Electrostatically charged materials and IPA

[LT72884]

I just read an article about how electrostaticly charged filters, such as hvac filters, the charge is reduced if soaked in ipa or washed with soapy water. I know some peoe want to save money so they wash the filters.

My question is, why does rubbing alcohol and soapy water cancel the charge? Does it have something to do with the electronegativity of the hydrogen bonds?

Thanks

 

[ChemAir]

Normally, wetting a statically charged non-conductor with a conductor (water/electrolyte) will give multiple paths for the static charge to dissipate.

https://www.reference.com/science/humidity-affect-static-electricity-5568fb6d7d5de4b1
Static electricity dissipation
https://electrostatics.com/staticelectricity.html

 

[hmmm27]

I could well be wrong here, but electrostatic filters - to my knowledge - are made of metal, and are permanent : cleaning them manually every year or so is part of the charm of owning one.

You could be referring to the secondary filters which are just paper/cotton/whatever. They aren't supposed to be cleaned, they're supposed to be replaced.

 

[ChemAir]

I could well be wrong here, but electrostatic filters - to my knowledge - are made of metal, and are permanent : cleaning them manually every year or so is part of the charm of owning one.

You could be referring to the secondary filters which are just paper/cotton/whatever. They aren't supposed to be cleaned, they're supposed to be replaced.

I was assuming it was simply an air filter holding a static charge, not an "electrostatic filter".

OP, can you clarify this?

 

[crashcat]

So the mechanism of an electrostatic air filter is that air has to blow over the polypropylene and polyurethane meshes to gain charge and become stuck.

1. Neither of those materials would be hurt by soap, and soap makes sense to me to use because the function of the filter requires the surface to be clean. I am not sure on this one.

2. Polyurethane is NOT compatible with IPA. It will swell and become weak, ruining the mesh structure.

 

[hmmm27]

Apparently more than one type of "electrostatic filter".