How To Wash an Electronic Air Cleaner, Cleaning a Honeywell EAC Filter. How often? Every Season 

"Old school thumb technique"! Love it. I've used this method for a long time and now I have a term for this method. Great, well demonstrated video instructions. Thanks so much for this.

This video is so well done. Straight to the point, no upsell. Just straight up offering an in-depth how-to on these EAC's.

Excellent tutorial. No stories or jokes, just simple step by step instructions. I just marked my cells “top.” THANK YOU.

Finally someone with common sense and detail when describing in the videos. Great job!

Thank you for a most important piece of information that's not included in the Honeywell user manual: how to open the air cleaner and remove the cells and filters. This is an excellent instructional video!

My dad was an HVAC Engineer for years, so that's why he had an EAC installed in our current house. When he first instructed me on how to clean them, he didn't include the part about the degreaser or what the red button does...just the water. I thought I'd double check how to clean them on youtube. Thank you for the thorough cleaning tutorial.

Excellent video! Great clear instructions and non-distracting editing!

Hands down best video on how to clean an electronic air filter. Subbed!

Thank you!!! Very clear and concise!!

This has been one of the best DIY videos made for us. Great job thank you

In 1972, my parents had a house built. The furnace had a Honeywell electronic air cleaner. I am dumbfounded to see that the cells and prefilters look exactly the same in this video as in the 70’s/80’s and beyond. As kids, we were amused by pressing the spark button just for kicks! 50 years later, I am convinced the Honeywell units are still the best. In 2020, my wife and I had a new heat pump and air handler installed. We got talked into buying the whole solution from the same manufacturer. With what I know now, I should have bought a Honeywell from another contractor. The fitration media system works well but when I ordered a replacement filter (as thick as a honeywell cell), I totally got sticker shock! The replacement filter was about 145$ CDN. If I figure the system will last 20 years, that’s 24 filter changes, every 10 months or so. That means 3500$ spent on new filters (not counting price increases and inflation) and 24 soiled filters going to landfill. Granted the Honeywell system is MERV 11 and the one I have is MERV 16, I think overall the Honeywell is a great value and more ecological. BTW, my parents washed their filters and cells in the dishwasher with the drying cycle on. in 36 years , they never had any issues using this cleaning method.

Great instruction. Thank you for taking the time and effort to create the video. Very professional.

OMG! Thanks so much for SHARING, this really helped me SAVE some money! My UNIT is COOLING AGAIN!

God Bless You for your time and efforts in showing us this!

Very well done. Appreciate your direct concise presentation!

I used krud kutter degreaser and did as you said. I don’t think the previous owner ever cleaned the unit. So glad I found this video!

Wow..thank you so much for this video. I was going crazy trying to find the filters before I found your video! Great instructions! Thank you! Happy Holidays.

And here I was about to replace my Trion pre-filters again, like I do every year when they got dirty. Showing me how to just clean them will save me a lot of money. I didn't even know you could get the collecting cells wet, LOL. Thanks for the informative video.

Excellent tutorial. Thanks so much. You are loved!

Fantastic tutorial. Just so useful. Thanks for posting.

BRILLIANT video. SO much info! Thanks!

I've had Honeywells since the late '60's. I use the bathtub method and use the strong blast from my handheld sprayer with all hot water to first rinse everything. Then I lay them down, close the tub and add my 1-1/2 c detergent and let them soak. I found a really soft bottle brush and I use it to clean the fins and wires. Sometimes, I even clean them with my hands. I want them clean when I have to put them back in the attic! They are GREAT!

I have this Honeywell electronic air cleaner in the house I bought two years ago - and have never cleaned it! Thank you for an excellent video that is thorough and concise. If your company was in my area, I would hire you just based on this video alone.

