When and How to Change Your Furnace Filter

Caring for your furnace can help quite a bit in the period in between furnace service appointments. One of the easiest, and crucial, ways to take care of your furnace is in changing your furnace filter. Having a filthy air filter can contribute to a host of unfavorable problems for your heating and cooling system, its efficiency, and ultimately, how much you’re spending on your energy bills month after 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 switched out every month and 3 inch filters ought to be changed every three months, dependent on the recommendations of the filter manufacturer.
• Home habits: if you have pets in your home, it could make sense to change your filter more often as a result of pet dander. If a family member suffers from allergies or asthma, consider replacing your home’s air filter more regularly to help with their symptoms.

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

• Open or remove the air filter panel around the bottom of your furnace to reveal an open compartment.
• On the top of that open compartment is where your furnace filter is resting on two metal supports.
• There will be a small amount of space to move your filter back and forth that allows you to pull down one end of the filter and pull it out of the compartment.
• When putting in the new filter, inspect the perimeter of the filter for an arrow that shows you the air flow direction, to ensure you’re installing the filter in the correct direction. In nearly all cases, the arrow should point towards the main part (or top) of the furnace.