Changing the filter in an Air Purifier?

[OneMoreFarang]

I bought the Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier 3H beginning of this year. And it worked great. I could sleep a lot better even with real bad air quality outside.

Now it seems the air quality in my home is not as good anymore even if the device tells me the AQI is good - often under 10.

The device also shows me "Filter remaining 43%". Now I wonder if I can trust those numbers.

Maybe I should buy a new filter and maybe then all will be perfect again.

 

How is your experience?

Do you have this or a similar air purifier and did you change the filter earlier than advertised? Did it make a difference?

 

[CharlieH]

I have 2 x 2s machines, my readings stay below 10, even though the filter "should" have been changed months ago, i figured as long as the readings remained low ut was doing its job and felt maybe the official time to change was just a sales boost thing. I changed them out after a year regardless of "reading".

[internationalism]

try cleaning with hoover - first sucking, later blowing remains. Exposing active carbon to strong sunshine or temperature will also clean it (do it on balcony, in an open air, not in the room).

I don't know haw xaomi is build, but my cheapo chinese purifiers do take additional cotton filter sheets (lazada 70x30cm for 12b from china or 20b from thailand). Those can be washed multiple times, when dirty. They do also fit in aircon outlet

Edited May 7, 2021 by internationalism

[NancyL]

In addition to vacuuming our Xiamoi filters, we also clean them with a dry brush in the shower stall first.  We've found the "filter remaining" readings on the device to be accurate.  Are you sure you have genuine filters?

[OneMoreFarang]

2 minutes ago, NancyL said:

In addition to vacuuming our Xiaomi filters, we also clean them with a dry brush in the shower stall first.  We've found the "filter remaining" readings on the device to be accurate.  Are you sure you have genuine filters?

Thanks

Am I sure? I would say pretty sure. I bought the air purifier from a Xiaomi online store. And if worked great when I bought it. And I plan to buy a replacement filter from the same store.

[NancyL]

7 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Thanks

Am I sure? I would say pretty sure. I bought the air purifier from a Xiaomi online store. And if worked great when I bought it. And I plan to buy a replacement filter from the same store.

OK, if you're sure the source was genuine Xiaomi, then you're probably OK.  I always look for the LazMall logo when I buy from Lazada.  Fortunately, we have a Xiaomi store in Maya Mall in Chang Mai.  I can't believe I'm sing the praises of a Chinese brand, but I love their stuff and their mall staff known their products.

[cmarshall]

I had a similar experience which I put down to pollutants other than PM 2.5.

[jackdd]

I have a Xiaomi air purifier, and I also have another device to measure the air quality.

Both devices show about the same PM 2.5 level, thus I conclude that the value given by the air purifier is about correct (and it doesn't give a wrong value just to make you believe it's working better than it actually is).

[rickudon]

My air purifier suspiciously always settles at a PM2.5 level of 8,  two minutes after starting ........

[LarryLEB]

 

We have 3 Xioami 3H purifiers (all purchased from Lazada).  I rate them 5 stars out of 5.  We have replaced the filters in the units once.  I keep a stock of 3 filters in-house at all times.

 

Every 2 months or so, I take out the filters to clean them.  I do this, using no water, with a very soft 1.5" paint brush (purchased for cheap at HomePro).  I gently brush the filter surface over the bathroom sink, removing a lot of fine dust. 

 

(I felt that using a vacuum cleaner might be too hard on the filter surface.)

 

2 Questions:

• Do your filters have the RFID label sticker on the bottom?  If they do, then you have genuine Xiaomi filters
• How many square meters are you using your machine(s) to cover?

Our 3 machines are placed as follows:

• Bedroom number one, about 38 square meters
• Bedroom number two, same size
• Sitting/Dining/Kitchen (SDK) open area, about 75 square meters.

We rarely have a problem getting the purifier's LED reading to 001 or 002 in the bedrooms.  If the pollution is near "apocalyptic" on that night, we may have to run 2 purifiers in bedroom (very rare).  (2 purifiers at low speed, that is, because one unit at high speed is too noisy!)

 

On an "average" day, one purifier handles the SDK area easily (001 reading).  On very high pollution days, we bring one of the bedroom units into the SDK area.  Running 2 units in 75 square meters gets us a reading of 001 to 003 on those days.

 

Before we bought the purifiers, we suffered from stinging eyes inside our condo.  After buying, no more problems with eyes/throat. 

 

Hope this helps.  Cheers.

 

 

 

Edited May 8, 2021 by LarryLEB

[MrJ2U]

Your supposed to change the Mi Air filters every 3 months.  I don't use it all the time so I change them every 6 or so.  Thailand is so smoky up North where I live I would change them every 2 months if I used them all the time.  We aren't home that much with traveling.

[Iron Tongue]

I run 2 air filters 24/7.  

 

Change the filters as often as you see fit.  Whether you trust the "change now" indicator or not, the filter is constantly decreasing in efficiency due to clogging and you may not wish it to reach the point of full saturation before changing.  

 

Even if you are getting low readings, the filter decreases in efficiency with each hour of operation and the charcoal is not be as effective as when new, so enough smells and other microparticles may be getting through to bother you, even past a hepafilter.

 

And "NO" exposing charcoal to sunlight does not clean it.  Charcoal is a particulate filter and sunlight will do nothing.  Charcoal can be reactivated with washing and heating in an oven, but it will never return to initial levels of filtration.

[Captor]

I don't think that PM2.5 particles have affect on your sleep! They are to small for that. But maybe there is additional pollen in the air now that you did not have before? I don't know if there are pollen at all in Thailand. Anyway, if there is, that might be that the air cleaner are not up to cleaning that. Do you have a Hepa Filter? I mean real Hepa not the chinese stuff there is in some cleaners. Should be Hepa 11 at least. Hepa 12 is even better. I don´t think that Xiaomi have the real Hepa filters at least last time I checked (about 2 years ago). Just the old Hepa standard that western countries not uses anymore.

[LarryLEB]

The company from which I buy my Xiaomi filters on Lazada, claims that the filters are HEPA H13:  these are the relatively new black filters.  (as opposed to the grey, green, and purple filters that have been around for awhile and are rated below H13)

[OneMoreFarang]

6 minutes ago, LarryLEB said:

The company from which I buy my Xiaomi filters on Lazada, claims that the filters are HEPA H13:  these are the relatively new black filters.  (as opposed to the grey, green, and purple filters that have been around for awhile and are rated below H13)

Thanks, can you please post a link to that.

[LarryLEB]

I have bought all 3 air purifiers and the filters mentioned in my post from Thuntarin company on Lazada.  Here is the link:  https://www.lazada.co.th/products/i708516770-s1364202507.html?urlFlag=true&mp=1

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, LarryLEB said:

I have bought all 3 air purifiers and the filters mentioned in my post from Thuntarin company on Lazada.  Here is the link:  https://www.lazada.co.th/products/i708516770-s1364202507.html?urlFlag=true&mp=1

 

 

Thanks, I will try one of those. I checked on the Xiaomi website. They have a black filter which I didn't see on their site previously. 

[blackcab]

Moved to the DIY housing forum.