Airth's split-AC filter ad claimed to remove Covid-19 — ASCI upheld it as exaggeration

Airth marketed the AIRTH Filter for Split AC as a way to turn an ordinary split air conditioner into a purifier. The website made two claims: "Removes Harmful Particles – Covid-19, Bacteria, Pollen, PM2.5, PM10" and "AIRTH Filter for Split AC upgrades your AC into a HEPA purifier that removes 99% of PM2.5, allergens, and germs".

ASCI's own monitoring flagged the ad and referred the technical claims to an independent expert. Airth submitted test reports for antiviral efficacy, particulate reduction, filtration efficiency and safety, but the expert found the reports could not back the claims as stated.

The Covid-19 claim rested on a liquid-suspension contact-deactivation test, not air passing through the filter — not representative of how the product is used. Pollen, bacteria and allergens had no supporting test at all, and the reports omitted methodology, equipment, statistical significance, and how performance behaves over time, after cleaning or across replacement cycles. The 99% PM2.5 figure and the 'upgrade into a HEPA purifier' claim were likewise not established.

The Consumer Complaints Council upheld the complaint: both claims were inadequately substantiated and misleading by exaggeration, likely to cause widespread disappointment, breaching Chapter I clauses 1.1, 1.4 and 1.5. The ad had to be modified or withdrawn.