Replacing your HVAC filter is a common chore for homeowners. It’s one of the few easy home DIY jobs that most people can do, yet many forget to change their filters regularly.
Today’s blog post explains why clean air filters are important and can help you determine how often to change your home’s air filter.
The Challenge
Outdoor air quality may fluctuate unpredictably, depending on where you live. It can change during the day and the season and be affected by nearby manufacturing, farming, and traffic.
Designing a system for the average home that cleans the air perfectly is impossible. However, you can make indoor air safer and reduce harmful contaminants by simply keeping fresh filters in your HVAC system.
To avoid wasting money and maintain healthy conditions, it is important to know when to change your home’s air filter. How often you need to do this depends on many factors, beginning with the filter itself.
Typical Air Filters
Thickness, type, material, and construction are factors in determining how often you should replace your home air filters.
Thickness – Thicker filters can last longer.
Type – While most residential buildings use MERV-rated filters, some may use HEPA filters.
Always change HEPA filters on schedule. Allowing a HEPA filter to remain unchanged can be detrimental to its operation and create dangerous conditions.
Material & Construction – Spun fiberglass filters tend to clog the fastest. Pleated air filters made of paper, cardboard, or sustainable materials are typically more efficient and last longer.
Outdoor Air Quality
Outdoor air quality is a major factor that affects how often you need to change your home’s air filters. Some regions are worse than others, but no neighborhood is safe from pollution.
- Pollen and mold may afflict homes surrounded by trees, forests, and wetlands.
- Dust may bedevil homes in deserts, dry areas, and farming neighborhoods.
- Cement dust, pesticides, fertilizers, and other contaminants can be found in the air in agricultural zones.
- Internal combustion engines generate particulate pollution.
Resident Considerations
The health of occupants should be your primary concern when determining how often to change or replace the air filters in your home. You should look for the following signs that may indicate your air filter is breaking down.
- Excessive dust buildup around vents
- Increased energy bill
- Reduced airflow
- Strange odors
- A sudden rise in itchy eyes, runny noses, and allergy symptoms
If you suspect a health-related issue, put a fresh air filter in your system immediately regardless of any replacement schedule you have in mind.
How Often to Change Fiberglass Home Air Filters
A general schedule for homeowners using fiberglass MERV-rated air filters includes a filter change once a month for filters that are 1-3 inches thick. A 4-6 inch thick filter may last 180 days or more, depending on the manufacturer.
Typical fiberglass filters tend to fill with dirt faster than pleated filters. This gives fiberglass filters a reduced lifespan when they are exposed to heavy dust and particulate pollution. Poor outdoor air quality can significantly increase how often you should replace your fiberglass home air filter.
How Often to Change Pleated Home Air Filters
Pleated HVAC filters have an efficient design that guides air through channels that comb out dust and dirt. They are less prone to blocking airflow, which can make them safer in your HVAC system. This design gives them a longer useful life than your average fiberglass filter.
A typical MERV 8 1-2 inch pleated filter may last as long as 90 days or more. 3-inch pleated filters may last up to 9 months, and 4-inch pleated filters may last up to a year under normal conditions, depending on the manufacturer.
Just like fiberglass filters, outdoor air quality can affect how often you have to change pleated home air filters. They lose efficiency over time, so you will need to change them more frequently if they are exposed to high concentrations of pollutants.
Do Higher MERV Ratings Change Things?
MERV ratings may affect how often you should replace your home air filter, but not always.
Air filters begin degrading the moment you start using them. They don’t fail all at once; instead, they suffer a gradual loss of efficiency. A MERV 13-rated filter, after being used for several months, may match MERV 12 performance, then MERV 11, and so on. In some homes, this could be dangerous to residents who may depend on the cleanest air possible.
Trying to maintain a high MERV rating with poor outdoor air quality can significantly increase how often you need to change your home air filters.
Protecting Each Breath
Outdoor air quality can change unpredictably. While it’s not possible to tell you exactly how often you should replace your home HVAC air filters, FilterSwift is always ready to help. Our filters are compatible with a wide range of heating and cooling systems, and we never run out of stock. If you are wondering if our filters will work in your system or you are having a hard time deciding which filter to buy, contact our friendly customer support.
Shipping is always fast and free at FilterSwift, no matter how often you want to change your home HVAC air filters, and first-time buyers get a 10% discount coupon. Save even more, up to 65%, when you buy multiple filters.
Don’t wait until you see dust in the air. Order a new air filter today!