Filterbuy 18x18x1 MERV 8 Dust Defense, Pleated HVAC AC Furnace Air Filters (4-Pack)

MERV 8, the goldilocks for small to medium size AC units. I have only one reservation on giving anything a 5 star. (Humor) That is, if enough people give 5 stars, and the demand for said product goes up, the marketing department of the selling company could use that to increase the selling price, even though manufacturing costs did not increase. Seriously, thanks for a great air filter, and thanks to Walmart.com for providing AFB Filter Buy the platform to sell these on. I was looking for a superior air filter that would not cost what a 3M filtrete filter cost and do the same or better job. By researching MERV grades and HEPPA grades, looking at the MERV number makes more sense. It's like inches or centimeters. On that, hospitals, labs, and companies needing specific air qualities will use filters with a 13-16 merv rating. Houses with an A/C unit that can pull enough air to make them efficient can or will use 8-12. From 6-7 on down, these filters are for general use and are the most efficient for air flow, save the most on energy costs, but do dot collect the same small particles or filters with the higher MERV ratings. As for anything higher than 8, unless there are certain medical needs in the household, and the A/C unit/s can efficiently handle the air flow rate and not overheat and burn up, these are somewhat overkill. So, for regular household use with the best efficiency and particle removal tradeoff, stick to a 7-9 MERV rating. Filtrete usually has some of the better quality filters, but they are a premium cost. These filters from Filter Buy don't cost near as much. Also, this is a preference, these are not a full 1" thick as stated in the description. They are slimmer, making them easier to insert into the furnace bracket. And no, your furnace will not suck in particles through the small gap. Your furnace will immediately pull (suck) the filter up against the furnace coils for a tight fit when the furnace is on, so no particles get by. To date, these are the best filters I have used, and the price is really affordable; a bargain. The white body and provided space makes it easier for you to write and read the date installed as well. I can tell already in the time I have started using these that the air quality is much better while not overworking my furnace like the others. The cheap bargain filters were always clogging within a months time, causing the furnace to work harder to cool our 1500 sq/ft living space, raising our electric bill, and blowing particles back out. The filtretes did the same minus the excessive particle blowback at a much higher cost and only lasted about a month as well. This one shows no such problems at one month and as stated before, at a bargain cost. Will definately buy Filter Buy filters from now on.

Very pleased with this Order them over and over