Therapure air purifier how to clean filter

Table of Contents Show

Some ‘Experts’ Say You Can Clean HEPA Filters
1. Cleaning HEPA filters by Vacuuming
2. Cleaning HEPA filters by Washing With Water
Bottom Line: How to Clean and Wash a HEPA Filter?
Free Guide to Breathing Safe
Can air purifier filters be cleaned?
How do you reset the filter on a therapure?
How do you clean the filter on a Dyson air purifier?

440

CLEANING & MAINTENANCE

Keep the Therapure

440 functioning properly by cleaning the permanent HEPA-type filter every

four weeks. More frequent cleaning will be necessary if the unit is located in an area with a high level

of airborne contaminants (excessive amounts of smoke, pet dander, etc.).

NOTE: Always make sure the Therapure

440 is turned off and unplugged before cleaning.

Vacuuming will restore performance of the permanent HEPA-type filter. However,

the filter may appear stained. This is normal and does not affect performance in any way.

Do not use water or any household cleaners or detergents to clean the permanent

HEPA-type filter.

The inlet grill may be cleaned (after unit is turned off and unplugged) with a vacuum

or a slightly damp cloth.
Cleaning the permanent HEPA-type filter
1. Release the inlet grill by pressing on the locking latch (see diagram of Main Parts).

2. Remove the inlet grill from the unit as shown below.

3. Grasp the left and right frames of the permanent HEPA-type filter through the indentations on

the sides of the filter enclosure and remove the filter.

4. To clean the permanent HEPA-type filter, use the brush or crevice attachment with a vacuum

cleaner. Run the attachment along the inlet and outlet side of the filter, cleaning between the

crevices as much as possible.

Do not use water or any household cleaners or detergents to

clean the permanent HEPA-type filter.

5. Once the permanent HEPA-type filter has been cleaned and checked for any possible damage,

replace the filter back in the reverse direction described here. Plug in the unit and

hold down

Timer + Power On button for 3 seconds. The clean filter light will go off and your cleaning

maintenance is done. Exposing the Therapure

440 to candle/oil/fireplace soot and smoke is

not recommended and will require more frequent cleaning.

OPERATING THE THERAPURE

440

CONTROLS/SETTINGS:

Power Control – To operate the Therapure

440 air purifier, press the ON/OFF button to turn on

the air purifier. Press the button again to turn the unit off.

Timer Control – The Therapure

440 air purifier can be programmed to turn off after a preset

amount of time. Press the “TIMER” button to program the timer. Each press will add one hour up to

a total of 24 hours. Keeping the button pressed will automatically increase to 24 hours, 1 hour at a

time, after that it will turn back to off.

Fan Speed Control – The Therapure

440 has three different speeds of cleaning, LOW, MED and

HI. Press “SPEED” button to cycle the settings and select the fan speed you desire. The speed state

will be shown on the LED display.

Clean Filter Indicator Light – The Therapure

440 Clean Filter Indicator Light will turn on each

time the filter needs to be cleaned. To reset the filter indicator, press the TIMER and the ON/

OFF buttons together for 3 seconds. The CLEAN FILTER light will flash 3 times and then turn off

completely, indicating the unit has been reset.

Night Mode – If the UV light bar is too bright, press the “Night Mode” button to turn off the UV

light bar feature, and the lighted display. The ON/OFF indicator, however, will remain lit. The night

mode only turns off UV light bar not the actual UV feature.

Reset Filter Control – Press down the “TIMER” and “ON/OFF” button for 3 seconds, the clean

filter light will flash 3 times and then the clean filter light will turn off, indicating the unit has

been reset.

UV Control – Press the UV/VOC control button “UV/VOC” to turn on the UV lamp to kill harmful

airborne germs and reduce harmful VOC (volatile organic compounds). Press it again to turn off

the UV and VOC.

Can you clean a HEPA filter? If so, how should you wash or clean a HEPA filter?

These questions keep cropping up, as they’re just about the only remaining problem for HEPA filters.

HEPA filters are almost perfect: they are backed by tons of scientific tests; they’re pretty cheap; they use about as much energy as a lightbulb; and they even have documented health benefits. But replacing them as opposed to washing them isn’t ideal. It would be great if we can clean and wash and re-use HEPA filters.

Some ‘Experts’ Say You Can Clean HEPA Filters

On the question-answer site Quora, I’ve seen industry insiders say you can clean HEPA filters by banging the HEPA filter to get the dust out:

Some people even say you can clean HEPA filters by vacuuming them:

…or even by washing HEPA filters with water. Yet other experts say you can NEVER clean HEPA filters.

