Green Label 3 Pack Replacement Exhaust HEPA Filter EF-2 for Kenmore and Panasonic Vacuum Cleaners (Compares to 86880 and MC-V194H)

These fit and work perfectly . Can't go wrong. Great price for three.Kenmore - a name you can trust, and my inner GRoucho Marx tells me is what Barbie cries aloud often.To get the most out of the filter, follow common sense instructions for as good a seal as possible.I lack common sense, and got no instructions, so will offer some guidance-most of it highly senseless and practically useless.Before simply changing and be done with it, and this review,you should make sure these are not causing performance issues elsewhere in system, and replace only when they clearly do.Remember all vacuums suck. Far more than this review can.It they don't, it's a problem. You generally know when to change the bags because they no longer suck as much.Also the machine weith a full bag is heavier and thus harder to push around. No one easily pushes around a gravitationally challenged reviewer, AKA a full old bag.When it's ideal to change these little critters is less clear than with bags. Whether it's worth it, are the two main issues this treatise treats.The better the bag - the faster it clogs and less full it gets before howling for a skinny replacement. Nice huh? You'd think these would be a lot cheaper, but au contraire, mes amis. The best bags fill about a quarter to third of normal before being stuffed, like a runway model in Cannes; Oh and savvy shoppers for both expect to pay more than average. Now models in Milan used to cost much more, but the continental currency AKA Euro has levelled those high priced slim lines even more. And while those who use think of using a vacuum let alone change filters - are unlikely to shop haute couture, (seriously who has that kind of time?) skimp not on those skinny designer bags that claim to attract and capture just about everything.Your vacuum's health really depends on what you feed it, and how often it can be evacuated of the toxins it ingests.Also, those plastic holders that snap on from outside are not meant for high pressure exhaust cleaning.Some, nah, most of these vacuums are too strong for the weak seals that hold these in, some just barely cling on.You can get creative to improve seals if need be. It's not hard to leak test your vacuum exhaust at the places you don't want it.Unfiltered air will spew tinier dustparticles all through the very space you are trying to clean. Air islike water and will leak out through the paths of least resistance. The roof of an old convertible is a perfect example of both leaks.Inlet and outlet pressure is greatest when using a new bag. It's a weird use of the term. Once used it's no longer new.If they're any good, they begin to clog as soon as air filters through it. So a new bag only exists in the package where it really doesn't clean well at all.For these purposes, consider nearly new, as the new new.Taping the outside seams that may leak the most can make a huge difference in cleaner exhaust air. Since that's the stuff you are likely to inhale most of the time, the cleaner, the better. Asthma and allergy ailers may do better in clean air, but attempts to clean indoor air, actually often leave smaller and more virulent particles hovering around. Try going outdoors and take in some fresh diesel exhaust. Humans, after all, were designed to breathe air outside themselves and their confines.Inspect, then gently clean all the inside seams where these meet. Don't move the dirt too much. They'll cause scratchs there and will do more harm than good. The dirt blocks the leaks at first, but then deforms the plastic make room for more air to avoid the hepa. It's a good bet that where there's dirt, is where your big air leaks will be found.Blue painters tape is easy to find, visibly ugly but highly visible, unless your vac is blue, removable, reusable if not loaded with dust, and leaves little adhesive residue.Now people use all kinds of methods to test for air leaks. A candle flame moves with any air flow, but flames near plastic just don't work well. A lot of air currents around the machine have to be isolated away from whatever you are testing with, too. A doused candle (or match) brought near is much better, as smoke is an effective suspension. Other air suspensions using flour, pollen, or talcum powder in strong light against dark also work but are the very fine particles you usually try in vain to clean with great diffulty and want out of your cleaner's exhaust air.And while water works to spot where a tire leaks air, putting your vacuum in a tub is a really, really bad idea.Mechanics use a liquid soapy mixture that bubbles or fizzes around pressure seals that are imperfect, and can be tightened until stopped. Or they insert dyes that flouresce under blacklights. I suppose you could test this way but only one time. Those dyes generally will kill you. So those slick TV ads are not meant to be replicated at home. Easy to debunk, too. Size matters. Dye particle size that is. Given a particle small enough to suck up theirs will leak all over the place, too.In fact if you can attach an exhaust hose that goes out of yourdwelling, say a tight place through a room window, you really can use any strong vacuum to clear out the super nasty stuff that never really leaves. For most of us it just gets continually blown around to places you don't clean as often, so the spot just vacuumed "looks" cleaner for now.So, here's my fix to find AWOL air. Get your kid's bubble bottle, or, if living in a kid free zone, get out your inner kid's bubbles set, and blow a few onto the seams. If the seams leak when running, the bubbles will jiggle, burst or move away. The tiny