Yes you can. Clean and store your cells and the prefilters in case you go back to using them. Look on the bottom of the return duct where the cells slide in. There is a guide held in with a philips screw. Remove and save this with the cells. Also it is a good idea to disconnect power to the top unit. You could tape the on/off switch off to prevent it from coming on. I have seen burn marks on the top of the cardboard filter when the unit has been on. Haven't heard of a fire yet but to be sure, keep the power to the electrostatic contacts off.

Switching to typical filter would be a terrible idea. Look's like an old Lennox and as best I can see the filter is properly installed. You want extra filter sticking out at front and rear,that help's seal. Get away from that fiberglass junk,it let's anything smaller than leaves and feathers pass through and clog your coil. Home Depot Supply,a subsidary of home depot carry's exelent spun polyester media in a cut to fit roll that yeilds several filters. Ask customer service counter to order it for you. If they don't know what you are talking about call local apartment comunities to find one that buy's from HDS. They likly don't order this filter but can have it dropped off at their office in a day or two. An emergency filter can be made by removeing center of a typical pleated filter. Keep in mind a 30"x 20" pleated unfolds to about 30"x 40",you might get two filters out of the largest filter on retail shelf.

How about a follow up -- a way late follow up ... So the filter is supposed to be a whole home filter, because the city has super old pipes with a lot of sediment. However, the filter needs to be changes monthly, and my sister had no idea. She (unknowingly) let it go for years. It was so backed up that her house barely had water pressure. It should have been an easy fix when I went to help her, but the 100+ year old house had a faulty main shut off valve -- as well as the pre-filter valve being faulty. So she had to call a plumber to contact the city to shut off the water at the street/sidewalk. There was nothing I could have done from there, the city won't turn it off for a homeowner (unless they don't pay the bill, lol). She now gets 'subscribe and save' monthly filter deliveries from Amazon to remind her to change the filter. Luckily, the plumber was able to blow the back up sediment out of her pipes, and she didn't need any pipe replacement. Her water pressure is now back to the usual crummy-100-year-old-house water pressure, instead of the even worse pee dribble pressure that she had with the backed up filter and pipes. Thanks!

As far as I know, there isn't a web filter that does this. Each manufacturer has their 'brochures' that show the GOOD things about the floor but rarely do they point out the BAD (like 1.2mm wear layers). It becomes much easier if you know what WOOD SPECIES you want and (roughly) what colour you want. The TOTAL thickness is next. And the wear layer thickness comes after that and THEN the 'finish' itself (not wire brush...but polyurethane/urethane/Aluminum Oxide). The Gold Standards in SOLID hardwood = the Platinum Standards in ENGINEERED. Try your BEST to get as close to the Solid hardwood Gold Standard as you can: Total Thickness: 3/4" Wood Above the Tongue: 6mm (1/4") Able to be Refinished: 3 times Width of Plank: As per indoor living conditions will allow (homeowner's house) Species: As per homeowner's wish so long as it works with the indoor living conditions Grade: Clear or Select (can be $2-$4/sf more than lower graded products) As you can see, most engineered hardwoods DO NOT come close to the 'Gold Standard'. The BIGGEST ISSUE: Total plank thickness. It is nigh on impossible to get 3mm (1/8") of wear layer if your plank is only 3/8" thick. If you want 3mm (1/8") wear layer you MUST work with something thicker like 1/2" or THICKER. As soon as you get into that range, you budget just increased by $2/sf. Again, try to find something AS CLOSE to 3/4" thick as possible. That will probably DOUBLE your material budget. Do you have a material budget? What is your TOTAL budget for the job? How many square feet are you looking to install?