Great video, thank you!! I just cleaned my F300 Electronic Air cleaner and 4 filters for the first time. The pre filters look different than the other two. I will call the installer to verify. I did, however, wash all four. I had a little snafu after drying the two cell units. One ionized wire came off. By the grace of God, it was not broken, and I was able to hook it back on to the spring connectors. 👍 Reassembled the cleaner and voila. Everything is working. Yippee ‼️ Beyond grateful for your video👍👍👍👍

Awesome presentation, great tips! Great presenter! thank you!

Thank you! Really clear easy to follow instructions. Excellent video.

Great job! Very clear instructions. Thanks

Very helpful, well explained, thank you!

Thank you for taking the time to product an Excellent instructional video

Thank you so much for this. Our a/c wasn’t working, and the pipes were wet with condensation. Seemed like the fan wasn’t pushing air through the vents. Followed the instructions here to clean the cells and prefilters on our Honeywell electronic air cleaner (used 409) and we have air again! Amazing. Saved so much money and time. Thank you thank you thank you for this.

Great informative video! I just bought a home and have been doing research on how I should be maintaining my central air unit. Airflow through registers were weak which led me to find this video on cleaning the electronic air cleaner.

This is so handy, thanks dude! We're trying to figure out which air filter to go with, and it's super handy to know the Honeywells are so easy to clean.

Thanks for the video, really useful !

Awesome tutorial!

Thank you soo much my brother! I'm living with my grandma after her stroke to make sure she's okay. Her's has not been cleaned in 3 years! We are going to clean it for the first time. I think I'm just going to hire a professional because if I don't do something right. Thank you for being so happy to share your information with the world in a clear simple way so anyone can do the job. I am very happy 😁 thank you again from the bottom of my soul to you're soul! 💞💕

This was so helpful! Thank you so much.

Great video , Nice explanation make it so easy for lots of people.

Great video. I was able to clean ours in 10 min, no problem.

Great Job! Thank You!

This was an excellent instructional video.

Awesome, and thank you! Great video, Happy New Year!!

Thank you! Totally doing this tonight. It is cold in the house and I just found how remove the opening to the filters. I thought it was somewhere els! You are so awesome. I appreciate the help. My family will be warm and can breath clean air :) I could not find the filters.

Thank you for this video. It was extremely helpful. Very well done Sir 👍

I found this video to be a Very good instructional, informative video for for me especially as a first time homeowner. Thank you!

Today, I cleaned my Honeywell electronic air filtration units for the 3rd time. I stood them up on a non-slip mat in my walk-in shower and sprayed them with a solution of water and dawn. I had to spray them down twice because there was/is soot build up ( not much) that I can't remove. Next time I'm going to try Krud Kutter. As an aside, I dried the units and filters with my hair dryer because it was raining. I think drying them with a hair dryer is my new way in the future.👍thank you for this video, it is the best.

Thank you, very helpful!

This is a great instructional/informational video. Thank you, pretty much 'idiot proof' which means even I can do it! 🤣 Was enlightening to me that I should clean every 3 months or so...I am way delinquent and will get on it this weekend! Again, Thanks!

Very helpful video. Thank you so much!

Very informative. Thanks you.

I just moved to the Vancouver, WA area last week. We've had a couple of hot days and our air conditioner didn't seem to be keeping up with it. I used your video to service my air conditioner and man what a mess. I don't think it's been clean for a year. The only thing you may have pointed out was just inside the HVAC unit, the fan motor gets very dusty I had to vacuum that off also. But what a great video I really appreciate it. Thank you!

Replacing the Ionizer wires is quite simple, if they get broken, and they can be purchased on-line from a variety of sources for $10-$14 each. Honeywell part #136434A(A) for the 20" air cleaner unit. There is a video here on RU-vid showing how it's done.

Excellent. Well done. Just what I needed and all the details were very well explained. Thank you. DJR

Right to the point, simple information. I'll probably just only use water to clean everything.

Thank you so much!

Thank you!

Awesome video thank you.

Very very helpful!!!

Thanks

Good heavens--my Honeywell filter is 41 years old and it looks pretty much identical to the one you show here. Only the powe supply has been changed over the years. It's survived a furnace and 2 heat pumps. I clean mine by immersing the filter in a mild detergent solution, then rinsing it off with a hose.

