Air Filters for Your Home and What You Need to Know

Knowing how to take care of your home will help keep the cost of repairs and maintenance low, especially when it comes to your home systems and appliances. If you know a few simple things you do not have to call in a professional. A simple task is knowing when and how to change your furnace filter.

Your furnace is usually located in a basement, hall closet, or garage. However your thermostat is located somewhere in the home, usually in a central location. You may think a furnace is only used during the winter months, because the connotation associated with furnace is ‘heat.’ This is not the case. Your furnace also sends the cool air from a fan or air conditioner throughout the vents in your home.

This means most furnaces run year around, with a few nice days in the spring and fall that they get a break from running. So it is important to know when to replace your air filter to ensure your furnace isn’t working harder than it has to by pushing air through a filthy filter.

Air Filter Rules of Thumb

Q: How often should you change your home air filter?

A: Replace your air filter every three months; more often if you have pets because they filter will get dirty faster. A quick tip is to use a sharpie and write the date you put the filter in, so you know you need to change the air filter. You might need a reminder for changing the air filter in your home, you can set a reminder in your phone that reoccurs every three months to change it, or write a note on your calendar. If you want to take the hassle out of how often you need to change the air filter, you can sign up for FilterEasy.com and they will mail you a filter every three months for your furnace. Then you do not need to go to the store, remember to change it, or even remember what size of filter your furnace needs!

Q: What are the best air filters for your home?

A: It depends on your furnace and your home. If you have pets and allergies you will want to try and collect as much dander and allergens as you can in your filter to prevent them from being circulated throughout your home. This means a thicker filter is a good choice for you, however the thicker the filter means it will fill up with filth faster and you will want to change it more often than three months. Check out air filter reviews at Home Air Guides to learn more!

Q: What are the differences in home air filter prices?

A: The home air filter prices usually vary from the thickness of the filter. As previously mentioned the thicker filters will catch more allergens and dander so they will be more expensive. If you have no allergies and no pets you can probably get away with using cheap air filters for your home. The best air filter for your home really depends on who lives in it!

Q: Steps on how to replace your home air filter.

A: Turn off your thermostat and turnoff the furnace. Remove the filter. You may need to remove a cover to get to the filter. *Note which direction the arrow is going when you pull the air filter out, so when you put the new filter in the arrow will go in the same direction as the older filter. The filter arrow is telling you which way the air should flow through the filter

in the furnace. You can use a sharpie to draw an arrow on the furnace so you know which way to put the new filters in for years to come without trying to remember which way the air flows in the furnace. After you put the new filter in, put the furnace air filter cover back on and turn the furnace on. Go to the thermostat and turn it back on as well. There could be a time delay, so you might not hear your furnace turn back on immediately.

Maintenance of Your Furnace

Doing the simple little things like knowing how often you change the air filter in your home furnace will help keep it running in good condition. If you do this simple step routinely it can keep you from having to spend money on costly repairs and replacements of your furnace. It is as simple as knowing how often to replace the air filter in your home and to use the right filter for your home’s needs.