Filteraire vs. Filtrete Vacuum Bags

[sudsmaster]

The commercial Eureka I recently acquired uses Eureka LS bags. These are marked "Filteraire", and I assume they have some sort of microfiltration. So far I haven't found any non-Eureka versions of the LS bag.

I am wondering how the paper media in the Filteraire LS bag compares to bags made by 3M under the Filtrete brand label. Also, are LS bags available in Filtrete material?

Thanks!

 

[my-ellie]

Filteraire bags are lined with melt-blown polypropelene, which is an electrostatic filter material. This 'coating' keeps the dust from escaping through the pores of the bag, but the bag tends to clog a little faster than standard non-lined bags. Filtrete bags are cloth-like. They filter very, very well and tend to keep airflow going at 100% for quite a long time.

Filtrete bags are becoming more and more the 'norm' for vac manufacturers. The new Windtunnel 2 comes with them (non Filtrete bags are also available). So does the new Constellation, but for the new "connie", it's almost a requirement since the high airflow is needed to turn the turbo brush.

My favorite Filtrete bags are those used on Miele vacuums. They are called Intensive Clean Plus, and Miele went so far as to put an aluminum foil liner in the bottom of the bag to prevent the powerful airflow from pushing dust through the cloth fibers. When the airflow comes into a bag, especially when it's angled like on a Miele, the 'stream' of air tends to 'push' the dirt (and rocks and coins and debris) against the one section of the bag opposite the intake. The foil prevents dirt from abraiding the surface of the bag and damaging it.

I guess you guys can tell I'm a Miele fan. I just wish that other companies would make Filtrete bags like Miele does, with the foil liner.

Wouldn't it be great if we could get Filtrete bags for our Electrolux model G's? Electrolux used to sell IOTA bags which went a long way towards improving the overall filtration of the machine, but stopped selling them for some reason.

 

[sudsmaster]

My-ellie,

Thanks much for explaining the difference between Filteraire and Filtrete. I use Filtrete furnace filters and they are great, so it's not a big surprise that vacuum bags made of the material perform good as well.

I haven't noticed (after about four uses) the Filteraire bag in the Eureka commercial clogging up or losing suction. I have noticed that there is a very light coating of very fine dust in the sealed bag bin, which I assume is what gets through the bag pores. Fortunately there's a HEPA exhaust filter (washable version available) to catch that stuff.

Hopefully at some point Eureka or an aftermarket bag supplier will make LS bags out of Filtrete. Haven't seen any as yet.

 

[swingette]

ive used filteraire style bags before. used then exclusively for a while on a F&G Eureka upright to clean my parents house. ive also used the Micro-lined version on my type-A Hoovers. im my experience the bags actually maintain airflow longer. the standard F&G bags and standard Hoover type A bags always clog faster, much faster. if you do a test with talcum or flour, you will see the difference.

 

[sudsmaster]

Thanks for your input, Swingette. For what it's worth, I've vacuumed several times with the original Filteraire bag in the Commercial, and have not noticed any decrease in suction.

I did peek inside the bag and saw plenty of fine dust clinging to the inner walls.

Is that allowed? ;-)

Next up: I'm going to vacuum the bedroom with the Commercial, and then do a re-vac with the DD Reaction D2 bagless. I'm interested if more than just shredded wool carpet makes it into the dust bin.