Card filter media are traditionally used for masks and filtering cooking oil, coolant oil, and milk. Usually resin or thermal bonding is used, this method is in some cases superseded by other methods described below.
Wet and wet filter media are used in swimming pool filters, coffee filters and particulate air filters. They are made by a process similar to papermaking, where a mixture of man-made, natural, or fiberglass staple fibers forms a paper-like medium on standard papermaking equipment.
Meltblown filter media are ideal for particulate filtration such as dust, asbestos, and fumes. This is the type of filter commonly found in respirators and is easily mass produced. It is formed without the use of fibers: instead, molten polymer is blown into a microporous mesh.