OEM cabin air filter - what's it made of?

[mikeh90]

Hey everyone. Recently I bought a Puralotor "Breathe Easy" filter, but I noticed it says it's a "synthetic" paper, whatever that means. I'd rather have real paper/cotton since this is the air I'll be breathing in the cabin. Any verification of the material used in the Toyota OEM air cabin filter for a 2003 camry would be greatly appreciated.

[Donald E. George]

I don't know what the material in the cabin filter is but it's not much. I think the price is high for these filters because they a fairly new and people can be conned. I purchased the Fram cabin air filter from Walmart last year. About $16.00.

[Choman]

I wonder if the synthetic wording means that the paper portion is made from wood pulp compared to regular cotton fibers?

[Lamski]

Toyota charges an arm and a leg for their filters which are probably the same stuff that 3M uses in the Filtrette filters. You can custom make your own with a standard furnace filter for probably much less and you can even add carbon to filter odors too. I think 3M also sells replacements if you don't want tot go to the trouble of doing it yourself.

[JohnGD]

I doubt the filter will be made of natural material because of mold problems. It's probably some type of anti-microbio treated cheap polyester fiber.