Austin Air Filters: replacement time frame?

[Holiday]

My apologies if this has already been addressed in another thread, but I just wanted to know when people feel it would be necessary to replace an Austin filter? Mine are both new, and the company claims that "with normal use" the filters could last up to 5 years. Neither of mine will be used under "normal" conditions, as they are both in a room with at least two birds. IME, ordinary air filters that claim to last 6 months normally last 2 months under these conditions. So, how long can I expect the Austin to hold up? 2 years? Less?

 

[Vega]

It depends one which system you're using. I ended up using my machines for 3 years, bought them used, and replaced the main filters after the first year.

Since I originally purchased mine to deal with a smoker in the household I replaced the outer filter every other month. The main charcoal filter I planned on replacing every 3 years as it was listed to last 3-5 years. I vacuumed the outside of the machine once a week to help cut down on how often the outer filters needed replacing. I also removed the main filter every 6 months and vacuumed that as much as I could. I can't say for sure if vacuuming made a difference, but it did in mind. LOL

 

[Holiday]

It depends one which system you're using. I ended up using my machines for 3 years, bought them used, and replaced the main filters after the first year.

Since I originally purchased mine to deal with a smoker in the household I replaced the outer filter every other month. The main charcoal filter I planned on replacing every 3 years as it was listed to last 3-5 years. I vacuumed the outside of the machine once a week to help cut down on how often the outer filters needed replacing. I also removed the main filter every 6 months and vacuumed that as much as I could. I can't say for sure if vacuuming made a difference, but it did in mind. LOL

Thanks for the input, Joni. I have the Healthmate and the Healthmate Jr. The Jr. is in a room with four birds, and, with the old purifier I had, that filter got very dirty very fast. I'm thinking there's no way in heck it will last three years, but of course, I'd love it if it did...

 

[allison]

At the rescue we just vacuum them out once a month. I plan on replacing my filter every 2 years probably.

 

[Holiday]

At the rescue we just vacuum them out once a month. I plan on replacing my filter every 2 years probably.

Yeah, I'm thinking two years might be about right I would rather err on the side of caution. I don't want to fall into the trap of thinking just because it's a good purifier that I can get by with not changing the filter appropriately, and I know that a multi-bird household is far from being "normal use."

 

[saroj12]

Got the healthmate plus in aug 2008 and it was doing fine but needed to get another unit in april 2010 so i retired the old one to a less used room and am using the new one in the main bird room. So I'd say 2 years too...

 

[Holiday]

Got the healthmate plus in aug 2008 and it was doing fine but needed to get another unit in april 2010 so i retired the old one to a less used room and am using the new one in the main bird room. So I'd say 2 years too...

Thanks, Saroj.