# air filters



## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

I have been having a lot of problems with allergy in my current apartment, and a friend from the US suggested I look into an air purifier system. I have, and they're a bit pricey for ones large enough to clean the big open living room-dining room space I have. Like US$600, plus maybe $100/yr for filters.

Not to mention the filters tend to be custom-fit and only available from the manufacturer, and not always available for shipping to Mexico.

My new condo will have a split air conditioner arrangement where the fan is 'hidden' up in the ceiling and is basically a squirrel cage fan blowing over the cold pipe from the condenser (which is on the roof, several stories up).

I was thinking I could get this craftsman I know to build some aluminum ducting and a frame to hold a HEPA filter so the air conditioner would blow through the filter instead of just blowing the dirty air around. That would be much cheaper to build than buying a proper air purifier, probably nearly as good, and I'm already paying the electric for that AC fan, so it would be less electricity in total. Well that was my bright idea.

So before asking anyone about that, I made a trip to home depot, thinking I'd see what size air filters they carried, standard, and if any of them were of a size that might fit up in space between my suspended ceiling and the concrete ceiling above that.

Complete strike out. No air filters in Home Depot at all. 

Anybody got any insights? It seems apparent that I must be trying to do a north-of-the-border thing on the south side of the border. Will I have any luck looking for an HVAC specialty shop? Or are the only air filters in Mexico for cars? I could probably still do what I had in mind, and pay to have amazon US ship me the filters, but if it's a completely foreign concept then the craftsman I know won't have any idea what I want and probably couldn't figure out what to build for me.

Don't high-end hotels use air filters in their rooms? Anybody smoke? Most of the proper air purifier systems have an additional charcoal filter that pulls out smells in addition to the HEPA filter that pulls out particles.


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## surabi (Jan 1, 2017)

Really do your research on the safety of air filters. Many are not to be used with anyone in the house- they are dangerous and could cause you to have even more and severe respiratory problems. Google "Safety concerns with air purifiers."


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Doesn't the A/C already have a filter?

Why haven't you picked a heat pump? The indoor units all tend to have filters. Better units much better filters.

Other than that ducts need to be cleaned. A dirty duct (or filter) isn't going to help your breathing any.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

I'm only on my first cup of coffee and didn't follow along with your plans but have a look here -

https://listado.mercadolibre.com.mx/filtro-hepa#D[A:filtro%20hepa,L:undefined]

Looks like there is one company (VentDepot) which stocks tons of HEPA filters. Perhaps they could comment on your situation/design as well.

I find that often (during business hours) venders on mercadolibre are extremely responsive, often in minutes. We have our 100% cotton bed sheets custom made from one vender. Recently we had a custom spa cover manufactured by another. 

We use HomeDepot very selectively here. They are by far the most expensive option. There inventory is very limited and the management are not very helpful. They do have good pricing on flooring - which is our current project (outside patio). 

Don't you ever open the windows to get a sea breeze ?


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

Their inventory.

The difference I see is that the standup room filters kind of suck up/clean the air that is in the room, not the air entering the room. If you open doors/windows that air would not be filtered. Most (?) hotels/hospitals don't allow opening windows.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

Nope, the AC doesn't already have a filter, that's pretty much the point - to add the ability to the AC to have a filter, and where to buy the filter. 

I don't get to pick whether there's a heat pump or not, it's an existing system and I don't own the whole system, only the condo.

@lat19n, thanks for the link, but those prices are insane - I think I can import filters for less than they're charging by half. E.g. they're asking 7000 pesos for a ~US$50 filter.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Do you not, first, need to investigate your "allergy" - e.g. is it really an allergy, has it been diagnosed by a professional or is it only an assumption? - if you are trying to overcome the wrong thing, then you could still have a problem after throwing millions of pesos at it.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

baldilocks said:


> Do you not, first, need to investigate your "allergy" - e.g. is it really an allergy, has it been diagnosed by a professional or is it only an assumption? - if you are trying to overcome the wrong thing, then you could still have a problem after throwing millions of pesos at it.


