What is a HEPA filter?

 

The HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arresting) filter is designed to filter out sub-micron particles. It was created by the US Atomic Energy Commission to filter particles in the atomic energy development rooms. The True Medical HEPA is laser-tested and effective at removing a minimum of 99.97% of all particulate matter greater than 0.3 microns in size. That is about 300 times smaller than the human hair.

  

HEPA vs. HEGA ?

 

HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arresting) is a filter as described in the above description. HEGA is unique to Austin Air and stands for High Efficiency Gas Absorption. This filtering solution combines a HEPA air cleaner with a HEGA filtration system, a military carbon cloth medium.

 

Is the Pre-filter material man made?

 

No. The pre-filter and the PERMAFILT are made of cotton.

 

Is there a difference between the Austin Air Allergy Machine and the Austin Air HealthMate?

 

The assemblies are the same but the difference is in the filters. The Austin Air HealthMate has a True Medical HEPA filter surrounded by a carbon/zeolite mixture which adsorbs odors and gases. The Allergy Machine has a HEGA filter. The HEGA is comprised of a True Medical HEPA filter along with a outside of advanced military carbon cloth designed to absorbs odors and gases.

 

Which system will work for me - Austin Air Allergy Machine or the Austin Air HealthMate?

 

Both these systems are very effective for people who suffer from allergies and asthma. The Austin Air Allergy Machine is effective in households where there are people who smoke or where there are odors. Also, the Allergy Machine, is much lighter in weight. The Austin Air HealthMate, provides the similar protection as the Austin Air Allergy Machine with added capabilities designed to reduce contaminates for those people with chemical sensitivities.

 

What is the difference between the Austin Air HealthMate and the Austin Air HealthMate Plus?

 

Both have a True Medical HEPA filter and granular carbon and zeolite. The carbon in the Plus model however, has the added benefit of impregnated potassium iodide. This makes the unit even more effective at removing formaldehyde and ammonia. The Austin Air HealthMate Plus is best used in places like new homes, laboratories, beauty salons, funeral homes, etc. Sources of formaldehyde in homes can be carpets, wood panel, construction materials and furniture upholstery.

 

Are Austin Air system reliability constructed?

 

The Austin Air purifier body is entirely built of steel using welded joint. The construction prevents the system from making noise and rattling. Austin Air Purifiers are painted using a powder coating that is baked at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. This process insures our systems do not emit any odor or off-gas emissions while at the same time, enhancing durability.

 

Are there plastic parts in Austin Air Purifiers?

 

The Austin Air purifier system has a few plastic components in the air cleaner. They are the control knob, fan blade, and the wheels or feet.

 

Has the Austin Air purifier motor been varnished?

 

There is no contamination emitting varnish used in the motor in Austin Air Purifiers including on the motor winding.

 

What's the difference between the Austin Air HealthMate and the Austin Air HealthMate Jr. systems?

 

The HealthMate air purifier is designed to work effectively in a one-story house or apartment. On the other hand, the HealthMate Jr. air purifier unit works best in a single room.

 

Can wheels/casters be put on a HealthMate Jr air purifier?

 

Yes, the HealthMate Jr. air purifier has been designed to have wheel/casters on the system. In fact, all Austin Air Purifiers can be purchased with wheel/casters at an additional charge.

 

What is the carbon/zeolite mix ratio on the HealthMate air purifier filter?

 

The carbon/zeolite mixture on the Austin Air Filter is approximately 10-1 (10 parts carbon, 1 part zeolite).

 

Why are Austin Air Purifiers superior to others on the market?

 

The filter of an air cleaner is the heart of an air purifier. Our filters have become the best after many years of development and experience. Austin Air incorporates True Medical HEPA filter paper in all of our air cleaners with 60 sq ft in the Austin Air HealthMate, the Austin Air HealthMate Plus and the Austin Air Allergy Machine and 30 sq ft in the Austin Air HealthMate Jr. Additionally, Austin Air uses 15 lbs. of activated carbon to maximize surface area in the HealthMate products and adds an advanced military carbon cloth in the Austin Air Allergy Machine placed inside the True Medical HEPA filter to capture odors and gases. Some other companies use a carbon blanket outside the HEPA filter, which doesn't provide much of a surface area for trapping harmful particles. Austin Air Purifiers are fabricated with steel and have a baked on powder coat paint, to insure our system do not emit gases. Make sure you don't select air purifiers constructed of plastic products and/or use sprayed on paint because there is a likelihood of these systems emitting harmful gases. Austin Air Purifiers have been designed to deliver high-velocity airflow. This air flow insures clean air flow and a solid air flow exchange rate. Compared to other systems on the market we deliver some of the best high-velocity airflow. Austin Air Purifiers have also been designed to clean the air in most bedrooms in less than 15 minutes. Austin Air cleaners are very energy efficient, using an energy efficient PSC motor that runs on less energy than some light bulbs. Austin Air offers our customers excellent guarantees with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee, a 5-year parts and labor guarantee and a 5-year pro-rated filter guarantee. You will be very satisfied with our systems and you will agree that we have some of the finest air purifiers on the market.

