Homeownership comes with various responsibilities. One of these is to ensure your furnace is properly maintained. To do so, you need to replace your furnace filters regularly to keep your heating system working properly and ensure your home has good indoor air quality.
Maintaining your furnace filters can extend your furnace’s lifespan. Unfortunately, it’s not an easy task for most homeowners. To help you get started, read this complete maintenance guide to furnace filters.
How Do Furnace Filters Work?
A furnace filter works to clean your home’s air and eliminate dirt particles, such as pollen, dust, and smoke. It does its job by drawing outdoor air through your home’s ductwork. As the air is brought into the furnace, it passes through the air filter. Then, the filter removes and catches particles from the air, providing better air quality. However, the filter only works when your furnace is operating.
The primary benefit of a functioning furnace filter is that it improves your furnace’s longevity and efficiency. It also makes your home healthier, especially for those with allergies. To find some of the best furnace filters for your unit, you can visit https://filterking.com/air-filter-sizes/18x24x1.
When your furnace filter isn’t well-maintained, it can cause various problems, including:
- HVAC unit failure and burnout
- Poor indoor air quality
- Freezing air conditioner coils
- Poor cooling and heating
- Your furnace is working harder than usual
- Increased energy consumption
- Reduced airflow
How Often Should You Change Your Furnace Filter?
Senior caucasian man changing a folded dirty air filter in the HVAC furnace system in basement of home
Changing furnace filters may vary from one house to another. If you think you only need to change your furnace filter once a year, you’d better think twice because it may shorten your furnace’s lifespan and cause other HVAC problems over time. Depending on the kind of filter you’re using, you must check your filter monthly and change it every month.
Fortunately, changing a furnace filter doesn’t rely on a guess. Most manufacturers provide a recommended frequency for furnace filter replacement. This instruction is often included once you purchase a new filter.
Typically, the frequency of changing furnace filters may also depend on the filter’s size. For instance, a thick filter has more media available to capture contaminants. Therefore, a five-inch filter may require fewer changes than a 2-inch filter.
Other Factors That Affect The Frequency Of Changing A Furnace Filter
Efficiency and size aren’t the only things that affect how often you change your furnace filters. There are other factors that have an impact on the frequency, and these are:
- Pets
One of the significant contributors of contaminants to your indoor air is your furry family member. Most pets shed dander and fur, which may circulate throughout your house. For every pet living in your home, the filter’s useful service life may reduce drastically. For this reason, you may need to change your furnace filter often.
- Home Occupancy
If you belong to a large household, changing furnace filters may be done more often than in houses with only two occupants. Pets aren’t the only ones that produce air contaminants. People may also bring in more contaminants. Therefore, the higher the number of people living in a house, the more frequently you need to change your furnace filter.
How To Keep Your Furnace Filter In Good Condition
As a property owner, you need to ensure that your furnace filter works properly. With this in mind, you need to provide it with proper care and maintenance by doing scheduled cleanings. By taking several minutes to replace or clean your furnace filter regularly, you can enjoy the following benefits:
- Improve your furnace’s efficiency and longevity
- Lessen your energy consumption
- Enjoy cleaner air
You may also keep your air filter running by ensuring that your ducts are cleaned often. In addition, you need to clean the area around your unit and intake vents. If you’re not confident about changing or cleaning your furnace filter effectively, hire qualified professionals to do the job for you.
Tips To Find The Right Furnace Filter
When you need to replace your furnace filter, you should purchase the right one for your unit. Remember that not all filters are made equal, and your furnace unit may require a particular type.
When finding the right furnace filter, start with the size. Check your filter’s size and opt for the same ones available in the market. The common filter sizes are 20×25, 16×20, or 16×25 inches.
Other than the size, you should also decide what filter type to choose. There are many types of filters you can consider. The most common is a fiberglass filter, which catches big contaminants and comes in an inch of thickness. However, if you have a family member with allergies or asthma, a fiberglass filter isn’t recommended because it doesn’t trap small contaminants effectively.
Wrapping Up
Your furnace filter is critical for ensuring good indoor air quality in your home. The best thing about it is that it’s easy to replace and maintain. You only need to purchase the right kind of filter for your furnace. If you’re not sure where to start when replacing your furnace filter or have other concerns regarding your furnace, it would be best to call a professional for assistance.
