“I've been buying this product (Aprilaire 213 filter) for around 8 years, ever since they changed the design for my filter housing, which was better than the old design. This time I bought a four-pack.Outer packaging was sturdy and the outside of the 4 boxes of filters inside were in good shape. However, in the one I opened to install, the plastic frame holding the accordion-style filter is much flimsier than previous units. The plastic bends more easily and feels brittle. The fabric itself was bent in a few places on the outside edges when I expanded it to install it. Not a huge deal, I was able to unfold it back the way it was supposed to be.The fabric itself felt a little lighter than my old unit as well. It appears to me that product quality has gone down. It was in an Aprilaire box so it appears to be OEM, but they seem to be cutting corners. I should note, the price is less than in the past. Is the tradeoff in quality worth the lower price? As long as it does the job I guess I should be happy with it, but I won't really know if it's doing its job or not for a few months, will I?”
“This type of filter was made too complex and as a result is too expensive. It works great, but doesn’t do better than cheaper filters. Unfortunately, you’re stuck with it if this is what your HVAC system uses.”
“The product comes in a box that also acts as the shipping box. Any impact to the shipping box will directly impact the contents of the box. This item is a whole house air filter and the top and bottom edges are metal that need to slide into a fit in the furnace housing. The box was damaged during shipping. However, the product was still usable. Had the metal edges been damaged during shipping, there is a potential that the filter may not slide into its fit.”
