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palerider wrote:Air filter
Standard:Material: Polyester non woven fiber Average arrestance: >75% for ~7 micron dust

Hypoallergenic:Material: Acrylic and polypropylene fibers in a polypropylene carrier
Efficiency: >98% for ~7-8 micron dust; >80% for ~0.5 micron dust

standard filters aren't sold as being washable, but you can do so.

Thanks for doing the research palerider... I never saw that before.

Sir NoddinOff wrote:

palerider wrote:Air filter
Standard:Material: Polyester non woven fiber Average arrestance: >75% for ~7 micron dust

Hypoallergenic:Material: Acrylic and polypropylene fibers in a polypropylene carrier
Efficiency: >98% for ~7-8 micron dust; >80% for ~0.5 micron dust

standard filters aren't sold as being washable, but you can do so.

Thanks for doing the research palerider... I never saw that before.

I dug it out of the back of one of the manuals.

the one you described sounds like the standard filter, course, relatively thick (about 5mm or 1/5th inch) , visible fibers.

the hypo filters are much smoother/softer a bit shiny and less than half as thick (1.9mm or .07 inch). *puts away caliper*

I don't understand the obsession over filters... does anybody give a crap what brand filter is in their home AC? certainly not one from the AC/heater manufacturer.... I know some people go for "OEM" air/oil filters for their car... but this really is just a little rectangle of stuff that cuts down on the crud that goes through the machine.

I'm like Pugsy, I've bought "real" filters and cheap ones from ebay/amazon, the cheap ones work just as well, and cost a fraction of the 'name brand' price.

From what I see in those pics and discussion I think I might have a washable one that was with the S9 I just bought. Very coarse, you can see through it and quite frankly after using a foam filter for Respironics for 16 years I find it hard to believe it's stopping everything you'd want to have stopped. I really wish there was a foam filter available for the S9. I suppose you could buy one that was over sized and cut it to size but the thing that I wonder about with that along with all the knockoff filters is what's the air resistance like? Are they about the same? The thought has occurred to me that perhaps the wrong resistance of a filter could change how your machine operates and could possible shorten it's life? Or, maybe there's not enough difference between them to make a difference? I don't know first hand as all I've seen so far is the one that came with my machine last Wednesday. What do you think?

lanco wrote:From what I see in those pics and discussion I think I might have a washable one that was with the S9 I just bought. Very coarse, you can see through it and quite frankly after using a foam filter for Respironics for 16 years I find it hard to believe it's stopping everything you'd want to have stopped. I really wish there was a foam filter available for the S9. I suppose you could buy one that was over sized and cut it to size but the thing that I wonder about with that along with all the knockoff filters is what's the air resistance like? Are they about the same?

first it's not "washable" though either of them *can* be washed in a pinch.

second, have you looked at how large the holes are in the foam filter? bigger than the gaps between the fibers in that standarf filter.

lanco wrote:The thought has occurred to me that perhaps the wrong resistance of a filter could change how your machine operates and could possible shorten it's life?

highly unlikely, given that the resistance to airflow changes as the filter gets dirtier, and the machine doesn't care, as long as it has enough air, which under normal operation is but a fraction of it's max flow capability.

palerider wrote: second, have you looked at how large the holes are in the foam filter? bigger than the gaps between the fibers in that standarf filter.

Well, I can easily see through the Resmed filter but not at all though the Respironics.

palerider wrote:

lanco wrote:The thought has occurred to me that perhaps the wrong resistance of a filter could change how your machine operates and could possible shorten it's life?

highly unlikely, given that the resistance to airflow changes as the filter gets dirtier, and the machine doesn't care, as long as it has enough air, which under normal operation is but a fraction of it's max flow capability.

good point

lanco wrote:

palerider wrote: second, have you looked at how large the holes are in the foam filter? bigger than the gaps between the fibers in that standarf filter.

Well, I can easily see through the Resmed filter but not at all though the Respironics.

so, you can easily see through the 2/10ths inch thick white resmed standard filter but you can't through the much thicker dark grey respironics foam filter... which light doesn't pass through because of thickness and color...

or are you comparing the transparency of the respironics standard filter to that of the respironics hypoallergenic filter?

I don't believe 'transparency' is a cited criteria for particle filtering specifics.

