When and How to Change Your Furnace Filter

Taking care of your furnace can help quite a bit in the time in between furnace service appointments. One of the simplest, and critical, ways to maintain your furnace is by switching out your furnace filter. Having a filthy air filter can contribute to a variety of unfavorable concerns for your heating and cooling system, its efficiency, and ultimately, how much your energy expenses are every month.

So what goes in to consideration when you should change your furnace filter?

• Type of filter: the two most common filter sizes are 1 inch and 3 inch filters. 1 inch filters normally need to be replaced every month and 3 inch filters ought to be replaced every three months, depending on the recommendations of the filter manufacturer.
• Home habits: if you have pets in your home, it might make sense to change your filter more often because of pet dander. If you have someone in the house that suffers from allergies or asthma, think about switching out your home’s air filter more often to help potentially decrease their symptoms.

Now you’re possibly wondering how to change your furnace filter. More than likely, this will change depending on what furnace you have, but typically: 

• Open or pull off the air filter panel near the bottom of your furnace to expose an open compartment.
• On the top of that open compartment is where you will find your furnace filter resting on two metal supports.
• There will be a bit of space to move your filter back and forth that allows you to bring down one end of the filter and remove it from the compartment.
• When putting in the new filter, check the perimeter of the filter for an arrow that shows you the air flow direction, to ensure you’re installing the filter in the proper direction. In the majority of cases, the arrow should point at the main part (or top) of the furnace.