BROADVIEW, Ill. — Motorists driving vehicles with cabin air filters are especially fortunate, especially if they reside in a metropolitan area where air pollution levels are high or if they suffer from a respiratory condition such as asthma or seasonal allergies, says Purolator.

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, 60 million Americans (one in every five) suffer from asthma and seasonal allergies and the numbers are increasing. To highlight the problem and related issues with children and adults, May has been declared National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month.

Cabin air filters can play a role in reducing the effects of respiratory conditions, since they capture potentially harmful particulates so they are not recycled into the passenger compartment and compromise the driving comfort of the people in the vehicle.

"For people who suffer from respiratory-related illnesses or those who are passionate about breathing clean air, cabin air filters are an extremely useful feature on vehicles," said Ramon Nunez, director of filtration for Bosch, joint venture owner of Purolator Filters NA LLC.

Inventor of the first automotive oil filter in 1923, Purolator offers premium quality BreatheEASY cabin air filters for most domestic and imported vehicles. Purolator’s BreatheEASY cabin air filters feature a non-woven, engineered media that traps even the finest particles of harmful dust, soot and pollen, adsorbs most toxic odors, and reduces the accumulation of dust inside the car.

A cabin air filter may also be called a pollen filter, air conditioning filter, passenger compartment air filter, interior ventilation filter or dust filter.

Two kinds of cabin filters are available for modern vehicles — the particulate cabin filter and the activated charcoal cabin filter. The particulate cabin filter features a multi-layer design with pleats that provide more surface area to filter out pollutants. Other features include foam perimeter gaskets and an injection-molded frame when specified by the vehicle manufacturer. The activated charcoal cabin filter goes a step further. It absorbs most toxic and foul-smelling gases such as ozone, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and hydrocarbons. The additional cover layer makes for extra protection.

Purolator offers both particulate type and activated charcoal type cabin filters for many vehicles, and a used cabin filter can be replaced with either type, regardless of which was installed by the vehicle’s manufacturer.

Recent estimates show that since 2001 approximately 45 million vehicles in the U.S. have been factory-equipped with cabin air filters. According to Nunez, the time it takes to install a cabin air filter professionally or otherwise varies with the make and model of the vehicle. Each Purolator BreatheEASY cabin air filter comes with a vehicle-specific instruction sheet that shows the location of the filter as well as gives step-by-step installation instructions.

"It can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, depending on where it is located and how difficult it is to reach," Nunez said.