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HEPA Vacuum CleanersHigh Efficiency Particulate Air vacuums, or HEPA vacuums, feature HEPA filters that meet particular filtering specifications that yield high efficiency. This filter must be able to capture 99.97% of all particles 0.3 mm (micrometers or microns) in size or larger from the air that goes through it. These specifications are effective for applications requiring sterile cleaning such as removing radioactive dust from plant exhausts without redistribution, trapping fine particles that trigger allergy and asthma symptoms and sterilizing clean room for the fabrication of microprocessors, computer chips and related small technological components. Industries that benefit from HEPA vacuums include electronics, medical, pharmaceutical, chemical, oil and petroleum, residential, commercial and industrial.
HEPA vacuum cleaners, like most industrial vacuum cleaners, feature high power and output levels. The highly efficient filtering capabilities of HEPA vacuums are what differentiate them from other vacuum cleaners. HEPA vacuum cleaners are especially useful for the containment or removal of contamination, mold, or dust. Models may filter wet or dry material, or both. With the potential risk of biohazards like SARS, HEPA vacuums can help eradicate contamination or dangerous organisms in the air to provide a safer environment. Clean rooms, for example, need to be allergen-free and typically require HEPA filters. These clean rooms are containment-free environments, which are used for the production of items such as microprocessors and related small technological components. Because of the intricate nature of such devices, a virtually dust-free environment is required to ensure product quality and function. The air in clean rooms is repeatedly filtered by HEPA vacuum cleaners and monitored to remove impurities. Many industrial vacuums feature HEPA type filters, which are not actually HEPA filters but are very similar. They are typically filters or paper bags that have similar construction or fibers to those used in a true HEPA filter and may even resemble them. While being a significant improvement over regular filters, the vacuum that uses it may not have a completely sealed filtration system, so there is no guarantee that the stringent HEPA specification will be met by it. Also, HEPA type filters do not have to meet the same standards as true or absolute HEPA filters and therefore often capture only 85 to 90 percent of particles instead of 99.97%. The percentage of particles captured can fall even lower for particle sizes of 1 micron and below. However, HEPA type filters do have the advantage of being more cost-effective than true or absolute HEPA filters.
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