When it comes to air quality in your home, it's important to make sure you're using the right filter. Filters with a MERV rating of 17 to 20 are rarely needed in residential homes, and a MERV rating of 13 to 16 is considered hospital-level air quality. So, is MERV 13 too high for your home? In general, filters with higher MERV ratings capture higher percentages of particles, as well as smaller particles. MERV-13 is practically the highest rating you'll need for your home.
However, it's important to make sure that the rest of your HVAC system is configured to handle the increased restriction that filters create. A MERV 8 carbon filter will provide more than enough filtering of dust and allergens and will filter dozens of toxic gases that will pass directly through a MERV 13 filter. A MERV filter 13 is likely to help if the goal is to prevent droplets from passing through. An air filter with a higher MERV rating can block microscopic particles, such as smoke molecules, due to its tighter mesh fabric.
Therefore, filters that are above 13 in their MERV rating can filter particles closer to the 0.3 micron size. If your home's HVAC system is not capable of handling MERV 13, opt for a filter with the next highest possible rating. The higher the MERV rating of a filter, the less dust particles and other contaminants can pass through it. There is no price for peace of mind, so if you feel that a high MERV filter would provide it, you should do so with the caveat that you should replace dirty filters often enough - which can be a week or two, depending on the MERV rating, the effective area of the filter and the amount of particles that enter your home. Filter technology has grown by leaps and bounds over the years, and MERV ratings are designed to help us determine the most effective and efficient air filter options for heating and cooling systems and more.
Buy washing an alcohol that could very well be creating some strange and strange chemicals, unless you are just washing cotton, so you would only use sunlight to disinfect them, even that could break the tall Merv filters a little and release unintentional, perhaps dangerous, chemical degassing. Merv high activated carbon filter could be your best option between you and any other exotic chemical action you have going on.
