HEPA vacuum filters not so hot for allergy sufferers?

Turns out all those fancy high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters that are landing  a vacuum cleaners these days don't really serve allergy suffers as anything more than a placebo. Research at the North West Lung Centre, run by The University of Manchester, concluded that "there is no significant advantage to using a HEPA vacuum cleaner to reduce exposure to air-borne particles like dust-mites." They really seem to have it in for those HEPA filters, because they've run similar studies before and see no reason HEPA-equipped cleaners should be "recommended to allergy sufferers as a means of reducing personal exposure to allergens, either by their manufacturers or health professionals." Ah well, back to the old gas mask standby.

[Via medGadget]

[kevin @ Feb 15th 2006 12:39PM]

is there no hope??? it's either breathing in dust mites from HEPA or ozone from Ionic Breezes, *achoo* (not the melancholy man)

[Dan B. @ Feb 15th 2006 12:53PM]

Yeah, but they're not designed to filter the air in your abode. They're designed to trap the crap that comes from the carpet into the vacuum, rather than throwing it around.

As a Dyson owner, I can tell you that the allergic reaction to my two cats, suffered by visitors, is considerably lower after I vacuum.

[Keith @ Feb 15th 2006 1:29PM]

This study is bogus. They only looked at dust mites before and during vacuuming, NOT AFTER. You vacuum because after you are done it is cleaner, not during or before. Also this was not a long term sturdy, i.e. vacuuming once a week with each type of vacuum.

So would they want us to believe that a vacuum with a better filter will do no better job? Assuming the have the same suction.

If you have alergies, it is suggested to vacuum once a week and to have someone else vacuum if at all possible. Because everyone knows that vacuuming will stir up dust.

Don't you jsut love bogus science? Four out of five people say that they do.

[happy gilmore @ Feb 15th 2006 1:55PM]

and 87.2% of people who quote statistics make them up!

[Ryan @ Feb 15th 2006 2:28PM]

I think the real problem with HEPA vacuums is that the majority of the dust thrown into the air isn't what gets passed through the exaust, but what the spinning thing kicks up out of the carpet that doesn't even find its way into the vacuum. For awhile I used a bagless Hoover with a cylendrical HEAP filter inside the dust bin. Emptying the dust bin requiring knocking the dust off the filter and it was horrible for my alergies. Now I use a Dyson which you can dump the dust out of quickly because it doesn't have a large clogged filter that needs cleaning. Honestly though I think despite all the hype that a bagless filter is cleaner, a good ol' fashioned bagged vacuum might be the most dust free option.

[Alex @ Feb 15th 2006 3:37PM]

Or you could just not vaccume ala as we do in college.

[Sterling @ Feb 15th 2006 4:37PM]

87.2% HA!

[EatingPie @ Feb 15th 2006 6:53PM]

Actually the problem with most HEPA vacuums is the vacuum cleaner. The WHOLE VACUUM must be HEPA, not just the HEPA filter itself. Otherwise, dust can leak out around the filter, cracks in the bag casing, gaps in the connectors, etc.

This is a known issue with Vacuums. I have a crappy hoover at work, and it has dust caked around ever nook and cranny that you can see. Hepa filter in that baby is as clean as a whistle though!

Until they say what vacuums they use, this is lame and pointless.

-Pie

[Ben Edginton @ Feb 16th 2006 8:42AM]

The problem with the vacuum cleaner is caused by the blast of air that is coming from the exhaust, it disturbs dust and Cat alergens etc from furniture and curtains.
There is a solution to this problem but manufacturers are dragging their feet and will not put it into production,

It can be seen working on the web page at. www.edginton.info/arc
And shows an Air Recycling Cleaner that removes the problems of air disturbance from the exhaust of all Vacuum cleaners.

[Ben Edginton @ Feb 21st 2006 2:23PM]

The web pages mentioned in the last letter from me was temporaly locked but it has now been restored.
At www.edginton.info/arc

Other information about filters virouses and energy can be found on these web pages.
Thanks for your interest

Ben

[Richard Gazzo - the vacuum guy @ Mar 10th 2006 1:31AM]

I wonder about hepa air purification systems, I guess they are as useless as hepa vacuum cleaners? Ionic Breeze I know has a very bad reputation (http://www.infomercialscams.com/ionic_breeze.htm). I never did like their informmercials. It makes no sense how they can promote a product that is completely useless.

[Vacuum Cleaner Guy @ Mar 20th 2006 6:10PM]

If you think the HEPA filters helps your allergies, it probably will! On any given day, there are countles studies that claim countless things...

