Air Filters

It’s no secret that the air inside your home can be significantly more polluted than the air outdoors– around 2-5 times more polluted, in fact. We also spend most of our time onboard, which puts us at a greater risk of falling ill when we’re just relaxing. If your crew is made up of children or elderly individuals, it’s especially important to keep your home’s indoor air free of harmful particulates.

The EPA is most concerned with particulates 10 microns in size or smaller, as these are inhaleable. To put that into context, a single micron is 1/25,4000th of an inch… so while these airborne particulates are invisible to the naked eye, they are still pretty dangerous. If inhaled, these particulates can affect your crew’s health and well-being, causing issues down the voyage.

There are many ways to improve your indoor air quality, but filtration is the best solution for removing airborne particulates. Read on for more details about filtration, and why we always recommend electronic air cleaners to our customers!

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I CHANGE MY AIR FILTER?

Air filters are easy to forget about– out of sight, out of mind! But somewhere in your home, your dirty air filter is decreasing your indoor air quality and possibly harming your entire air conditioner. An easy way to keep your indoor air clean is to change your Tampa air filter once a month. We offer air filters of all sizes, and we would love to talk to you about delivery options during your maintenance call with us. We’re happy to help you in your quest to cleaner air! However, conventional air filters only trap particulates 1 micron in size or larger, which comprise about 1-2% of the particulates wafting around your home. This means that while changing your air filter is helpful and important, it should not be the only thing you do to keep your indoor air clean.

PASSIVE VS. ELECTRONIC FILTERS

So what can you do to dramatically improve your indoor air quality? We recommend a more advanced air filter, far more capable than the conventional ones you see in Home Depot and Target. These electronic air cleaners are built to capture smaller particulates, AKA those .2-.3 microns in size. Installing an electronic air cleaner in your Tampa home can filter out up to 98% of the particulates in your indoor air! This is obviously a big step up from your conventional air filters, and it can make all the difference in keeping your air clean. They also require minimal maintenance, so you won’t ever have to worry about changing your filter or keeping it clean!

Other Tampa AC companies might recommend installing a thicker filter, like a heavy pleated filter, with your air conditioner. These filters are effective (about 97%), but they also come with a host of con’s. Most notably, they decrease the efficiency of your AC system. These pleated filters are more effective because they’re thicker, but their thickness also restricts airflow in and out of your system. This makes your air conditioner work harder to do its job– kind of like trying to run down the street breathing through a straw.

Further, because they work through passive filtration, they promote the growth of mold and bacteria within your air conditioner. Overall, these filters can cause more harm than good, which is why we NEVER recommend them. They also get dirtier faster and require more maintenance, so while they might be cheaper initially, they are not cost-effective in the long run.