HVAC Services
Get Your Estimate
At NW Mechanical, we're always ready to take your call! Give us a call at (206) 900-9231 or fill out the form below to contact one of our team members.
"*" indicates required fields
Whole-Home Air Filtration & Purification
Most of what you breathe indoors is too small to see. Pollen, dust, pet dander, mold spores and wildfire smoke are largely sub-micron, and an ordinary furnace filter lets the majority of it straight through. This page covers what is actually in the air in a Seattle or Eastside home, what a filter upgrade can and cannot do, and how whole-home purification works when you need more than a filter.
QUICK ANSWER
Indoor air carries three different problems — particles, germs, and gases and odors — and each needs a different answer. If your home has a forced-air system, we install the Pristine Air AirRanger, a polarized-media air cleaner rated 97% efficient at 0.3 microns that drops into your existing filter track and handles the particle side, with optional germicidal UVC lamps and a UVV oxidation stage when germs or odors are also a concern. Serving Seattle and the Greater Eastside since 1977. Call (206) 900-9231.
Three Things in Your Air
It is worth being precise about this, because a product that solves one of these does nothing for the other two. The three are genuinely separate problems.
| What it is | Where it comes from | What handles it |
|---|---|---|
| Particles | Pollen, house dust, pet dander, mold spores, wildfire smoke. Mostly sub-micron, which is why you never see the bulk of it. | The AirRanger. This is the base unit and the part most homes need. |
| Germs | Bacteria, viruses and biological growth carried on the air your system is already circulating, and growing on damp coil surfaces. | Germicidal UVC lamps, added inside the ductwork. |
| Gases and odors | Cooking smells, cleaning products, and chemical off-gassing from furnishings, paint and building materials. | A UVV oxidation stage, added alongside the UVC lamps. |
Most homes do not need all three. If your concern is allergies, smoke or dust, the particle stage on its own is usually the right answer. We would rather size the solution to the problem than sell you stages you will never notice working.
Why a Filter Is Not Enough
Upgrading your furnace filter is the cheapest useful thing you can do, and it is worth doing. A MERV 13 filter captures far more than the thin fiberglass panel most systems ship with, and during wildfire smoke events the EPA specifically recommends MERV 13 along with running your system fan continuously rather than on auto.
But a filter has hard limits. It still misses much of the finest fraction — and those particles are the majority of what is in the air, and the fraction that travels deepest into the lungs. It does nothing at all about germs or odors. And past a certain density, a filter restricts airflow enough to make your blower work harder, which costs you efficiency and can shorten equipment life. That trade-off is the reason whole-home purification exists.
The AirRanger
The AirRanger is a polarized-media air cleaner — a PMAC. It installs into your ductwork and treats the air using the forced-air system you already own, rather than sitting in one room and treating the air around it.
Particles are electrically charged as they pass, then collected in the media. Sub-micron particles join with others and get caught on subsequent passes, so efficiency actually improves as the media loads rather than choking off airflow.
| Efficiency | 97% at 0.3 microns, and it keeps trapping particles smaller than that. |
| Pressure drop | About 0.12 inches water gauge when correctly sized — the same as or lower than most store-bought filters, so you get the efficiency without paying for it in airflow. |
| Installation | Drops into the existing 1-inch filter track. No ductwork modification. |
| Power | 24V, wired to the R and C terminals on most furnace boards. Draws 1.4 watts. |
| Media | Replaceable pad, changed roughly every three months. Pets, heavy foot traffic and a lot of cooking shorten that. |
| Warranty | Lifetime on the frame and electronic powerhead. |
Figures from the manufacturer’s AirRanger spec and FAQ sheets.
It needs a forced-air system. A furnace or air handler with ductwork is what this fits into. If your home is heated by radiant floors, radiators or another hydronic system, or you are on ductless, whole-home purification is not a viable option and we will tell you so rather than sell you one.
Because your heating and cooling system turns over the air in the house several times an hour, the whole house gets treated. There is no box to buy for each room, nothing to plug in, and nothing to move around when you change rooms. We will go through the specification with you at the site visit so you can see exactly what is being fitted before you commit to it.
Every room, not one room
A portable purifier treats the space it is standing in. This treats the whole house through the ductwork already running through it.
Catches what you cannot see
The particles that matter most are the ones too small to be visible, and they are exactly the ones ordinary filters miss.
Runs on the system you have
It integrates with your existing furnace or air handler rather than replacing anything, and works whenever the system circulates air — nothing for you to switch on.
Easier on your equipment
Keeping fine dust off the coil and blower helps the system run at its rated efficiency and can extend its life.
The Two Optional Stages
Neither is bundled. Add them only if the problem they solve is a problem you actually have.
Germicidal UVC lamps
For germs and biological growth
Mounted inside the ductwork, they treat bacteria, viruses and biological growth as air passes. No chemicals, nothing released into your rooms. They also keep the coil and drain pan clear of the film that forms on any permanently damp surface — which matters in this climate.
