When choosing an air purifier like the Whirlpool AP51030K, an important thing to consider is the cost price, durability and effectiveness of the repla...
When choosing an air purifier like the Whirlpool AP51030K, an important thing to consider is the cost price, durability and effectiveness of the replacement filters. Most modern air purifiers come with a HEPA or true HEPA filter intended for cleaning the air from pollen, dust, bacteria or viruses.
CADR which stands for Clean Air Delivery Rate is an indicator of the air filtering capacities of an air cleaner. In a nutshell, the higher the CADR mentioned on the label, the larger the room can be as the machine can clean more of the allergens out of the air. The Whirlpool AP51030K is designed to filter the air in medium to large sized rooms up to 500 square feet with a CADR of 315.
Another common filter is an activated carbon filter sometimes called charcoal or zeolite blend filter, depending on the brand of air purifier. Carbon filters have been used over the centuries to purify water and it wasn't until the early 20th century that the air cleaning qualities of charcoal got discovered. Activated carbon is therefore also one of the materials used in gas masks.
Whereas a HEPA filter is used for filtering micro particles an activated carbon filter has the ability to filter out chemicals and smells in the air we breathe. Activated Carbon filters in air purifiers often get advertised by their weight. What this actually measures is the amount of activated carbon used in the filter. The Whirlpool AP51030K is equipped with a carbon pre-filter which can bring great relief to people suffering from an allergy of certain smells like perfume, chemicals and other irritating odors.
Now that you are clear on the two major types of filters that come standard with most modern air purifiers, a little word on efficiency. Bear in mind that the HEPA label stands for the amount of air that gets cleaned when passing through the filter.
What most manufacturers don't tell you is that any air that cannot flow through the filter simply passes around the filter thereby completely annihilating the purpose of having an air cleaner. Here again it is obvious that an air purifier with larger filters and a high CADR such as the Whirlpool AP51030K will be quite a bit more effective than its cheaper counter parts.
The bottom line is that the filters make up an important part of an air purifier and you should pay attention to this when calculating the overall cost price. Most units come with both a HEPA and carbon filter. Some of the more expensive models on the market claim to have permanent filters.
The Honeywell 50250N for example, unlike the Whirlpool AP51030K air purifier, boasts filters that do not need replacement but only need vacuuming instead. A lot of consumers however are not too thrilled with this idea of an ever-lasting filter and would prefer to replace the filters on a regular basis just to be sure of the air quality.