Great tutorial! I find a pencil eraser also works great on the Ionizing Wires and the top of the fins too, carefully of course. My biggest concern was the solvent types. Anything that is safe on aluminum, plastic and maybe copper? Pressure washing solutions might be a good option for those super old dirty fins. I am unsure. Sodium Hydroxide based cleaners seem to be the go to. Anyways, thank you!

Well done sir

I've just been cleaning mine with plain old tap water in the basement wash basin (6 feet from the EAC) all this time. I should probably use an actual cleaning solution. Also just got the idea to use my leaf blower to dry them off faster if I'm going to bother taking them outside.

Thank you so much for posting this tutorial. I'm down in Centralia (south of Olympia) and wish your company was down here. I have taken apart the filter, cleaned the pre-filters and will take care of the cartridges in the morning. This video has given me piece of mind!!!

Great video. I was worried since there is a slot between the cells and the furnace that i was missing a filter but I know that it is complete as-is. The "extra' slot is presumably so it can be installed bidirectionally. Thanks!

Thanks for posting a most informative and concise video. I have two question. If I use the dishwasher can I just use regular dishwasher soap and run a complete cycle? If still wet, can i use a portable hand dryer to expedite drying? Can I just soak in a laundry tub with soap and let sit for a while. Then rinse throroughly?

I carry a plastic tub that I got from Target or KMart to lay down the filters so they can soak in Simple Green. Then I go back to the maintenance and/or repairs. About half way through the Maint/Repair I remove the EAC's, shake them off then put them back into the rack, which should have plastic locks in the base so the cells will only go in the correct way. I leave the power pack off cause the cells are still wet but turn on the fan which will dry them out fairly quickly. Then I go back to maint/repairs, finish then check the cells for dryness. If dry the power pack is turned back on and tested. I never use any chemical cleaner which leave the metal bright and shiny as than means metal has been removed. I also ask the owner to look at the soaking cells and they typically will see a coat of black oil floating on the top of the water. I explain to them that is the oil in the air from planes, cars and they automatically want me to service these units at least 3 to 4 times a year. Brown dust is just that, dust. But black oil rising to the top of the tub is the oil from cars and planes which also gets into their homes. This is very normal on the flight paths in and out of Seattle.

Thank you for the very helpful video.

Great job. Thank you.

Useful video. Thank you. Is it OK to use dishwasher detergent when cleaning them in the dishwasher? The chemicals are harsh on aluminum. What metals are the filters made from?

Great video. Any opinion of using the dishwasher to clean? That’s what I’ve been doing, always being very careful of the tensioned wires, and not bending the fins.

Thanks this is helpful. I just cleaned mine for the first time, not knowing I had this on my system until I saw it and googled. So minimally they haven't been cleaned in 6 years. I did this process including allowing the cells to soak in some TSP water for about 30 mins and I still see some dirt on the insides of the coils. Anything more I can do to get these pristine? Dishwasher? Thanks. Additionally when I pulled them out they were installed backwards. :(

How do you feel about using an air compressor to hurry the drying process? You answered a lot of questions that I've been wondering about for many years. Thanks for putting this up.

This is so helpful! I was able to quickly remove and clean the coils thanks to your help. I'm a new homeowner and this is the first time I've taken lot at the coils. I noticed that I'm missing several ionization wires and it appears that the spring connections they were connected to have arced and burned. Are the connections and wires replaceable? Not sure if this is something I can do myself or not. Thanks!

great video! When cleaning my filter and unit with Simple Green as you suggested, do I use all purpose, and do I use full strength or dilute? Thanks

I'm on my second Honeywell EAC and I will attest that they do trap fine particulate. Something that bothers me however, is that no matter how much detergent and rinsing I do, there collector plates retain this black soot. It is nearly impossible to get a brush in between these plates to scrub them and that is exactly what they need. I have tried using a pressure washer outside but now I just put the cells in my dish washer.

hello, may i ask, why is my filter not emitting electricity after washing, and what should i do to fix it?, and what is the function of the insulator that is on the side of the filter? can it be the cause of the filter not working?

hello, What citrus based degreaser are you using? I bought simple green and an HDX 56 oz hand held multi purpose sprayer. I called HDX, they told me simple green will destroy the O rings. What can I use to clean my post and pre post filters in my honeywell air cleaner? Thanks

Imagine doing this in the winter!!.

