How Exactly Does the Dirt Devil HEPA Filter Work?
We all know that that the Dirt Devil HEPA filter is found in most models of the company’s vacuum cleaners. We all know that it is capable of eliminating 99.97% of dust and allergens out of the air that it vacuums. But how does it do that?
The HEPA Filter Standard
The Dirt Devil HEPA filter is an implementation of the HEPA standard. An acronym that stands for “high efficiency particulate air,” filters under the standard are designed to remove 99.97% of airborne particles as small as 0.3 micromillimeters.
HEPA had its roots in the nuclear bomb research program back in World War 2, when the first filter was used to trap airborne radioactive elements. It began to see commercial use starting in the 1950s. Originally, HEPA was a trademark registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office but soon enough it became a common for filters that are efficient enough to capture small organisms.
HEPA has found several applications, especially in the nuclear industry-from where it took root-and in biomedical applications, as well as vacuum cleaners.
How HEPA Filters Capture Dirt and Dust
Since they implement the standard, Dirt Devil HEPA systems trap dust and dirt the same way the HEPA filters installed in other brands of vacuum cleaners. Trapping is done using either of three methods: interception, impaction and diffusion.
The first mechanism, interception, involves having particles follow the flow of the air stream. When they come to a distance equivalent to the radius of the HEPA fibre, the particles then stick to it.
Impaction, on the other hand, has particles follow the curves of the air stream so that they are forced to embed themselves in the filter’s fibres. Under this mechanism, the probability of capturing particles increases as fibre separation is reduced and the air velocities are increased.
The above filtration mechanisms are effective for particles of sizes between 0.2 micromillimeters up to 0.4 micromillimeter, and even larger particles.
The third method, diffusion, involves a movement which is similar to the Brownian motion – the movement of suspended particles in either liquid or gas. Under this method, the particles are stopped by colliding gas molecules and are prevented from escaping through the exhaust. This mechanism is effective for particles 0.1 micromillimeters in size and smaller.
The Dirt Devil HEPA system is implemented in some models of Dirt Devil’s cleaners, as mentioned earlier. These cleaners are touted to be friendly to asthma and allergy sufferers since, with the presence of the HEPA filter, they are able to capture fine particles that are usually triggers for allergy and asthma.
These cleaners are designed to have the vacuumed air pass through the filter before it is expelled so that any harmful microorganisms – as well as dust – that are carried with it are trapped by the Dirt Devil HEPA system. These dust and particles are then deposited into a dust cup or a dust bag, depending on the design of the cleaner itself.
Some Dirt Devil HEPA filters are designed to be self-cleaning and can exist throughout the cleaner’s lifetime. Some require cleaning or replacement, while others are permanent but sometimes have to be subject to maintenance.
Examples of Dirt Devil HEPA Filters
Replacement filters for Dirt Devil cleaners can be found online, especially through the well-known e-commerce site Amazon (www.amazon.com). Examples of these are the F1 Turbo Vision and the 3JC0280000 Dirt Devil HEPA filters.
Both HEPA filters are designed for Dirt Devil bagless vacuum cleaners that are manufactured from March 2003 and later. Both are F1 filters, which users have found to be very effective in trapping the dangerous microorganisms in the vacuumed air. Cleaner indoor air, after all, is what the HEPA standard is all about.