What You Need to Know About Your Furnace Air Filters

Replacing or cleaning furnace filters is a simple enough task, but do you know how your air system’s filter really works to benefit you?

Furnace air filters are used in both heating and air conditioning units to maintain proper air flow and to collect and deposit any unwanted air particles that you do not in the air you breathe. Air filters help to control not only the airflow filtration, but also play a part in controlling temperature within and without the system itself, allowing for cost saving, efficient and safe use.

Now that you know what your furnace filtration system does, you need to also understand the importance of cleaning your furnace filters on a regular basis.

Furnace air filters are one of the simplest necessary household appliance maintenance jobs that you can undertake. Not only is it easy to do, but very important to the health and comfort in your family home. Your filters must be changed (or cleaned if not disposable) at least once a month. This is not optional, but mandatory for the proper performance of your heating or cooling system. Neglecting to do so, can cause several severe problems. One of these problems is that your furnace system may completely quit working due to filter blockage.

If a complete breakdown is not in order, a severely clogged furnace filter will at the very least discontinue its air filtering service and pass through all of the fumes, dirt, and irritants that it was supposed to filter out, possibly posing a health risk to yourself or even those you love.

Taking the 10 minutes it requires to replace dirty filters with clean ones monthly, has several benefits. It is not all doom and gloom. You can save anywhere from 5-10% on your monthly utility bills through proper maintenance. If you live where winter and cold are seasonal (or even year-round) regularities, then the amount of money you save increases considerably. Using an electrostatic furnace filter will save you even more money. This is because these filters use electrostatic technology, in other words static electricity, to attract dust particles in the air. This technology results in less stress on your furnace and thus lower utility bills. In addition this type of filter is washable which will save you money on disposable filters.

I cannot impress enough that maintaining a clean and clog free heater air filtration system is one of the best ways to lower your monthly utility bills, ensure fresh air in the home, and avoid respiratory health related issues.

Make sure that your furnace filters are free of any kinds of microscopic bugs, viruses, pollen, dust, mites, etc., which could get lodged within the net of the filters. This is especially important if you live in a crowded, polluted city. You should always check your filters at least once a month. If pollution, pollen, or urban dust are a big problems in your surrounding area, then a more frequent service schedule might be needed. If you are unsure, check. You can never clean your filtration system too often, and the dangers of neglect can be costly.