Does the light go off when furnace shuts down after heat cycle ?

Clean comfort recommends using dax? but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be sold anymore. So I can use 409 purple power or simple Green? Thanks 👍

Just bought house with Honeywell F300E 1027 that is about a year old. Duct on left furnace one right with metal filters on duct side and green fabric filters on furnace side. This seems backwards. Thoughts?

This was so helpful, thank you! I was wondering if the citrus smelling cleaner was available to buy?

What are reasons of burning of contact plates ?

what is that specific formula you use? I have pets. also for a decade I've always only used water. I had no idea that an oil remover was needed. I also was wanting to know if I added a carbon filter(as a post filter) if it would protect me against the pollutants like CO2's of car exhaust emissions or lawnmower emissions from outside? or if it merely deals with in home odors.

thank you for your video, my Honeywell electric air cleaner has been installed 1999, it still working now, it saves a lot of money for not need to buy filters, I put them in the dishwasher to clean every 3 months. I am going to buy a new Lennox furnace and air conditioner, and hear from the salesman that electronic air filter is not good, it produce ozone, is this true? I was planning to continue using this air filter, can you please give me some advise? I also have a Honeywell humidifier that still working, but planning to get Lennox one as well. What do you think, so i just keep the existing humidifier? thank you in advance!

Do you clean the post filters? if yes, how are the post filters cleaned? Thank yo for your assistance. Gerry

I have the original Honeywell F50 F and F300E Electronic Air Cleaner owner’s guide and it says to use automatic dishwashing powder, which I did use at one time. Now this product comes in Tablets, which are not useful for cleaning electronic air filters. In the video you advise using a residential degreaser product. Is there any information from Honeywell where this is noted? I don’t see that they have updated any information in many years.

Thank you for the demo. If you have an electronic air cleaner, would your furnace also have the other filters?

Hi, can you let us know what product you used and recommend for cleaning these filters? I know you recommended degreasers like 409, but I'd rather get the best one for this specific job and I don't have any degreasers and need to buy one anyway. Thanks.

Is there another way to spray the de greasing agent onto the cells?

I opened mine up and I noticed I also have 2 cells. But the prefilters I have one on the right and one on the left? Ones pulled up front and the other one is pushed back. Shouldn't the prefilters be on the same side?

My girlfriend’s furnace has this but is no longer working and the furnace installer never added a new one or but a location for another filter. I was wondering if I can replace the cells with “paper” filters instead, since the unit is no longer connected to power.

I bought a house with these. I have normal air filters and never even knew this existed. Are these necessary? My air flow is kinda weak and I'm thinking these may be dirty. Never had one in any other units at other houses.

i have the green fileter too.. which goes on left and which goes on right? when i looked up green was on right, silver cell, then left was silver filter!!

Has to have the pre filter? Thank

great video, my power on light constantly flashes and there is a constant clicking

Very good, thank you, but what is the cleaner other than "orange scent"? I find the dirt very hard to remove, even with "extra dirty" dishwasher cycle. We used to soak them in very diluted acid, and that really took all the dirt off, but it doesn't seem to be made any more.

hello, what citrus degreaser are you using? Thanks

I recently purchased a house that has a Trane perfect fit electronic air cleaner and I was wondering if you still need to use a regular disposable filter?

hello, After watching many videos on how to clean an electronic air cleaner, I noticed many videos do not show the post filter in the unit. Is it necessary to use a post filter? If so, how often should it be replaced? Thank you very much