Worth it if: someone in the house is immune-compromised, or you have had a mold problem.
UVV oxidation
For odors and off-gassing
This stage targets cooking smells, cleaning products, and the compounds that come off new carpet, paint and furniture.
Worth it if: the house smells closed-up, or a smell travels between rooms. A particle cleaner will not touch either.
Why It Matters Here
| Smoke season | Late-summer smoke is now a regular part of the year around Puget Sound. It clears once the winds shift, but while it lasts everyone closes up and recirculates — which concentrates everything else. Switch the fan from Auto to On, and check the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency rather than judging by the sky. |
| Tight modern homes | The EPA finds indoor air is often two to five times more polluted than outdoor air. Newer builds across Sammamish, Issaquah and the plateau are sealed for efficiency, so what gets in stays in. |
| Pollen and damp | Tree and grass pollen run heavy from spring into summer, and our damp shoulder seasons encourage mold where air moves. Wooded lots in Woodinville, Bothell, Newcastle and Mercer Island bring more outdoor debris indoors. |
| Retrofitted ductwork | Much of Seattle’s pre-war stock had ducts added long after it was built, often undersized. Worth checking the ductwork before adding anything to it — and if the house has none, ductless changes the conversation. |
Further reading: our guide to indoor air quality in Seattle and on the Eastside covers what to do during a smoke event, the simple steps worth taking first, and who feels poor indoor air soonest.
How can we help you?
Who Benefits Most
Cleaner air is pleasant for everyone, but a few households feel the difference quickly rather than subtly: people with allergies or asthma, for whom airborne triggers mean congestion, coughing and flare-ups; children, whose lungs are still developing; older adults; anyone with a heart or lung condition; and homes with pets, particularly more than one. If that describes your house, this is a comfort question rather than a luxury one.
What Installation Involves
| Site visit | We look at your equipment, the ductwork, the available space at the air handler and the electrical supply, and talk through which of the three problems you actually have. |
| Written quote | Flat-rate and itemised, with the base unit and any optional stages priced separately so you can see what each one costs. |
| Installation | The cleaner drops into the existing 1-inch filter track and wires to the furnace board. No ductwork modification is needed. |
| Commissioning | We confirm airflow is where it should be after the install, not just that the unit powers up. |
| Handover | We show you what maintenance involves and when it is due, so nothing about it is a surprise later. |
Living With It
The media pad is replaced roughly every three months. The first one loads faster than the rest, because it is cleaning air that has never been cleaned before, and homes with pets, heavy foot traffic or a lot of cooking will get through them quicker. A red LED on the powerhead tells you the unit is polarizing. If you add a UV stage, one thing worth knowing: a lamp that is still glowing is not necessarily still producing useful output, so the manufacturer replacement interval matters more than whether it looks lit.
We can fold all of it into our maintenance plan so it happens on schedule alongside your annual service. Between visits, keep changing your regular furnace filter as normal — purification adds to that, it does not replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it produce ozone?
No. The AirRanger uses polarization rather than ionization, and it is ionization that generates ozone. The manufacturer states this directly in their FAQ documentation.
Will this replace my furnace filter?
No. Your regular filter still does the job of protecting the equipment from larger debris. Whole-home purification works alongside it, handling the fine particles the filter cannot.
Is it better than a portable air purifier?
For treating a whole house, yes — a portable unit only cleans the room it is in, and only while it is running in that room. A good portable purifier is still useful for a single bedroom or a home office.
Do I need the UV stages?
They are there if you ask for them, not a package we upsell. Most homes come to us about particles — allergies, dust, smoke — and the AirRanger covers that on its own. Customers who specifically want germs dealt with add UVC; customers whose actual complaint is odors add UVV.
Will it help during wildfire smoke?
It is one layer of several. Keep the house closed, run the system fan continuously so air keeps passing through the cleaner, and keep your filter current. No system makes indoor air independent of what is outside, and we will not tell you otherwise.
Can it be added to any system?
It needs a forced-air system — a furnace or air handler with ductwork. Homes on hydronic heating, meaning radiant floors or radiators, and homes on ductless are not candidates for whole-home purification. The site visit confirms space at the air handler and that the ductwork can carry it.
Do you install in commercial spaces?
Yes — offices, retail units, clinics and workshops. The sizing work matters more at that scale, not less.
Licensed, Bonded and Insured
Each licence can be looked up individually on the Washington State L&I contractor register.
Talk to Us About Your Air
Serving Seattle and the Greater Eastside since 1977. We will look at your home and your system, tell you which of the three problems you actually have, and quote only what addresses it.
Our Values & Benefits
See How We're Different
Emergency Service Available 24/7
*For Service Partner Plan Members
Tailored Solutions for Home Efficiency & Comfort