[Ben edginton @ May 18th 2006 9:40PM]

Did you know that there is a new cleaning machine that could eventually replace the Vacuum Cleaner?
---
It is thought by many that the cyclone cleaner is the end of the line in the development of cleaners but this is not so.
Air Recycling Technology has been developed and it should eventually replace the vacuum cleaner.
Please let me explain.
--------------------
First let us look at what is wrong with all Vacuum cleaners; 1/ they have to blow out the contaminated exhaust air back into the room and 2/ they waste 75% of the power they use.

No matter how good the filters or dust separation is the disturbance from the blast of exhaust air will still blow dust and allergens from furniture and curtains etc. This air disturbance causes allergens to become suspended in the air where they will aggravate respiratory problems.

A new Air Recycling Technology removes the need to blow any air back into the room. Instead it returns the air back into the system via the cleaning head were it combines with the rotary motion of the brush-beater bar, and replaces the air being drawn through the carpet creating a very strong air stream.

This not only removes the unwanted blast of exhaust air but also forces the dust back through the carpet and into the dust intake reducing the amount of power required to drive the motor.

2/ This means that an air recycling cleaner using only 300-watt hour will do the same amount of work as a 1,400 watt vacuum cleaner.

To prove that this is not just an idle claim I have printed below some information taken from the tests commissioned by the DTI.
-----
The Market Transformation Program UK has estimated that vacuum cleaners in the UK are currently consuming an estimated 2 Terawatts of electricity each year.

A series of tests commissioned by DEFRA and the DTI on behalf of the Market Transformation Program were made at the Intertek ETL SEMCO Research & Testing Centre.

In these tests a 300-Watt air recycling cleaner outperformed a 1,400 watt Hoover U3470 a saving of in excess of 75%.
That would mean that if all the cleaners in the UK were phased over to air recycling cleaners (this would probably take less than ten years) there would be a saving of over 1.5 Terawatts of electricity per year.
To put this into perspective this is the yearly output of over 600 wind generators, half of the wind farms in the UK.

There are other advantages with the air recycling cleaner as the machine is quieter and also safe to be used by Asthmatics because there is no Blast of exhaust air to disturb the allergens lying in the furniture and due to the smaller motor required it is quieter and lighter in weight with no smell making it more pleasant to use.

40 volunteers including asthmatics have also tested prototypes, they all wrote that it was better than the cleaner they normally use (one of them a �500 plus Miele owned by an Asthma sufferer)

Filters are not the solution as is shown by the insert below.

? A team from the North West Lung Center in Manchester, UK, demonstrated in a recent study that vacuuming with HEPA sweepers actually increase an individual's exposure to particles such as cat allergens.?
Part of an article taken from the Internet.

The rest of this article and a video clip can be seen on a web sit at ----

www.edginton.info/arc

Ben

[Haiki @ Feb 18th 2008 8:37AM]

Here is some help for those who don't know which way to go, Bags, bag-less or HEPA vacuums. Tip of the year!


I have a Hoover Empower upright, works great. It's great all except for the price of the Hepa filter, $29. I soon realized that the filter became extremely dirty after it's first cleaning and saw that replacing this Hepa filter will be soon and often. Built almost like automobile filters, as well as other paper filters. How I solved the replacement, cost problem. Go buy a roll of Bounty paper towels- 2 ply . Take one sheet, (not the half sheet) and separate the ply sheets. You end up with 2 separate sheets of ply. You will notice how the one ply is constructed of many small fine holes, enough for air to pass through, just like a filter. Wrap one sheet around the round, approx. 12 inch Hoover Hepa filter. There will be an overlap. To secure it tape it in 3 spots. You are only adding a paper filter as an added last step prior to the to the filtering action of the HEPA filter. Save the other ply for your next vacuuming. You will find the paper ply sheet will stop much of the real dirt from reaching your filter, but it will suck dirt just fine, and will prevent replacing this Hoover Hepa filter as often, as it gets dirty real fast. Empty dirt cup more frequently, perhaps after each room. After each vacuuming, tap the Hoover filter to clean out any other small dirt it many have accumulated, and replace the paper ply filter. This may work with other filters. Try it, you’ll like it!


To give you an idea of the filtering action of Bounty paper towels, I found this on the website for Trawlers and Trawlering. “http://www.trawlersandtrawlering.com/howto/captnwil.html”
2. Gulf Coast Filters F-1 fuel filter and water separator. The phone number is [phone]. This filter is recommended to be the main fuel filter if it can be fitted in the space. It uses a roll of Bounty paper towels. The element replacement cost of this filter is always attractive, but if you have a very dirty system to clean up, you will appreciate it even more. In addition, it filters in the sub-micron range and will add life to your injection pump and injectors.

[Dave @ Apr 24th 2008 8:11AM]

Hi all, I am in the air purifier business. If you want the truth you should get a particulate/partical meter. They are available for under $200.00. Be prepared to be disappointed as I was.