Customer Ratings: 
List Price: $13.99
Sale Price: $5.39
Today's Bonus: 61% Off
I do not recommend Honeywell brand HRF-AP1, HRF-APP1 or 38002 because :
(1) Prefilters HRF-AP1, HRF-APP1 or 38002 (all made in Mexico) are thinner and much lower quality than the original prefilter that comes with the air purifier or the generic ones made in US, Korea or China that I bought before. The prefilter 38002 is basically the same quality, thickness and porosity as prefilter HRF-AP1 except for the higher price. I suspect HRF-AP1 and 38002 are the same exact items with a different box and price.
(2) The pores or holes are bigger, many 3 mm or bigger. You can see clearly many big holes by holding the prefilter against the light. The prefilter is also covered with fine black carbon dusts. My hands and table are covered with carbon dusts. That means many particles including the carbon dusts are bypassing the prefilter causing the HEPA filter to clog up faster.
Without prefilter, the HEPA filter (about $60 or more) lasts only 4 to 6 months, instead of 1 to 2 years.
(3) Prefilter HRF-APP1 ( suggested retail $ 17.99) has "loose" zeolite added.
(4) You get a better deal by buying prefilters from generic suppliers. Search "HRF-AP1" on google. The generic filters I have bought are less expensive, thicker and have much less loose black carbon dusts than ones from Kaz and Honeywell. Plus you get 2 filters for Honeywell 50250 instead of 1.
(5) According to Kaz's website, in 2002, Kaz bought the Honeywell Home Environment business, which includes air purifiers. Kaz continues to use the "Honeywell" brand just like Lenovo used the "IBM" brand.
It takes time to research these information. Please click "Yes" below this line if this review was helpful to you.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
When we got our Honeywell air cleaner, it came with one carbon pre-filter and we were immediately impressed by how quickly the air smelled fresher once we started running our Honeywell 50250. We knew we would need to replace the carbon pre-filter every couple of months and so we ordered these. When it came time to change the carbon pre-filter, I pulled the first one out of the box and I immediately noticed it did not look like the carbon pre-filter that came with our Honeywell. And it did not give us that fresh air smell after running it. I don't know why, but these aren't as good as the carbon pre-filter that comes with the air cleaner.
Best Deals for Honeywell Universal Carbon Air Purifier Replacement Pre-Filter
Now the reason to get this prefilter, is to do just that, to prefilter larger dust particles so it will not clog up the Hepa filter. For around $13, it is a bit of a ripoff.
When they say universal, it means you have to cut the shapes out yourself, and the cutout lines they give you arn't even close to being good. When you cut, black charcoal dust falls off at an alarming rate, after you use the prefilter alot, the Hepa filter will appear dirty (black) but that is actually just the charcoal bits.
charcoal is fine, because it filters out odors, this charcoal prefilter dosn't do a good job at that, if you actually need odor reducing properties use their A+ filter, this is just an "A" filter, though id give it more of a C+
For your standard big round filters, it makes at least 2, the skinny round hepa filters, this box will give you about 4-6 prefilters depending on your cut.
Also comes with 2 velcro tabs to keep it wrapped tight around the filter
make sure wrap up your unused portions or any of the "odor reducing" properties will be gone when you eventually use them
Acceptable replacement to the original one, just not worth it for anything over $10
Honest reviews on Honeywell Universal Carbon Air Purifier Replacement Pre-Filter
This filter does an okay job in cleaning the air of contaminants, dust and airborne particles. However, if you want to have odors removed, such as pets, smoke, cooking odors, cleaning chemicals, etc., you should buy the A-Plus filter that Honeywell also makes ($6 to $7 more). I took off one star, because it does not handle odors or smoke.
I took of one more star, because it is in bulk and is not scored for cutting. It's annoying to line up and cut out each filter.
Also, be wary of advertisers that substitute off-brand bulk filters. In my experience, these don't work very well and allow too much polluted air to contaminate the main HEPA filter.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Honeywell Universal Carbon Air Purifier Replacement Pre-Filter
There seems to be a lot of confusion with Activated carbon products. I'll shed some light on it. Don't buy Generic filters, you'll be sorry.
These are the "A" filter,(HRF-AP1) and are made with Activated Charcoal Carbon and BEST for smoke odors.
Pro's
1 Excellent for smoke of any kind
2 Great for kitchen odors
3 Great for pet odors
4 Good for chemical fumes and odors
Con's
1 Has to be replaced periodically. (3 Months on average)
2 Most carbon filters are overpriced
These are made with Activated Charcoal Carbon. Carbon made from COAL is the air purifier best odor absorber and smokers BEST friend.
Don't pay attention to other reviewers, they don't know what they're talking about. Just make certain you're buying Genuine Honeywell.
=====================================================================================================
The A-Plus (HRF-APP1) filters are made with Activated Carbon made with Zeolite/Volcanic Rock.
Pro's
1 Excellent for chemical fumes and odors (VOCs)
2 Good for kitchen odors
3 Good for pet odors
4 Good for new car smells
5 Can be re-activated and then re-used. Just Vacuum and then place in the sun for a day
Con's
1 Hard to find in it's pure form
2 Not available for most air purifiers
Honeywell HRF-APP1 / Filter (A) Honeywell HEPAClean Tower Air Purifier
