member*
I purchased a clear plastic storage container the size of the EAC cells from Target or any storage place, put the cells and the pre-filtes in it, fill it with water and Simple Green (an ordinary household cleaner and degreaser) and let it soak until I am finished doing whatever I'm doing. Then I flush until the water is clean, remove them, give them a gentle shake, sit them in the sun if I have the time or I have a high velocity blower, called a hurricane, that I run over them gently which dries them in 5 minutes or less.
Then I recheck the ionization wires and cells, reinstall, check operation and off I go.
"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers it can bribe the public with the public's own money.
- Alexis de Toqueville, 1835
Professional Member*
Right on. Solvent and professional cleaning done right. Now what do you charge a customer to do this monthly?
If YOU want change, YOU have to first change.
If you are waiting for the 'other guy' to change first, just remember, you're the 'other guy's' other guy. To continue to expect real change when you keep acting the same way as always, is folly. Won't happen. Real change will only happen when a majority of the people change the way they vote!
Professional Member*
I only clean the cells if I am there for other reasons. So if I know or see that they have EAC's then the first thing I do is pull the cells and let them soak while I doing what I really came there to do.
I don't have an on going maintenance customer base cause I am too busy trouble shooting systems. But I do have a few that rely on me so I do look over their systems when I can.
I have a lot of high income folks cleaning their own EAC's once I show them how to do it. They are simply amazed at the amount of black oil that comes from the cleaning of their EAC's.
"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers it can bribe the public with the public's own money.
- Alexis de Toqueville, 1835
Professional Member
in the early 1960s, I cleaned those of my Mom's Honeywell at the U-squirt-'em car wash about ea 6weeks when I visited her [& her car] -- 5+ yr --
but, maybe they don't make 'em like they used to --
harvest rainwater,make SHADE,R75/50/30= roof/wall/floor, use HVAC mastic,caulk all wall seams!
Regular Member
Yes, cem-bsee, that's the way I use to clean my EAC's. Take them to the do-it-yourself car wash. I have had eac's on both of my homes hvac systems. Right now, I don't have one, and wouldn't have one again. Too expensive to buy, and break down frequently. I believe they are fairly restrictive, too. Plus they are a pain to keep clean. I much prefer low merv slide in filters, now. Also, I did read somewhere that it isn't a good idea to clean eac's in a dishwasher. Something to do with Legionair's disease, I think it was. Carwash is the best bet, great point!
thorton
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Last edited by thorton; 01-07-2008 at 10:08 AM. Reason: spelling
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thorton, can you clarify your staement about Legionairs Disease? If you clean the cells and then run an additional clean cycle on the dishwasher, how is there the potential for disease?
Regular Member
Hi troyorr. I'm not sure what sort of clarification you are looking for? I read somewhere that washing electronic air cleaner cells in home dishwashers is "NOT" recommended as there is potential for Legionair's Disease! This was a number of years ago and if I can come up with the source, you will be the first to know. But from a simplistic standpoint, I would never, ever wash anything in home dishwasher, other then the dishes that I eat off, period! It doesn't matter how many cycles you run, if the water is not hot enough. But, yes, if I can come up with the scientific evidence you may be looking for, I will get it for you. FYI, I don't make posts on here just for the sake of reading my own reviews. I try to make honest well thought out posts that are helpfull to everyone! I guess you don't believe me and you don't agree with my statement? But I will reiterate, I would not wash anything out of my HVAC system in the dishwasher that I use to wash my own dishes!
thorton
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