According to a startling survey conducted by insurance comparison site The Zebra, only about one-third of American homeowners change their furnace filters every few months, as recommended by most HVAC companies. Making matters worse, just under one-third admit to never replacing them.
Do you routinely put off replacing yours or choose not ever to replace it for whatever reason? If so, you should work to gain a better understanding of the importance of changing your furnace filter. This will showcase why you should make it your mission to put changing your filter at the top of your furnace maintenance checklist.
Learn when and why you should replace an HVAC system’s air filter below.
What Are the Symptoms of a Dirty Furnace Filter?
HVAC experts generally suggest replacing a furnace filter about once every three months. As long as you do this, it should stay clean enough to filter your home’s air as your heating and cooling system runs.
However, another way to determine when to change a furnace filter is to look for the symptoms of a dirty one. This will help answer the question, “How do you know when your furnace filter needs to be changed?”
Here are the most common symptoms of using your HVAC system with a dirty filter:
- Poor indoor air quality due to allergens and other contaminants
- Reduced airflow and HVAC system performance
- A lack of energy efficiency, resulting in higher energy bills than usual
If it is too dirty, your furnace might even begin to overheat or short cycle. This alone highlights the importance of changing your furnace filter regularly to prevent these potential problems.
Why Is It Important To Change Your Furnace Filter?
Routinely changing your home’s furnace filter will help you avoid the symptoms we just mentioned, but it will also take things further. When you make replacing it a top priority, you will enjoy many benefits.
Installing a clean filter will effectively remove allergens and other contaminants from your home’s air, resulting in a noticeable allergen and dust reduction. Thus, you won’t have to worry about poor indoor air quality impacting you and your family anymore.
The improvements don’t stop there, either. Here are several other benefits you stand to enjoy when you take the importance of changing your furnace filter seriously:
- It improves your HVAC lifespan
- It makes other HVAC maintenance tasks more manageable
- It prevents unnecessary HVAC repairs
Additionally, replacing it will improve your home’s comfort levels. You can heat and cool it more efficiently throughout the year without constantly running your system.
What Happens If I Don’t Change My Furnace Filter?
If you don’t embrace the importance of changing your furnace filter, your HVAC system might continue running without showing any signs of trouble for a while. But eventually, a dirty filter will negatively impact your home, and in some cases, you might not have the chance to reverse its effects.
Outside of dragging down your indoor air quality, sending your energy bills skyrocketing, and making it more challenging to heat and cool your home, it will also take a toll on your HVAC system. Here are a few ways in which it will hurt your system as you move forward:
- Causes dirt and other debris to build up within your system and line the interior of your ductwork
- Allows dust to coat your system’s blower motor, possibly leading it to fail long before it should
- Restricts airflow within your system and possibly leads to a premature HVAC system failure
Investing in and installing a new filter every few months is a small price to pay to avoid these issues. Additionally, it could save you quite a bit on premature repairs and replacements within your system. Furnace filter replacement is typically included in the cost of annual maintenance services. Call our team today to learn more!
Need Help Maintaining Your HVAC System? Call Us for Heating and Cooling Services
The importance of changing your furnace filter cannot be overstated. If you aren’t replacing it at least every three months — and sometimes sooner, depending on how dirty it gets — you could do a massive disservice to your HVAC system.
You should also make it a point to maintain all other aspects of your system. Paragon Heating and Home Comfort Solutions can provide your home’s system with the professional HVAC maintenance services it needs. We also offer HVAC installation and repair services.
Contact us at (425) 312-6341 to get a quote.