As air moves through HVAC and vacuum systems, air filters are used to trap and collect particles like dust, allergens, and tiny microorganisms. These filters help provide healthier air quality indoors, and depending on the filter, can even limit the amount of harmful and deadly particles that are released back into the air after sweeping. A filter’s MERV number references that size of the particles that the filter is rated to remove from the air. But what do the numbers mean?

An air filter’s MERV rating, or minimum efficiency reporting value, measures how effectively a filter can eliminate dust and other contaminates from passing through the filter and being released back into the environment. Filters that have a higher rating are better at trapping smaller particles than filters with a lower rating. Generally, filters with a MERV rating that is 16 or lower are used in residential, commercial, or general hospital use and are considered general HVAC-system-grade. MERV 17 – 20 filters are much more fine and are commonly used in areas where absolute air cleanliness is a requirement, like surgical operating rooms and clean rooms.

MERV filters are not only utilized in HVAC systems. Floor sweepers also use air filters, and based on the application, OSHA might require that a sweeper use a MERV 17 air filter, like for controling silica dust. Silica, or quartz, is a very common mineral. It can be foud in a lot of different materials like soil, sand, concrete, masonry, rock, granite, landscaping materials, and many more. When these materials are disturbed by cutting, grinding, or drilling, the resultant dust can contain crystalline silica particles. These dust partiles are incredibly small and aren’t visible. These particles, if they float around in the air and get breathed in, cause lung disease and lung cancer. It only takes a very small amount of tiny silica dust particles to create a very dangerous health hazard.

We offer three different solutions that satisfy OSHA’s housekeeping practices: wet sweeping, water flooding, and dry sweeping. PowerBoss dry sweepers have a 5-stage Maximum Dust Control filtration system. It starts with a vacuumized main broom chamber, then a Perma pre-filter, to a pleated filter that is 95% – 98% efficient from 2.0 – 5.0 micron. Then there is an aggressive filter vibration system, followed finally by a MERV-17 filter that is 95% – 99% effective from 0.3 – 1 micron. MDC sweepers offer a productive method of sweeping with maximum dust control. A few of our PowerBoss sweepers also have a wet sweeping option. This method works by utilizing a continual spray of water that provides a moisture shield on the side brushes. This water helps to prevent the dust from getting blown airborne and contains the dust until it can be swept up. As one of the most effective methods of dust control, water flooding contains the silica dust in a floor scrubber’s water solution and is immediately picked up through the recovery squeegee and vacuum.