residue is easy to wipe off, and does a little cleaning with effort. I supposed you can buy canned smoke, but what's the fun in that?These tips are to make your vacuum perform better. Obviously let's not get too OCDC. If you sealed all leaks completely succesfully like the mechanics or plumbers have to, the vacuum could not suck anything. Then, your overworked motor overheats and melts into a molten lava mush. (inner kid's note to self: awesome!)The more other places can't leak bad air, the more this final stage hepa filter will make a difference, do its job and be worth your coins. These are certainly worth every cent. BUT, and that's a big butt.Convincing you to throw out perfectly good filters with lots of usable life left is what every filter maker and vendor dreams of every night. How do I know what they dream about every night, oh I'd never tell such things.Knowing when to really change the final hepa is another matter. A deep secret they all are all sworn to never tell you.I hope readers appreciate the extreme risk taken by those who wish to unveil such, dark dirty secrets. No vacuum, and no filter -no matter what its claims, can clean up.I'm sworn to such secrecy but now must blow the covers.Use a clean/new bag to max the air flow out. Don't retape exhaust leaks yet.Test undesired leaks elsewhere first with old hepa in place, and then take it out.If it's dirty it should push more out through those leaks; then, when removed, those other leaks might seems gone.If so ? Heave that hepa. Insert new one. Be happy.Obviously once clogged it will force more air through other escape opportunities, and now that you know, it should be easily measurable.If really stuck waiting years for yours to arrive, some hepa filters can be washed then air dried. Success is iffy to unlikely with these. Mostly depends on frame materials holding the media - if they are paper or cardboard like these, they will deform and you are SOL. My original media was framed in hard plastic casing, and with local replacements costing more than a new vac, did the dirty work myself. These were rather hard to clean, and, once I found these cheapos, decided either it or I was too worn out to recycle old ones ever again.Another issue to consider when to replace.Say you have really sealed all other sources of escape for dirty exahust air, these filters are doing all the heavy final stage cleaning- and really get better at removing finer and finer particles as they clog with larger ones first.This increases back pressure like a clogged bag, affects your cleaning suction and adds increasing load on the motor.Or put mildly, your vacuum no longer sucks, but its performance will really suck.Every filtration medium has a design rating for what size particles it lets through.A better test might be to determine how clogged the one in use is.Change the old filter to a new one. Test the leak spots again.A new filter offers less resistance than a clogged one.If you see much less leakage in other areas your filter was too clogged.Leave the new one in and properly discard old.If you see or hear no difference, when old or new are in place,then your hepa isn't a problem and changing it will do little good.It indiciates old one is clean and the exhaust air is finding an easier time getting out of all the other places first.While on subject, there's a small open cell foam filter under the bag area which keeps your motor a little cleaner, a tiny layer of dirt/ dust will cause it to retain destructive heat. When unplugged, wipe motor off with damp rag if accessible, or use compressed air outdoors to reach and blow-clean areas that are too hard to wipe. These are extremely cheap filters to replace and you can cut them out yourself with scissors. The main reason home appliance motors fail is inability to shed heat, and while they do have fans to move air that helps it self cool, add electromagnetic currents and both serve to effectively attract a ton of dust.But if you don't have any sheets lying around, the foam is easy to rinse and clean with water and a drop of liquid soap.But as to when to replace these hepa filters and not waste money or landfills, and want some regularity - use either a number of bags, or a date to determine. If you worry about whether to change your car oil every 3000 miles or 5000, or 3 months, 3 full moons, or whatever, you know these issues are never simple.Get a sharpie and write date of replacement on side of the hepa. You already have one to do this with your smoke detectors and batteries right? Oh puleeze. One back of your detector, write one date for when the detector was newly installed, and other date for battery changes. After ten years, most of the ionization ones sound the test buzzer fine - but really don't detect smoke. In most countries photo optic detectors are the only kind sold. These used to cost multiples more, but both are, sorry, dirt cheap today.The better primary bags will prevent these other filters from clogging much, and best bags get replaced long before they are full, and well before the hepa need service. If you are concerned enough to be replacing these hepa final stage, you are highly advised to be using the best primary bags to suit your needs. If you use cheapo bags, AND now know how to have super good seals, these hepas will clog MUCH faster, and end up costing you more.As a final stage to clean exhausted air you want the prior ones to filter the most and smallest particles first.It's a long way to say, these disposable hepas last me at least a few years. Or, replacing a bag a month - about every other ten to twelve bag package. I'll sharpie the bulk pack of bags as reminder.Also, I've finally realized the correct name for my vac - Barbie.

