How Long Do Carbon Filters Last? Change Or Replace Time
Carbon filters are what anyone would call the ultimate medicine for the particle as well as odor removal. With several benefits, the device is quite great at providing the best results. Air purifiers have a limit to what they can actually do. It’s not just about finding what works best for the team but also about knowing it can offer you a lot more. This is where carbon filters come in.
These support the main filters into doing what they do best; remove small particles, taking responsibility for the remaining ones along with their odors as well. Never underestimate what these filters can do and function accordingly. However, it’s always been a big question mark when it comes to acknowledging its lifespan. Our article will certainly give an insight into what you can exactly expect from a carbon filter and how long it can last.
Before we get into the whole business of carbon filters and their durability, we should address this issue first. Activated carbon filters are often mistaken for charcoal filters as in many websites they’re called activated charcoal filters as well. Now nobody’s at fault here, as activated carbon has many names one of which is charcoal. It is a filter that is installed in many air purifiers to enhance the function of all its main filters all the while reducing much more than just airborne particles floating in the air. It’s quite a nature to have a home that can be a target for many bacteria and germs along with different odors to settle into. An activated carbon filter drives deep into the very sources of such indoor pollutants dragging them right into its depths. Having such particles in your home just can’t be avoided. It’s one of the best ways of handling it with care and attention.
Time to talk about the very reason for such a detailed explanation of activated carbon, charcoal, and carbon has been a very confusing topic for many. Nobody knows what it actually entails, it’s a classification of carbon, or is it the same thing. Charcoal and carbon are the very same thing, meaning charcoal is the initial version of what an activated carbon would be. When charcoal is activated through different mediums, like physically through hot gas or chemically through chemicals like potassium pomegranate, it becomes enhanced enough to deal with a larger surface area. That means capturing indoor pollutants along with odors and chemicals present within our air.
How Do They Work?
Carbon filters are usually placed right after the main filters like HEPA when most of the smaller-sized particles have already been removed by other filters. It is installed in the air purifier where it works to suck out all the odors and different particles from the air. Now, this is possible only through the process called absorption. The process within the activated carbon filter begins with the pollutants being captured and collected in the pore structure of the carbon, this continues on until the carbon media is filled up with these particles. Using activated carbon to remove chemicals, VOCs, and odors from the air is one of the most successful ways to do it.
The major sizes of particles that the activated carbon can filter out are between 0.5 to 50 micrometers. This isn’t as low as other major filters like HEPA filters. All of this is only possible because of the in-depth treatment it goes through. Oxygen is used to pressure the carbon atoms to open up with millions of tiny pores that can take in everything.
Those undergoing treatments are meant to intensify the filtration process of the carbon filter in order to absorb all those odorous gases and chemicals that we’re commonly surrounded by. However, it might not always work in our favor. The absorption method draws all the indoor contaminated particles into the activated carbon filter through chemical attraction until the filter is completely filled up. Once it is full the filter than would start releasing all these indoor particles right into the air space.
Coming towards the main question of the article which is a mystery for most, how long do carbon filters actually last? This is something that is quite difficult to answer as carbon filters don’t have a specific timeline. The manuals do not mention the expiry date of such filters as many factors play a part in exacerbating its life. These can be the number of particles or how much the filter has to work in order to get these particles removed. If you have some construction going on or the airflow and ventilation in the area, it all depends on the amount of space as well. We often install air purifiers in areas that aren’t able to work with them. This means getting down to the business of how it actually works.
Moreover, the amount of carbons present in the carbon filter media is another factor that influences its lifespan. A carbon filter with 10 lbs of carbon will last quite a long time whereas a carbon media full of 5 lbs won’t last that long. Also, carbon filters will usually last for 2 to 3 months as mentioned in the books.
Carbon Air Filter Disadvantages
Activated carbon air filters, like practically every other air filtration technology, have several drawbacks that homeowners who choose to use this technology in their home’s air quality solutions, such as air handling systems and air purifiers, will have to cope with. The top two disadvantages of employing activated carbon for air filtration are the frequency and cost of filter replacement, as well as the inability of carbon to entirely remove and neutralize collected pollution on its filter medium.
Cost of filtration replacement: For many consumers who employ these approaches in their indoor air quality products, the procedure of removing fully saturated carbon filters can become cumbersome, a bother, and expensive. Because carbon filters function by filling up by weight, they need to be updated more frequently than other filters. If the carbon filter is not replaced as soon as it becomes full, the pollutants that were caught on the filter media will slowly leak back into the interior air (like a sponge!). As a result, the carbon filter will be rendered inefficient in its duty of cleansing the interior air.
No pollutant neutralization capabilities: Carbon air filters, as previously stated, do not neutralize or totally remove pollutants from the atmosphere; instead, they store pollutants on the filter media, trapping them in the activated carbon material. However, after the carbon filter is entirely full, it will re-release the pollutants collected onto the filter and into the cleaned interior space. Furthermore, carbon filters are unable to absorb tiny particulate matter, which is a drawback for many people who desire to eliminate these pollutants from their home’s air.
Conclusion: Carbon Filter Replacement
Whenever you’re shopping for air purifiers always choose ones with carbon filters. They might not seem like much but are highly useful at removing particles from the air. It’s one of their capabilities with which they strive and give optimum performance at every chance. They might have some disadvantages but nothing that can’t be overlooked by much. Make sure to form the best f everything through this very shift. It cleans very easily and doesn’t have a specific expiry date.
So don’t shy away from these filters as they’re a lot more than just filters that you can pass upon.
Danny is a passionate writer who loves to share his knowledge about air purifiers. He’s been writing for 10 years, and he’ll share all that experience with Very Well Home viewers to help you make the best decision when it’s time to buy an appliance!
