The 3M Filtrete MPR 1200 Allergen Defense Odor Reduction is a 1-inch deep pleated filter. The 20″x25″x1 version we tested contained 24 pleats. It offers similar performance the MPR 1000 model, except that this model incorporates a layer of active carbon for odor control. It fits most filter slots and housings. While it can’t compete with some deeper filters, for what it is (a 1-inch deep filter), it offers above-average filtration performance.

Rated at a Filtest permeability score of 5.6 (higher means better), the Filtrete MPR 1200 pressure-delta is considered high. A higher pressure delta would put more strain on your furnace (or AC) blower fan, which would lead to higher consumption of energy and would potentially shorten the life of your equipment when compared to filters with a higher permeability score.

As with other filters in the 1-inch deep category, this filter requires frequent replacements (which we are not big fans of).

Surprisingly the Filtrete MPR 1200’s filtration performance is slightly lower than that of the MPR 1000’s across the board. MPR is 3M’s proprietary rating system for filters, and the higher, the better, which means that the MPR 1200 efficiency is supposed to be higher than the MPR 1000 model, which was not the case during our test. As with the MPR 1000, this MPR 1200 filter’s sub-micron performance is less than mediocre (39.9% @ 0.3-1µm) and OK+ at the 1-3µm level (73.5%). The performance of this filter at the 3-10µm level is quite good (87.8%). Please note that Fltest.org does not incorporate this category (3-10µm) into the weight of our total score.