These look identical to the original in our Kenmore. We are very impressed with the quality, fit, and price. Not sure how to tell how much they filter but as they are the same as what came with the vacuum cleaner we are satisfied. Great value, perfect fit, good quality.

I thought we posted this review, but it didn't post, so here goes again: Our old Kenmore vacuum needed new filters. It didn’t have any suction power. We replaced the HEPA filter and the foam filter with these parts. Turned it on and now we have the most amazing suction, like new. Sears was out of the parts and their prices suck. Their service was no better the day we went there. They must specialize in how to ignore the customer.

I had waited WAY too long to replace this filter on my Panasonic MC UL915. When I took out the old one it was black from dirt.The price of these filters on the Panasonic website was about 8 times higher than these. When I took out the old OEM filter and compared it to these I can't really see a difference. I do know it is impossible to tell a true HEPA filter just by looking at it. So I hope these filters are true HEPA. They seem a little bit on the cheap side to be genuine.However, it fits perfectly and looks well made so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt. If they truly are HEPA cartridges then this is a fantastic deal.

This fit in my Kenmore canister vacuum perfectly (measures 4.25x2.75x.75). Seem strong and well-made. Must be, since they shipped without any bubble wrap protection--just in a plastic bag inside a non-bubble plastic shipping bag (which is why I deducted 1 star). Arrived without damage surprisingly.

Product arrived on time and was as advertised. It fit my Kenmore canister vac perfectly. Be sure to measure your filter dimensions before ordering. The replacement looked just like the original. Seems to be working well. I'll order these again. BTW, you can't wash these filters, contrary to some claims I've read. The cardboard wilts and deforms if you hold them under running water. I tried. I was surprised at how much dust these filters catch.

These are well made, and fit snugly in several models of Kenmore Vacuum cleaners wer have. Good price and value for the money. Remember to change these HEPA filters often and your Vauum will reward you buy sucking up all the dirt better.

I'm glad I can still find these filters. I have an older model canister Kenmore and the filters are essential for it to operate. Good value for the money and they shipped really fast.

The fit was perfect. It also came earlier then expected.

Perfect fir for my trusty vacuum. Thanks for great product and service

This product is what I was looking for, for my Kenmore vacuum. It fits perfectly. The 2-pack has a good price too.

Did not fit too well, but forced it. Seems to be working fine?