When it comes to keeping your home's air clean and healthy, one of the most important things you can do is to regularly change your air filter. But how often should you do this? It depends on a few factors, such as the type of filter you have, the location of your home, and whether or not you have pets. A pleated air filter should be replaced every 30-60 days. A 2-fold air filter should be changed every 3 months.
A 3-fold air filter should be changed every 120 days. A 4-fold air filter should be changed every 6 months. In general, most air filter manufacturers and HVAC companies recommend changing the air filter every 90 days or 3 months. This may change depending on the location of your home (e.g., dry and dusty climates), if you have pets, and the age of your system and equipment.
If you have pets in the house, you should consider changing the filter every 60 days or 2 months, and for households with multiple pets or people with allergies or respiratory conditions, we recommend changing the filter every 20 to 45 days. Vacation homes or vacant homes that don't have much use can usually wait to change filters every 9-12 months. The general rule of thumb is that the more you use your home, the more often you need to change the air filter. As the filter traps more dirt, dust and allergens from the air, its efficiency decreases. If you wait too long to change the filter, indoor air quality will suffer.
Using an air filter with a MERV rating higher than recommended by the manufacturer of your oven or air conditioner may impair its performance. An HVAC filter will only last one to three months on average. That means you need to keep track of the date you installed them. If you allow dandruff, dust, and other contaminants to build up in your air filter and reach your home, it can hurt you. Air filters help clean the air in a heating and air conditioning system by removing unwanted debris. During a remodeling project, change the oven filter every 30 days, or even more often, to prevent construction-related dust from circulating around the home.
All the air that circulates through your HVAC system, whether for heating or cooling your home, will eventually pass through the air filter. One of the most important things you can do on your own to take good care of your HVAC system is to simply change your air filter on a regular basis. The fewer occupants there are in a house, the less pollutants and debris will accumulate in its air filters. Changing the air filter will help keep the parts of the air conditioner clean and prevent wear and tear. Estimating how often an air filter should be changed can be difficult due to the many different variables at play. If your furniture fills with dust soon after cleaning the house, the oven filter could become clogged and no longer effectively remove dust from the air. If you use air filters in this category, your HVAC system has to do extra work to circulate cool air in your home.
These air filters act as barriers to prevent contaminants from entering the HVAC system or circulating in the air. It involves loosening the screws that hold the filter cover in place if it is located behind a return air vent, or simply pulling the filter out of a slot if it is on the side of the oven. More cycles mean more filter passes and opportunities to trap contaminants, so filters typically fill faster during periods of heavy use. If you live in a “smaller house”, your air conditioners and ovens need to pump less air for the same amount of temperature change, which could mean fewer filter changes. For most people, however, determining what type of replacement they should get is often difficult.
