Nail Salon Air Filter System - Size Matters!
I've read a lot of discussions on FB and other forums about which air filter systems to buy for use in the nail salon.
So I took this photo because I wanted to show that there is a big difference in the size of the actual filters inside different salon filter products.
The photo shows the filter parts of the Swedish filtering system we use in our salons and nail schools. This is the white cotton bag (Filter 1: large dust particles) and the big box (Filter 2: invisible dust particles and Filter 3: The active carbon filter removes chemicals from the air). I put a ruler and a carton of milk next to the big filter to give some scale.
The small square silver filter is from one of the most popular filter systems sold in the US. This integrated square filter also contains all three different filter stages.
The total weight of this small filter is 20g (about 0.7oz). The weight of only the active carbon in the Swedish filter is 5kg (about 11.1LBS).
We need to change the Swedish filters after 400 to 600 customers (depends if gel only, acrylic only or mixed services). If a different brand of filter only contains 500g (1LB) of carbon, then it would need to be replaced much more often. This also increases the risk of using full filters that no longer work. It may also increase the lifetime cost of the system when you calculate the cost of all those filters.
The USA Nail Manufacturers Council (co-chaired by Doug Schoon) recommends that a filtering system contains minimum 2LB (1 kg) of carbon and that this should be at least 2 inches deep (5cm). The Swedish filter exceeds this by approx. 400%.
Summary
So if you are looking for a nail salon air filter system to protect your health, it is the weight and depth of the active carbon filter that distinguishes if a product will work or not.
For more information about air filter design, see our earlier article here:
irynagiblett.blogspot.com/2012/08/is-you-salon-safe.html
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