HEPA Vacuum Cleaners : Not All Are Created Equal

HEPA VACUUM CLEANERS : NOT ALL ARE CREATED EQUAL

If you suffer from allergies, asthma, or just really care about indoor air quality, then you should be looking for a HEPA Vacuum Cleaner. Maybe your doctor even suggested you purchase one. We will be covering the definition of HEPA, what features to look for in a vacuum cleaner, and then go into the vacuum brands known for their filtration abilities.

Definition of HEPA

HEPA stands for High-Efficiency Particulate Air. The vacuum suction forces air through mesh or filter paper HEPA filtration system that removes small particles such as pollen, dust, dander from pet hair, smoke, and more. To meet the HEPA standard, a filter must remove 99.97% of 0.3 microns and smaller. This standard is defined by the United States Department of Energy.

Vacuum filters typically remove the pollutants in 2 different ways:

Interception - Particles are trapped when they come within a certain radius of the filter fibers

Impaction - Particles adhere to fibers because they cannot navigate the curves in the filter

What features to look for in a HEPA vacuum

Cleaning ability - Many vacuums might have fancy filters or bags, but if the vacuum does not do a thorough cleaning job then it doesn't really matter. Your vacuum needs to be able to lift dust, pollens and dander from your carpeting, hard flooring, furniture and anywhere else it might collect.

HEPA filter - This is the most important feature as it removes the smallest particles. It is the last filtering mechanism the air passed through before it is released back into the home.

HEPA bags - Not all vacuum bags are created equal. Some vacuum bags are paper and others are made of a “cloth-like” composite. The cloth-like composite is far better at filtering out pollutants. Multiple layer paper bags would be the next best followed by single-layer paper bags.

Pre-filters - Vacuums with HEPA filters also often have felt or foam filters used to trap larger particles. They usually are placed in front of the vacuum motor to help keep these pollutants from damaging the vacuum motor.

Sealed systems - This is often overlooked, but might be one of the most important factors. It ensures that air does not escape the vacuum before it is put through the entire filtration process. If air is allowed to escape before going through all of the filters, then the filtering ability of those filters is rendered useless.

Bagged system (not bagless) - We find that bagged vacuums retain the dust much better and many models are recommended by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation. The reason is disposing of the dust and dirt is much cleaner with bags. Pollution particles are released back into the air much easier when a customer empties the dust pin instead of a sealed bag. Also, filters need to maintained more frequently in bagless systems.

Our recommended HEPA vacuum brands

#1 Miele - No company does it better than Miele, they check all of the boxes as far as filtration is concerned. They offer different levels of filtration between their vacuum models, but all of the C3 models have everything you would look for in a HEPA vacuum including pet-friendly models.

#2 SEBO - Another German-made vacuum cleaner, SEBO is well known for being used in the White House and also in many hospitals. SEBO offers customers different grades of filters and bags so customers can decide how much filtration they want.

#3 Dyson - Dyson vacuums filter great for a bagless vacuum. Just be sure to keep your filters clean and empty your dust bin outside of the home to maintain suction and filtration levels.