While I know that most likely technically the A/G filter would do the job, I just don't like it. I would be real tempted to use 2 of them.
Now the one in the middle...that one I wouldn't have a problem using as is.
I don't really have a problem with allergies but my mind just feels more at peace using the hypoallerginic filter so that's what I will continue to use.
The after market hypo filters work for me since I have personally compared name brand ResMed white fine disposable filters and the aftermarket filters and I can't tell enough of a difference for it to matter.
BTW cpap.com filters are aftermarket filters. I have used theirs as well.

The mind is a powerful thing and if you feel more at peace using probably more filtering than is technically needed....so be it...use it.
If you feel more at peace using name brand of anything and can find them and don't mind paying the price...use it.

Filters in the middle and on the right will withstand multiple washings. The white fine filters (like the one on the left either hypo or regular fine) will withstand at least one washing so it can be done in a pinch. I wouldn't want to make a habit of it though.

palerider wrote: I don't understand the obsession over filters... does anybody give a crap what brand filter is in their home AC? certainly not one from the AC/heater manufacturer.... I know some people go for "OEM" air/oil filters for their car... but this really is just a little rectangle of stuff that cuts down on the crud that goes through the machine.

I'm like Pugsy, I've bought "real" filters and cheap ones from ebay/amazon, the cheap ones work just as well, and cost a fraction of the 'name brand' price.

When you have asthma/allergies you need to be vigilant. We have a whole house brand name Heppa filter on the air conditioner/furnace.

I used the hypo filters this summer because of the construction all around the house (new sidewalks, lighting and sewers oh joy) . They were grey. I hate using them because the Resperonics ones are really too small and the whistle if they are slightly out of alignment. Of course it is hard to keep them hanging in the air while you attempt to get the charcoal coloured filter on to hold them in place.

BlackSpinner wrote:

palerider wrote: I don't understand the obsession over filters... does anybody give a crap what brand filter is in their home AC? certainly not one from the AC/heater manufacturer.... I know some people go for "OEM" air/oil filters for their car... but this really is just a little rectangle of stuff that cuts down on the crud that goes through the machine.

I'm like Pugsy, I've bought "real" filters and cheap ones from ebay/amazon, the cheap ones work just as well, and cost a fraction of the 'name brand' price.

When you have asthma/allergies you need to be vigilant. We have a whole house brand name Heppa filter on the air conditioner/furnace.

I used the hypo filters this summer because of the construction all around the house (new sidewalks, lighting and sewers oh joy) . They were grey. I hate using them because the Resperonics ones are really too small and the whistle if they are slightly out of alignment. Of course it is hard to keep them hanging in the air while you attempt to get the charcoal coloured filter on to hold them in place.

I have allergies, I use a regular filter, then a hypo filter, and I've got an AB filter on the outlet of the machine.

I don't care what brand the filter is, a standard filter doesn't meet much in the way of standards (see above). I use one to cut down on the bigger chunks of cruft before they clog the hypo filter.

you have a hepa filter on the furnace, but did you insist on replacement cartridges from the furnace manufacturer? that was my point above.

Allergies with regular vs fine filters is something many of us can observe.
Maybe it is just perception; (for me) but whatever works . . .

chunkyfrog wrote:Allergies with regular vs fine filters is something many of us can observe.
Maybe it is just perception; (for me) but whatever works . . .

oh, I'm sure that filtering out more of the pollen and allergens floating in the air is good, no question in that.

the question seems to be "are the 'made by resmed' filters inherently *better* than third party filters? who's to say the third party ones aren't just as good, if not better? there's not a whole lot of secrecy and proprietary tech involved in air filtering, it's pretty ubiquitous.

palerider wrote:
or are you comparing the transparency of the respironics standard filter to that of the respironics hypoallergenic filter?

I am comparing the resmed to the respironics gray foam filter

lanco wrote:

palerider wrote:
or are you comparing the transparency of the respironics standard filter to that of the respironics hypoallergenic filter?

I am comparing the resmed to the respironics gray foam filter

and you don't think that is a rather unfair, if not meaningless comparison?

I was never a big fan of the Respironics gray foam filter but I used it because I was told to but I also used the "optional" fine filter and it got just as yucky looking behind the foam filter as my Resmed does without any other filter in front of it and in about the same time frame too. It's not like using the foam filter bought me 3 or 4 months or whatever with one fine filter. About the most I was comfortable with looking at in terms of gray on the fine filter was about a month.

After over 7 years ...once a month is habit, expected and no big deal.