I kind of chuckled to myself initially. I'm sorry but for us, Cancun is virtually Miami where we lived for many years, and loved all the things about it others hate. We/I had no allergies in Miami. True we spent 25% of our time underwater, on boats etc. 

Now in Mexico I need to take a loratadina every other day. The coffee table in front of me is coated with a thin coat of white dust (since Friday). I woke up at 2AM this morning because the bedroom was filled with smoke from an agricultural burn (someone clearing their land). I think I have developed a reaction to 'cheap' red wine (maybe that one is mental). The woman who lived in this house before us was using one of those wheel-a-long oxygen tanks the last time we saw her.

@eastwind - I provided that link so you could confer with them, describe your ideas and learn from their expertise. Perhaps they have or can develop something to more closely meet what you want.

Here is another link for you.
https://www.doityourself.com/forum/ducting-air-circulation-ventilation-systems-129/

I use that site a lot (not that forum). I generally like to try to do things myself and it is always helpful to get some free semi-professional advise.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

lat19n said:


> I kind of chuckled to myself initially. I'm sorry but for us, Cancun is virtually Miami where we lived for many years, and loved all the things about it others hate. We/I had no allergies in Miami. True we spent 25% of our time underwater, on boats etc.


Mine is pollen - especially olive pollen. Where we have chosen to live is the world's largest producer of olives and extra-virgin olive oil (the real stuff, not just labelled as such just to up the price) so we are surrounded by olive trees and that means billions of olive flowers which all fertilise each other by wind borne pollen. I didn't know I was allergic to it until 2016 when it was so bad we were literally shovelling it up off the terrace. I ended up in hospital for 7 weeks with pneumonia and a lump in my right lung caused by an accumulation of pollen. As soon as those trees start shedding pollen, on goes my anti-pollen mask. As a permanent thing I now have emphysema and have an oxygen concentrator but I don't have one on a trolley just one that hangs from my shoulder when out and about plus a noisy machine at night when I am asleep.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

It was time to move elsewhere some time ago! Why are you hesitating?
I had to make a similar decision in 2014, because of COPD/elevation/dust/etc., and I am still alive.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

RVGRINGO said:


> It was time to move elsewhere some time ago! Why are you hesitating?
> I had to make a similar decision in 2014, because of COPD/elevation/dust/etc., and I am still alive.


How is that 3-wheeler bicycle working ? (no harm intended)


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

red wine has a lot more estmine than white wine so many people who hace allerges have more problems with red wine.. As far as expensive versus cheap thre is no difference but there maybe someting s some of the cheap wines you are allergic to that also triggers more allegies.. Allergies are tricky..


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Sadly, I have not used the electric trike lately. Willpower can't overcome COPD.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

RVGRINGO said:


> Sadly, I have not used the electric trike lately. Willpower can't overcome COPD.


Surely the electric trike is designed to overcome the limitations of COPD. I'd use mine but it is a b*gger to get it assembled and up and out of the house.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

I learned today that the companies that carry the AC blowers also have air filters and what I want to do (add a filter to the existing system) is very doable. So that seems like a no-brainer first thing to do, get the system doing some filtering and then see how my symptoms change.

I also learned that the blowers are made in China and out of stock and back ordered. I didn't ask where in China the factory was, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's only one factory that makes this kind of blower. Its possible, or probable, that the blowers in the unit I'm buying are original, thus 20 years old, due to be changed, and rattle like hell when they run. So unless I find out the blowers have been changed in the last few years, I'm planning on new blowers and a filter housing that fits HEPA filters and pre-filter and maybe a carbon filter too. I suspect I can have all of that for less than the cost of an imported purifier from the US.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

baldilocks said:


> Surely the electric trike is designed to overcome the limitations of COPD. I'd use mine but it is a b*gger to get it assembled and up and out of the house.


It does that, but not the weakness an dizziness part. I am getting good at holding down the recliner in front of a very large TV, as having only one lousy eye is also a problem. I guess I should probably offer the trike for sale.