But one thing I haven’t seen is anyone actually test the question and present the data. To get to the bottom of whether we should clean HEPA filters, and the best way to clean them, Smart Air engineer CK tested washing and cleaning HEPA filters in the Smart Air lab.

When you search for “how to clean HEPA filter,” you will see two methods to clean HEPA filters: vacuuming and washing. Smart Air put both of these to the test.

1. Cleaning HEPA filters by Vacuuming

The first test we tried was vacuuming HEPA filters. We took a dirty HEPA filter, ran tests on its performance before cleaning, vacuumed it, and then ran more performance tests after cleaning it. In all, 8 dirty HEPAs which had been used for 3-4 months in Beijing air were tested.

Testing Effectiveness of Vacuumed HEPA Filters

For each cleaning method, CK ran 3 types of tests to measure the performance increase or decrease in the HEPA filter before and after cleaning. CK tested:

Particle Capture: To see how cleaning the HEPA filter impacted capture performance, the percentage of 0.3 micron particles by the HEPA was measured before and after cleaning. 0.3 micron particles are a great benchmark because they are the hardest particle size for HEPAs to capture.
Air Flow: The amount of air traveling through the HEPA filter before and after cleaning can tell us if the HEPA filter is less clogged, or if the fibers in the HEPA filter have been damaged due to washing.
CADR: CADR is the ‘gold standard’ for measuring an air purifier’s performance. It measured the total combined impact (particle capture + air flow) of washing on the HEPA filter

Here’s how the 8 HEPA filters that were vacuumed performed before and after cleaning:

Should You Vacuum HEPA Filters: Results

On average, vacuuming increased CADR by about 10%. But there was also a lot of variance, ranging from a 14% increase to a 3% decrease. Based on that data, cleaning a HEPA by vacuuming might help a little, but there’s also a decent chance it’ll do nothing at all, or it could even damage your filter.

What’s The Vacuum Doing to the HEPA Filter?

HEPAs are made of thin fibers. The vacuum is probably pulling out some of the larger dust particles from the HEPA filter, but at the same time some of these fibers as well. You can see what looks like fibers that have been pulled loose in this picture.

Vacuuming bottom line: There may be a slight benefit of vacuuming HEPAs, but the benefit is small, and it can also damage the HEPA. Therefore, we do not recommend vacuuming.

2. Cleaning HEPA filters by Washing With Water

Vacuuming did very little to improve the HEPA filters’ effectiveness. So, how about washing HEPA filters instead? This time, CK tested 3 HEPA filters by washing them under a shower head (with water only) and then leaving them to dry for a day.

Should You Wash HEPA Filters With Water: Results

I stopped testing after 3 trials because the results were so conclusive: washing HEPA filters with water decreased effectiveness by an average of 32%.

Why Is It Bad to Wash HEPA Filters?

To get to the bottom of why washing was so bad for the HEPAs, I looked at wind speed and particle capture before and after washing.

First, washing actually increased the amount of air passing through the HEPA filter.

Great, right!? But then the particle capture of the HEPA filter actually went down a lot after washing.

Washing the HEPA filters probably broke some of the fibers or made the gaps between the fibers larger. That would explain why more air passed through after washing, but also more particles!

Washing bottom line: Washing HEPA filters with water significantly decreases performance.

Read More: How to Know When to Change My HEPA Filter?

Bottom Line: How to Clean and Wash a HEPA Filter?

Vacuuming HEPAs may improve performance, but the effect is small.
Washing HEPAs strongly decreases performance. We do not recommend washing HEPAs.

Therefore, HEPA filters should still be replaced when it starts to get clogged and its effectiveness dropped. When is this? Learn why the standard numbers might not always be accurate.

Smart Air

Washing & Cleaning HEPA Filters: Open Data

You can learn more about the testing methods and view the original data in the supplemental data article.

How I Protect Myself

Smart Air is a certified B Corp committed to combating the myths big companies use to inflate the price of clean air.

Smart Air provides empirically backed, no-nonsense purifiers and masks, that remove the same particles as the big companies for a fraction of the cost. Only corporations benefit when clean air is a luxury.

Check out the Sqair!

Free Guide to Breathing Safe

Want to learn more about Filters? Join thousands more and stay up to date on protecting your health.

Can air purifier filters be cleaned?

You can rinse the filter in water, tap excess dust off of it or remove some dust with a vacuum, but this can definitely damage the mesh of fibers that allows the filter to remove particles from the air. Even if the filter looks undamaged, some of the fibers will be broken or stretched out.

How do you reset the filter on a therapure?

Clean Filter Indicator Light – The Therapure® 540 Clean Filter Indicator Light will turn on each time the filter needs to be cleaned. To reset the filter indicator, press the TIME and the ON/OFF buttons together for 3 seconds.