Home Improvement Product Reviews

3M Filtrete Filters, May 6, 2009

By 

C. Brown – See all my reviews

  

Thank you for your inquiry regarding Filtrete(TM) Filters. We appreciate
hearing from you.

All our filters will remove particles that measure .3-10 microns.

The media fibers are polypropylene and polyolefin plastic.

Performance, MERV Ratings and pressure drop:

Maximum/Ultimate Allergen 1700

1-10 microns – 93%
MERV 12
pressure drop .20

Ultra Allergen 1250

1-10 microns – 90%
MERV 11
pressure drop .18

Allergen Reduction 1200

1-10 microns – 85%
MERV 11
pressure drop .23

Micro Allergen Extra 1085

1-10 microns – 85%
MERV 11
pressure drop .19

Micro Allergen 1000

1-10 microns – 80%
MERV 11
pressure drop .21

Micro Particle 700

1-10 microns – 75%
MERV 9
pressure drop .18

Dust & Pollen 600

1-10 microns – 70%
MERV 8
pressure drop .14

Dust Reduction 300

1-10 microns – 60%
MERV 7
pressure drop .15

As clean filters, the product is not restrictive to air flow. Filters will
become restrictive if they are not changed when needed. We say filter life
is approximately 3 months and this is an approximation. Filter life is
actually determined by the user’s living conditions and will vary for every
user. To determine when the filter needs to be change, we suggest holding
it up to the light. When you cannot see light through the filters, it will
need to be changed even if it is before 3 months.

If you are concerned about airflow, you might want to use the Dust & Pollen
filter which has the lowest pressure drop, and change it more frequently.
The capture rate of this filter is also lower.

Additional information is available on our website at www.filtrete.com

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 Comments (3)

Try the Advanced Allergen filter if you have allergies or pets, February 11, 2008

By 

Paul Moskowitz (Yorktown, NY) – See all my reviews

  

  

My house uses forced air for heating. The disadvantage of such a system is that it distributes the dust in the air everywhere in the house. However, it is supposed to be possible to filter out the dust. Over the years, I have steadily increased the quality of the filter that I use for my forced air heating system. However, until now I have not noticed any obvious difference in my allergic reactions that seem to start with the heating season.

There are two cats in my house. I have read that cat dander, tiny flakes of cat skin shed by the cats, is five times smaller than household dust particles. It stays in the air much longer than ordinary dust before it settles. Because of its small size it requires a more efficient filter to get it out of the air.

Until this year, I have used of variety of filters with mixed results. However, this year, I started using the 3M Advanced Allergen Filters, the ones in the blue wrapper. These have a 3M Microparticle Performance Rating of 1500, but do not have a MERV rating listed. MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value and is a number from 1 to 12, produced from a test designed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). A higher MERV rating indicates better filter performance. 3M uses particle data between 0.3 and 1.0 micron size to calculate a Microparticle Performance Rating or MPR. The higher the MPR, the better the filter. However, higher rated filters cost more.

Here are some of the Filtrete filters offered by 3M:
Dust & Pollen Filter, Microparticle Performance Rating 600,
MERV rating of 8
Micro Allergen Filter, Microparticle Performance Rating 1000,
MERV rating of 11
Ultra Allergen Filter, Microparticle Performance Rating 1250,
MERV rating of 11
Advanced Allegen Filter, Microparticle Performance Rating 1500,
MERV rating not available

The difference made by the Advanced filter was immediately obvious. My running nose stopped running. I assume that the new Advanced filters must be taking out more of the dust in the air including the cat dander. I have not noticed a change in the speed of the circulated air. The additional cost of the Advanced filter is worth it if you have allergies or pets. However, if you are happy with a lower-rated and lower-cost filter, then you can continue using that one. I suggest that you check Amazon and vendors on the web to get the best price.

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 Comments (3)

The best filter for heat pumps., July 16, 2010

I was using the red Filtrete 1000 filters and my HVAC tech said those were too restrictive for a heat pump system since a heat pump relies on more airflow to obtain their BTU rating than a conventional furnace system. He recommended I use a cheap pleated filter one step above the worthless fiberglass type filters. Now I believe that a heat pump relies on good air flow but I also know that HVAC techs rely on service calls. They love to come out and clean your system because it is full of dust from a cheap filter and charge you an arm and a leg. Dirty systems are also not covered under warranty so it’s a win win for them. I did some research and found that some cheap pleated filters can also be very restrictive. I really wanted to use a good filter like the Filtretes but needed something with more airflow. I saw on the blue 600 Filtrete filters that it said “Best Filtrete filter for high velocity equipment” so I tried one and it is the perfect match between airflow and air cleaning ability. I highly recommend the blue Filtrete 600 for your heat pump system.

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