Solution to preventing self-adhesive strips on filters from leaving residue/pieces of tape?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Finally, I have a substantial problem and need suggestions.

I have a Winix HR900 air purifier. The unit performs very well for me. It’s efficient, very quiet, and does a great job removing pet hair and dirt from my den. I have a dog door in an outside door in the den, so I get an above-average amount of windborne dust and dirt that needs to be removed. I change the pre-filter at least every 30 days…and, believe me, they are gross.

My problem is this: The pre-filters, which are basically lightweight sheets of woven/pressed fibers, are installed on a pre-filter frame using self-adhesive strips. Peel off the protective paper on the four edges of the new pre-filter and apply it to the pre-filter frame. The purifier came with several spare pre-filters and I was easily able to peel off the used ones and replace them with new ones. Life is good.

I’ve now tried three brands of after-market pre-filters. (It does not appear that I can buy original Winix replacements.) They filter the air just fine, BUT the self-adhesive strips basically disintegrate when I try to peel off the used pre-filter. At best, they leave a very gummy and sticky residue on all four edges of the frame. At worst, they actually leave parts of the plastic tape itself (along with a very gummy and sticky residue). This is obviously a problem, as the residue attracts and holds all the hair and crap passing through the filter.

I have tried removing the residue each time I change the pre-filter. Totally not worth the effort. It takes a scraper, a hair dryer, Goo-Gone, and 20-30 minutes to remove it. If I ignore it, I just get more layers of crap, along with larger globs of hair and dust.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Keep in mind, the adhesive strips keep the air from by passing the filter, so they have a real role. If not, I’d just leave the protective strips in place and use a couple pieces of cellophane tape to hold the filter in place.

Maybe if I dust the adhesive strips lightly with talc when I put them on? Maybe I can put some other kind of tape on the edges of the frame and the self-adhesive tape on the pre-filters won’t stick to it as much?

Original Winix pre-filters cost three times as much as the cheap knock-offs, but they still look like a great deal now…if I can find any.

2

WD-40 is magic for removing glue residue. It’s literal magic and that’s a scientific fact.

I guess the smell might be a little issue for a while on an air purifier though.

3

Perhaps continue to use the same after-market pre-filters, but don’t use the self-adhesive strips they come with? Instead you might use 3M Command picture hanging strips (which I think come off cleanly) or a decent quality double-sided tape.

4

A lot depends on the geometry of the frame and how everything fits together. It seems like the small gaps around the edge (with the strips on) wouldn’t make a big difference, especially for a prefilter but I don’t really know what it all looks like.

Can you keep the strips on and wedge the filter in place with something esle a little squishy like foam insulation or rubber weatherstripping?

5

I’m trying to picture this setup and all I can see in my mind’s eye is the big Honeywell HEPA filter I used to have, which did not have any kind of tape for the pre-filter, just a piece of velcro to stick the two ends together after you wrapped it around the main filter. Still worked great. Anyway, couldn’t you get a sufficiently tight seal by taping over the outside edges of the prefilter and the frame with something like painter’s tape that would come off easily, and not using the included adhesive strips at all?

6

WD-40 is a good suggestion, but Goo-Gone actually works better. The problems are that (a) this means cleaning all four sides every time I change the filter, and (b) since the tape itself sticks to the frame, the WD-40 or Goo-Gone can’t get to the adhesive. I still have to scrape 20" to 30" of frame to get the old tape off.

The self-adhesive strips are pre-applied to the filters. Think of an 18" x 12" rectangle of filter material with a strip of double-stick tape at each edge (4 edges total). You remove the protective paper and then apply the filter to a frame of identical size. The frame then goes in front of the two air purifier filters.

The original Winix pre-filters peeled off very cleanly after use. These after-market ones don’t. In fact, the tape wants to pull off the filter and stick to the plastic filter frame…which is why I end up with big pieces of tape stuck to the frame.

If I just wanted to get old double-stick tape off of something one time, I’d be OK with this. But I need to replace the pre-filter at least every 30 days. I can’t let this be a 20+ minute task every time.

Maybe I can flip the filter over to the side that doesn’t have the double-stick tape and use a better type of tape to secure it to the filter frame? It needs to be SEMI-permanent…hold pretty well but come off easily.

7

Yes, this is one option I’ve considered. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m wondering if the masking/painter’s tape will stick to the plastic frame well enough to hold it for a month.

8

I don’t have a link to a picture, but I’ll try to give a better description.

The frame is a rectangular plastic frame with a couple horizontal and vertical bars running across it. It is about 3/16" thick. It has a mesh screen permanently glued to it. The replaceable pre-filter is applied to one side (towards incoming air) and is held only at the edges. Theoretically, one replaces this pre-filter, which catches most of the dust and dirt, about once a month. The incoming air then passes over two identically-sized additional filters (activated carbon and then a HEPA), which only need to be replaced once or twice a year.

I hate being a whiny-butt, but my wife and I really like this air purifier. If I have to take 20 - 30 minutes every month to change the pre-filter and clean the unit, I’ll do it. But it’s really getting old…

9

Here’s the manual - with some diagrams

10

You could buy a couple rolls of adhesive velcro strips, one hook one loop. McMaster-Carr sells them in varying widths.(a 5 foot strip is around $5)
You could then permanently adhere some loop strips to the frame of the machine and whenever you get a new filter adhere hook strips on the edge of it.

11

I see, so it has to support the weight of the pre-filter, not just seal the edges. Maybe you could use a couple magnets on either side of the prefilter and screen to support the weight if the painters tape isn’t enough?

12

Could you gimmick up something with magnets? Either the type of strip magnets made from a rubbery compound, or the rare earth magnets.

I was surprised to find that double-sided drafting tape is a thing. Might work for you.

13

I think the idea of a magnet strip might work. There’s a front cover that fits over the pre-filter assembly and I’m not sure of the clearance between the frame and the cover.

Yes, the tape supports the filter, but there are cross supports and a fabric screen to keep the pre-filter from getting sucked in. I can tell that air enters (or tries to enter) around the edges of the filter once it gets too dirty. Whatever options I try, they have to do a decent job of sealing the pre-filter to the frame.

Maybe I should trim two sides of the pre-filter so it’s about 3/8" smaller than the frame. Then I could use masking tape at the edges…partially on the filter and partially on the frame.

I wonder what kind of tape Winix used on the original filters. It stuck to the filter but released easily from the plastic frame.

14

I just had a chance to look at this. I was skeptical before but now even more so that adhesive/magnets/velcro of any kind are needed to secure a filter to a frame. I’m going to need photos.

15

The pre-filter is just placed on the frame. It doesn’t slide in or anything. If it weren’t for the adhesive strips, it would just fall off the frame when it’s inserted into the air purifier. Again, the pre-filter is not rigid…it’s just like a big, flimsy piece of fabric.

16

How about gluing in some pegs on the frame so the prefilter can’t fall?

17

I am confused. It sounds like the best solution is to use to official filters. They are listed on Winix’s website for 19.99 for a pack of 12. This seems a reasonable annual cost to eliminate all the time spent cleaning the adhesive each month. Or are you looking for a different filter?

https://www.winixamerica.com/product/filter-u/

18

Well.
Whaddaya know !

19

Dang! They have been out of stock every single time I’ve looked over the last couple years. I just figured they were permanently out of stock because it’s an older model purifier.

[smacking head] This seems like the solution! I’ll let you know if they actually ship filters to me.