 

How long can I expect my purifier to last?

 

Austin Air Purifiers are made to last and are guaranteed to last at least 5 years. Our systems are likely to operate for many more years beyond the guarantee period. Make sure that the system is properly maintained and filters replaced when required to insure a long lasting life.

 

What location is best to place my Austin Air purifier for maximum effectiveness?

 

The Austin Air purifier can be placed anywhere in a room (including a corner) so long as the unit remains at least four (4) inches from the wall to insure maximum effective results. For best results, the air cleaner should be placed in a room with a closed door.

 

How close to a wall can the Austin Air cleaner be placed?

 

The Austin Air purifier system should be at least 4 inches from a wall.

 

How many square feet of HEPA in a Austin Air Filter?

 

The square feet of HEPA vary with each of our systems. For the Austin Air Allergy Machine, the Austin Air HealthMate, and the Austin Air HealthMate Plus there is 60 sq. ft of HEPA. For our Austin Air HealthMate Jr. model there is 30 sq. ft.

 

What is meant by the CFM rate?

 

The CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) is the measurement of how much air passes through the system. For the Austin Air HealthMate, the Austin Air HealthMate Plus, and the Austin Air Allergy Machine, the fan CFM is 400 cfm on high and 75cfm on low. The Austin Air HealthMate Jr. is 200 cfm on high and 50cfm on low.

 

What is the CAD rate? (Clean Air Delivery Rate)

 

The CAD rate is a measure of airflow time filtration efficiency. This measure can be best illustrated by giving an example. If you have a system with a flow rate of 200cfm and a 50% efficient filter, your system has a CAD rate of 100. If you have a system with a flow rate of 100cfm and a filter efficiency of 100%, you will also have a CAD rate of 100. While both machines have the same CAD rate, the second one is the better air purifier. 

 

How is the Austin Air Filter built?

 

There are three filters at the core of the Austin Air purifier. The first line of defense for the core is the pre-filter (known as PERMAFILT ). This is a cotton cloth which lines the inside wall of the unit designed to catch large particles such as hair or large dust particles to prevent the clogging the HEPA filter. Next, in the Austin Air HealthMate filter is two filter medium: activated granular carbon/zeolite mixture. Finally, surrounding this mixture is the True Medical HEPA paper. As part of the Austin Air Allergy Machine, not only do we have the True Medical HEPA but we include the military carbon cloth filter known as HEGA.

 

What is the Zeolite in an Austin Air Filter?

 

Zeolite is a naturally occurring mineral that brings special capabilities to our Austin Air purifier systems. The Zeolite adsorbs many gas molecules particularly effective at adsorbing formaldehyde, ammonia and carbon monoxide.

 

What does activated carbon mean?

 

Activated carbon is processed carbon capable of effectively removing gas molecules and odors. Activated carbon can be found in many products including military gas masks. Activated carbon is created in a steaming process. This process enlarges the carbon’s surface pore size and enables the carbon to increase the surface area used to improve odor and gas adsorption.

 

What are the benefits of carbon and zeolite?

 

Carbon and zeolite are compounds that are used in Austin Air Purifiers to improve the removal of gases, odors and chemicals. Carbon and zeolite provide a one-two punch in the adsorption of chemicals and gaseous materials.

 

What is AFP's return policy?

 

Our customers can return their system within 30 days of purchase by contacting us and obtaining a Return Authorization (RA). We will work with the plant on the return and once received, will issue the customer a credit. The customer will ship at the expense of the customer (original shipping charges will not be reimbursed).

 

What does the guarantee include?

 

The Austin Air purifier guarantee includes the motor, fan and other working parts for 5 years. Any returns on the Austin Air Filter itself will be a pro-rated 5 year warranty where a discount to cost of a new Austin Air Filter will be prorated against the number of years of Austin Air Filter has been in service.

 

How does an Austin Air Filter fill up?

 

Austin Air Filters will fill up and become less efficient when used where there is heavy concentration of air particles from many pets, new carpeting, paint fumes, heavy smoking, and urban pollution. These particles will reduce the life span of the filter.

