The importance of furnace filters & how to change them

One of the often-forgotten chores under the category of home ownership and maintenance is changing your furnace filter. It’s the little things that makes a big difference!  

CLEAN FURNACE FILTERS:

• Increase the air quality in your home removing dust, dander, pollen, and other pollutants from circulation and positively impact your health and wellness.

• Positively impact the efficiency of your system because the furnace doesn’t have to work so hard to bring air through it.

• Increase lifespan of your furnace and/or decrease repairs with frequent, regular changes.

Depending on what area you live in can impact the frequency required to change your filter. Areas that have higher dust levels, construction nearby or a new development area significantly increase the necessity for change as contaminants in the outside air are higher. You and your home air quality would benefit by a more frequent change in this case. 

When you do take your filter out of your furnace, and it is bowed and extremely dirty this is an indication that you should increase the rate in which you change your filter. Monitor it monthly and overtime and as environmental factors change, so should the rate of your filter changes. Manufacturer’s recommendations under normal conditions are typically quarterly, or up to 90 days.

Furnace filters can be purchased at any local home hardware, Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Costco, or amazon. Regular, one-inch filters run the cost of approximately $10 to $20 per filter and are typically found in multi-packs. Like everything, there are varying degrees of quality and the cheaper ones do have to be changed more often. 

RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Put a repeat reminder in your phone’s calendar to change the furnace filter quarterly.

• Write the date that you changed the filter on the side so you can monitor.

New to home ownership and home maintenance and unsure how to do it? Check out this quick how-to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOcfx5o9-B4.