The Web air filter
Consumer Reports reviewed air cleaners and furnace air filters back in Dec 07.
The highest rated passive electrostatic do-it-yourself air filter was the 3M Filtrete 1700, with a rating of 52. Second place was the 3M Filtrete Ultra, with a rating of 48.
The best Web brand product was a non-washable pleated "Hepa Pure" (not really HEPA!), with a rating of 33. Then came the "Original Web" filter with a rating of 15. The WEB Lifetime filter came in next to last overall with a rating of 13. Although the last two air filters are no longer listed on the Web website, I gather that the Web Lifetime is equivalent to the Web Plus sold today (which also has a lifetime warranty). The last two Web filters rated "poor" for dust removal, while the top two 3M products rated "very good" for dust removal. All the products mentioned here rated "very good" for airflwo resistance, except for the Web Hepa-Pure, which rated only "good".
I tried an adjustable Web filter ten years ago in my furnace system. I wasn't very impressed with it, and have switched over to nothing but the 3M Filtrete Ultra pleated air filters. My system is heating only, so these filters don't operate during the warm months. Last summer when regional brush and forest fires were making the air smoky, I occasionally used a large TheraPure HEPA air cleaner unit - which seemed to help a bit, at least on the highest (noisy!) speed. It has UV and Ionization which seemed to help neutralize off odors.
I also gather that the latest WEB products are thicker than before. I think the one I used was 1/2"thick. The ones today are 1" thick, which is probably an improvement. Also, the model I bought was adjustable, which in theory is great but was kind of a mess trying to insert and remove from the floor mounted air intake for my furnace system. It would fall apart easily and did not inspire much confidence. The new models all appear to be non-adjustable, coming in standard sizes, which is probably another improvement. The two currently available washable Web models, however, have relatively low MERV ratings of 7 and 8, while the 3M Filtrete has a MERV rating of 13 or more.
I figure the WEB air filters are probably better than the old spun fiberglass air filters. But there are better choices in pleated, disposable air filters, esp the 3M products.
As for the cost of the non-washable, replaceable filters... I guess it's kind of like bagless vs bag vacuum cleaners. For years I was hooked on the bagless concept, but got tired of the limited capacity, the constant need to clean the internal filters, and the clouds of dust that would get emitted when the cannister was dumped. I've switched to a HEPA filtered bag Eureka Commercial model and think it cleans much better than any bagless model I've tried, with much more capacity and much nicer to empty when it gets full. And for the furnace filters, I like being able to just toss the old filter when it gets loaded, instead of trying to wash it out, having to wait for it to dry, while the heating system is down, etc etc etc.
Your mileage may vary ;-)