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## alan-in-mexicali (Apr 26, 2018)

Depending the BRAND, and model of your Mini-Split search Amazon for "washable filters" and get filters [ you MIGHT have to contact the filter company directly to ensure they will fit your units] I have LG units but the filter is not HEPA.. but washable... Mini-splits have MONTHLY maintenance by the owner... you fail to do your maintenance and you stop getting AC... or fan air.... HOME DEPOT will also ORDER and receive at no extra charge any filters you need... make sure you know their charge BEFORE you order!! [there are not vary many Home Depots in Mexico]... the nice thing about Home Depot.. IF the filter does not fit... you can take it back and get your money back! NOW ADD to this a portable room air filter... I am a smoker and have one to keep cigarette smoke from circulating thru the house.... GOOD LUCK


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## alan-in-mexicali (Apr 26, 2018)

EASTWIND: Can you change in inside units? DO you have a real mini-split situation [compressor in one location with the refrigerant piped to the distribution unit? IF so it might be cheaper to contact the company that installed the condo system to see if you can UPGRADE you distribution modules . AC units in Mexico have a life span... when our first home system "died" I bought the "newer" technology with a special "start" system that used 80% LESS electricity [LG] with washable filters... for me it is orange blossoms ....STOPPED having problems... and they did not come back next "orange season".... the difference in the electric bill almost made the new unit payments!... I wanted to add "heat strips" but I have to wait for this system to crash and die.. about 4 more years....


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

Thanks, it's not exactly a mini-split, as I understand it. Split, but not mini.

It's a high-rise, a dozen stories or so, and there are compressors on the roof (allegedly, never been up there). The compressors run on community electric, paid for by the maintenance dues not my individual electric bill. I believe they have one big compressor for each vertical stack of apartments, or perhaps fewer than that. Anyhow, the compressors are shared and owned by the building association, not me. So those are a given. They occasionally announce outages in order to do work on them. It's certainly in the community interest to replace them if they are at the end of their service life, but I just don't know. If asked, I'll happily pay my share of extra dues for that.

All I have in my apartment is a blower and some kind of cold-plate radiator thing that the air blows over (4 sets of cold plate plus blower, actually, in different rooms). The electric for them shows up on my bill directly, but it's basically the just cost of an electric fan. 

I can, if needed, change those blowers, to get greater efficiency and quieter operation, and while I'm at it I'm told they can install different ducting that allows an air filter to be placed in the air stream somewhere. 

So that's the plan. 

Except I'm told the particular model of blower used in all the condo units is made in China, and currently unavailable and back ordered to China.... I didn't ask if it was made in Hubei... 
I know this because the owner of the unit I'm currently renting (in the same building, but a different unit than I'm buying) upgraded two of his four, and the new ones are *much* quieter, but then he couldn't get the other two. Instead the plan is to change just the motors and squirrel cages, and I'll find out later this month whether that helps the noise enough to be a worthwhile fix.

[See, I followed the standard advice given here on the forum to a 'T': rent first for a year at least and decide if you like it here before buying. I ended up buying a unit in the very same building after 3.5 years. So I know all the building foibles and hassles, and that I can live with them. Almost overkill on taking that advice, but it gave me confidence to bid on the unit]


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## Denmex (Mar 6, 2010)

*Denmex*

I, too, have allergies. I have lived in Durango for more than twenty years. At that time finding a suitable room air purifier quickly became a futile search. However, I found a dealer that sold air conditioner filters. After purchasing a filter that measured 25 inches X 25 inches, I attached it to the backside of a box fan, the side where the air is pulled in. It's quiet and easy to move from room to room. The filter I purchased is washable, and I clean it twice each month. In fact, I take it to the local carwash to clean with the high-pressure washers. It's not beautiful to look at, but it serves the purpose. The filter has an arrow to show the direction of the recommended airflow.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

*box fan + filter*

So it take it you feel it helped your allergy, or you wouldn't keep bothering with it?

That solution also occurred to me, but then I thought, well, I have this air conditioner fan running most of the time anyway, why pay twice to stir the air again with a second fan?

But if they can't find a way to fit the filter up in the ceiling with the air blower, I'll probably end up doing what you do.


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