Everything you need to know about maintaining your Air Filter

 

The importance of Air filters in HVAC systems is imperative, as the Air filter allows all the systems to work properly, and people often forget to replace them.

Maintaining your Air Filters  

In turn, it gets clogged up with grime and dust, and the air filters make your furnace and air conditioner work twice as hard, severely hampering the life expectancy of the fans and the overall system. Plus, increasing the electricity bills as more power is consumed as the systems work harder. 

In addition, these dirty and clogged Air filters lead to improper filtration and compromised air quality, which can be harmful to asthmatics or allergy patients in the household.  

Basically, air filters are a very important part of the HVAC systems in our houses and offices. We discuss in detail what we can do to keep our HVAC equipment in top condition. 

Clean Air Vents

When it comes to maintaining a comfortable and healthy living environment, regular maintenance of your home's air conditioning system is essential. While most people understand the importance of changing air filters, it's also crucial to clean the air vents. Over time, dust, dirt, and other debris can accumulate in air vents, leading to poor indoor air quality, reduced airflow, and higher energy bills. Cleaning your air vents can help to remove these contaminants, improving the efficiency of your AC system and promoting better air quality in your home. By ensuring that your air conditioning system is functioning optimally, you can create a more comfortable living space while also safeguarding your health and well-being. Therefore, it's important to add cleaning your air vents to your regular home maintenance routine.

When do you change them?

The conventionally advised time for an air filter change is about 30 days or so. Although the filter quality also matters, cheap fiberglass filters will need to be changed every 30 days or less, whereas good quality Pleated filters can be used for upwards of 90 days.

Even using pleated air filters if there is an asthmatic or allergy sufferer in the conditioned environment, it is suggested to replace the filters within 4-6 weeks, as they are more sensitive to subtle changes in the quality of the filtered air, and obviously, as time passes the filters collect more dust, pollen, bacteria and some viruses, and the quality of the supplied air decreases.

If you have any furry friends in the house it is also recommended to change the filters in not more than 2-month intervals. As there is an odor build-up and also shedding, it is also a must to change the filters frequently during season transition as the shedding at the time is the most intense.

And obviously in the case of young kids present the filters need to be changed frequently for about 2-3 months to ensure the quality of the clean air at home for the kids.

How do they wear out?

Well, the wear on the filter is directly related to the usage of the HVAC system, and depending on the usage the filter should be changed, either frequently if heavily used or long period duration for the filters, if used a few hours a day.

The size of the house or the area conditioned also decides if the filter is to be changed frequently, if there is a large space then the furnace and/or cooler will work harder meaning more air filtration resulting in the filters getting dirtier and requiring incessant replacement.

And lastly, the most obvious deterrent to the filter is the air quality inside and outside the served area as the climate and pollution of the air have a great impact on the filters the relation is quite obvious here, the more polluted the air the more the filter collects dust and the more frequent the change. 

How can you tell them they need to change?

Sometimes people lose count of when they last changed their Air filters, which is normal but there are some signs that will tell you “The Air Filters Need Changing!!”: 

• You will notice that the air quality inside is dropping day by day as the clogged-up filter cannot filter any more dust or particles and those return back to the air.

• The Ductwork of your HVAC system will accumulate dust and pollution.

• Will see that the HVAC system is running thrice as hard to keep up the ventilation, cleaning, and temperature controlling as the filters are clogged up there is less airflow

• Due to the HVAC running so hard, you will notice a sprout in the power consumption and bill.
   

Final word 

As soon as you notice any one of the above, you know there is no time to lose and the filters need to be new on that HVAC. Because clogged filters often damage the HVAC and heavily damage and shorten the life of the fans running. Not to mention the health hazard of the fact that the filter is not working and pollutants are coming into and not leaving the house. It is crucial that we keep pollution out of our homes and avoid sickness. Keeping all in mind you should check on your HVAC Air filters at least once every 3-4 weeks just to be sure everything is okay with your HVAC equipment.