 

How do you determine when to replace a Austin Air Filter?

 

When a filter becomes full, they should be replaced. Often, you will smell an unpleasant odor coming from the unit that comes from the carbon filter being full. Another way of recognizing when a filter should be replaced is by looking at the airflow. If it seams significantly reduced, its probably time to replace your filter.

 

How do you install an Austin Air Filter correctly?

 

An Austin Air Filter comes with rubber sealing gasket on both ends of the filter. Turn your Austin Air purifier upside down and install it with the filter labeled “Top/Motor Side” first. (please refer to “Changing the Filter” ). The Austin Air Filter is designed where one gasket is very close to the inner edge of the end cap and the other is near center. The gasket end closest to the center should be farthest from the motor.

 

Are there different filters for my Austin Air Purifier?

 

Systems purchased prior to 1996 use our ridged filter. When replacing the filter, the customer will need to describe the filter when ordering. If the filter is flat on one side and has a raised ring on the other, it is a ridged filter. If your filter was made in 1996 or later, then you have a flat filter. Flat filters have ends that are identical, both being flat.

 

How big of a space can an Austin Air system clean effectively clean?

 

The standard Austin Air system including the HealthMate air purifier unit or the Allergy Machine air purifier are capable of cleaning an average bedroom in about 15 minutes with the door closed. These systems are designed to cleanse the air of a space up to 1,500 square feet. For smaller areas, the Austin Air HealthMate Jr. model is designed to cleans up to 700 square feet. (All estimates assume 8 ft. ceilings.)

 

Is the Austin Air cleaner noisy?

 

There is a range of settings that can be set on the Austin Air purifier systems. On the low setting, the system can be defined as a whisper. On high settings, the noise level ranges from less than 50 to 65 decibels..

 

Do Austin Air Purifiers produce harmful substances?

 

No. Austin Air Purifiers do not in any way produce ozone, ions, or negative ions. We recognize that any emissions including ozone can be dangerous to people’s health in general, and dangerous for people with respiratory problems such as asthma emphysema, and bronchitis.

 

Is there special maintenance on an Austin Air purifier?

 

To maintain your Austin Air system and to have it operate at peak performance, a periodic (once a month) vacuuming is recommended. Clean the four sides of the outside screen with the brush attachment of your vacuum cleaner to insure airflow.

 

How much electricity does it take to operate a standard Austin Air purifier?

 

The standard Austin Air purifier uses an ordinary 120 volt outlet to run. It draws a maximum draw of about 135 watts when the system is set on high.

 

Can I buy wheels for my Austin Air HealthMate Jr.?

 

Yes. You can special order wheels/casters. They are at an additional cost and will take approximately 7-10 business days to receive.

 

Can the activated carbon last more than 5 years?

 

Yes. The carbon works by adsorbing vapor phase pollution from the air. The pollutants will be held on the surface of the carbon, build and increase surface area. This increase actually enables the carbon to handle more capacity. Activation is a process that increases the surface area of the carbon.

 

How can you tell air is flowing through the Austin Air Filter if i can't find suction?

 

The air that is circulating in the Austin Air purifier is created by a fan. Austin Air has designed the fan system to deliver maximum air velocity discharge from the unit and at the same time, minimize the energy the fan uses sucking air into the filter. This is accomplished by having a large open area in the screen through which air passes through to filter. What this means is air can not come out of the unit unless it passes through the screen and the filter. Bottom line, if you feel air coming out, it is passing through your filter.

 

There is no indicator light to let you know that the Austin Air Filter needs replacing. Why?

 

After weighting the pros and cons, we decided that the additional expense to our customers for this feature was cost prohibitive. It is very, very expensive to accurately identify when a filter should be replaced. We also concluded that less expensive approaches were not very accurate. Ultimately, we concluded it was to expensive to deliver accurate indicators features for our customers and it did not make sense to have a feature that gave false readings. We strive to offer features for our customers that deliver best value.

 

Do Austin Air Purifiers remove radon should a nuclear situation occur?

 

NO! Austin Air Purifiers do not remove radon. However, radon gas does affect the airborne particles. These particles are known as radon daughters. Austin Air Purifiers do remove these particles just as they remove many other air borne particles.

 

How did you know your Austin Air Filters will last as long as 5 years?

 

The Austin Air Filter is designed with large quantities of carbon/zeolite and True Medical HEPA paper. These quantities have an industry established life expectancy.

 

What type of testing and approvals did your Austin Air units pass?

 

Austin Air products have achieved CSA/NRTL approval and are an approved GSA (US General Services Administration) vendor.