Like the title states can the air filter be cleaned with water or air or anything ? etc?

 

The filter can get nasty.
I think you could take it out and used some compressed air to help a little, but I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to wet it.
You could also think about using a vacuum and clean it some.
Guess I would just change it once every year or so and chalk it up to maintenance.

 

+1 to what Mazurfer said.
I've seen some pretty gnarly stuff get into those filters and I'd worry about wetting it in order to clean it.
either knock the dirt out of it and try to lightly vacuum or just replace it.

I don't drive my 8 as much as I used to so I replace it every 2 years.

 

yea I plan on replacing it within the month but im moving and have a big drive coming up and wont get a replacement in time... so I used the compressed air and vacuum it looks much better and ill replace it as soon as im settled into my new address...

Thanks for the input guys as always very helpful

 

just shake them out.
dont wash it.

 

buy a new one

 

^yes I gathered that much information from reading the rest of the thread...

 

Just buy i new one. I know the Aldehyde Filters are a lot of money, but you could replace it with the cheaper one.

 

vacuum with a soft brush on the end. worked on mine. That is after I shook the leaves and branches out, no idea how they got there. also, AC was cooler afterward.

 

Don't the aldehyde filters have some kind of chemical treatment that helps filter the small stuff you can't see? Wouldn't that wear out?

You can go to Home Depot and for anywhere from 50 cents to twenty dollars buy a furnace filter with your choice of material, then just cut pieces to replace the material in your old filters. Several times. I've seen a DIY on that...not sure if here or on one of the personal RX-8 sites. "Aldehyde" is a Mazda-specific trademark, so you'll have to do some thinking to figure out an equivalent. The regular filters look like the material in the 50 cent furnace filters.

Ken

 

Im not adverse to spending the 45 dollars on an adelhyde filter (if I was I wouldnt have had my 8 very long), but as stated earlier Im moving in a week and it will be some time before I can recieve packages so I wanted to clean it for the trip and subsequent week... anyways thanks for the help and input guys

 

The cabin filter should be replaced every Spring to ensure maximum A/C blower output during the hot summer months

 

both quotes for truth

 

^ it looks to be a fairly sophisticated filter with special properties. Some reading....

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es00074a005

I'd go for replacing it, unless you just don't care and use a regualr one.

 

Sounds like a great idea, seems easy as well. If you were to go a head and purchase a furnace filter and do your thing from there, will this work properly. Is it effective, or is it something for temporary use? Until you get it completely replaced.

 

^wtf... not again^