Electronic air cleaners can be an integral component for any homeowner’s indoor air quality strategy – if the systems are clean. With allergy season on the way, make sure you’re maximizing the effectiveness of your air cleaner with regular cleaning, and you’ll enjoy better indoor air quality with fewer allergy and respiratory issues for household occupants.
How your air cleaner works
Electronic air cleaners attract and trap airborne contaminants by a process called electrostatic attraction. Contaminants are positively charged as they pass through the charging area. The positively charged contaminants then pass by collector plates that carry negative charges. The collector plates safely attract contaminants like a magnet, and the contaminants remain on the plates until cleaned.
How to clean your air cleaner
Over time, the collector plates become “full” with the contaminants. At this point, or before, it’s important to clean the plates since the plates can no longer trap contaminants. New contaminants will simply pass through the system and continue to circulate through the living spaces. Use one of these cleaning methods every three months to clean the cells containing the collector plates.
Dishwasher:
- Use only soap with sodium silicates to protect the aluminum cells.
- Place four glasses upside-down in the dishwasher, and rest the air cleaner’s cells on top.
- You may also wash the pre-filters.
- Do NOT run the dishwasher’s drying cycle, which will “bake” any contaminants not cleaned during the wash cycle.
- Use caution when removing the cells, as they may be hot.
- Use a clean cloth to dry the ionizing wires.
Bathtub and bag
- Fill a large garbage bag with hot water, and dissolve about three-quarters of a cup of dishwasher soap per cell inside the bag.
- Place the cells in the water-filled bag, and let it soak for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Agitate up and down several times, and remove the cells.
- Rinse the cells with water.
Be careful not to bend the collector plates during cleaning. After cleaning, let the cells and pre-filters air dry.
For more information about cleaning air cleaners, please contact us at Hartman Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning. We serve homeowners in the Fort Wayne area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in New Haven, Indiana and surrounding Fort Wayne area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about air cleaners and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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