A high efficiency particle filter is very useful in cleaning out the air that goes through your vacuum cleaner. There are many advantages to a HEPA vacuum cleaner are fairly obvious once you understand the basics of what HEPA is. Before you can see the advantages of a HEPA vacuum cleaner you need to understand the basics of how it works.
How A HEPA Vacuum Cleaner Filters The Air
The Basics behind how a HEPA vacuum cleaner works are in the HEPA filter. A HEPA filter will remove 99.97% of the particles in the area. The way they do this is through a mat that is composed of randomly arranged fibers. Most people assume that this filter acts like a sieve in that particles smaller than the larges opening can pass through, but this is not the case. In face a HEPA vacuum cleaner uses the filter like a membrane. The large particles can not pass through the membrane at all. These are trapped and stopped on the outside. Particles that are smaller than the hole in the filter are trapped by one of three distinct methods:
The first is called interception. This is the process where particles move around the fibers in the filter and the end up adhering to it. The particles are held fast inside the filter and effectively removed from the air.
The second method is called impaction. This method words where larger particles may make it through one of the top layers but are unable to pass wholly through the filter because the can not get past the fibers inside and become imbedded in them directly. This method works best in tight filters with strong airflow, similar to the condition you would find in a HEPA filter vacuum cleaner.
The third method is called diffusion. This method is perhaps the most complicated to understand. This method does not directly stop the particles themselves, but rather increases the likelihood that one of the two above methods will trap the particle. It works on the principle that particles will collide with each other and with air molecules changing their trajectory and causing one of the above methods to take effect.
These are the three ways that the filter in your HEPA vacuum cleaner works to remove particles from the air, trapping them in the vacuum and lowering the amount of dust in your house. If you can you should definitely try to find a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter in it to improve the overall air quality in your home and keep the dust levels to a minimum.
