I could never remember for sure when I changed my A/C furnace filter, so now I write the date I need to replace it on the filter with a permanent marker. Works great! No more trying to remember!
By Barbara from Columbia, KY
This page contains the following solutions.
Save on heating/cooling costs by maintaining your air filter. A heating system repairman told me to use the cheapest, blue filter, and to change it at least monthly or when soiled.
To save on your electric bill and to make your air conditioner compressor last longer, keep your furnace filters clean. We put a post-it note on the furnace door with the date we last cleaned them. By Terri H.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I'm hoping someone can settle a dispute between my husband and I. I really just want him to see it in print, then maybe it'll sink in. How often does everyone change their furnace filter during the winter months? He changes ours twice a year and really honestly believes that it is often enough. I say it should be every month during November to April. What do you think? I'll show him all responses.
Get the cleanable, reusable kind and hose them off thoroughly once a month. Reuse & recycle whenever possible.
I know this "question" is fairly old but, I subscribe to Consumer Reports and there was a small article in the Dec/07 addition that had ratings for furnace filters. In "their" ratings, they listed the cheapy filters, do next to nothing for filtering. The reusuable filters, (pricey) clean even less than the cheapies. In their tests, the best cleaning filter is made by 3M. It filters extremely well and doesn't restrict airflow (In their words) I loaned my Dad that magazine, so I'm sorry that I don't know the exact name of that 3M filter.
Did a bunch of research online and monthly is the consensus. I have a HVAC system and I use the Flanders PrecisionAire 14x30x1 filters. A case of 12 covers you for the year and it's $20.00 at Ace Hardware online. Delivered to your door!! That's a small price to pay for cleaner & healthier air in your home, especially if you have kids like me.
It really depends on the type of filter you are using. Some should be changed once a month while others should be changed once every three months. There are also a variety of air filters out there including: HEPA, Ionic, Carbon and UV Light. For more information, check out this article:
www.allstate.com/
Keep in mind: It is a complete myth that when a partially clogged filter begins to slow down the airflow, the fan will "work harder to try to maintain airflow". Fans don't try to maintain airflow. They have no will. In the real world, squirrel cage fans actually work harder when they are moving air freely. If you completely block the airflow, the fan will spin faster because it's easier to just spin the air around in its chamber than to move large quantities of air. It doesn't spin faster because it's "trying harder". There are good reasons to change filters, but saving electrical energy from fan use is simply not one of them.
I live in a mobile home and have a Coleman heat and air unit; it is all electric. My home is very dusty, yet every time I change the filter there's not a speck of dust on it.
By Pamela
Your furnace filter will only catch dust that is easily airborne. Most dust is too heavy to make it up to a furnace filter and just settles on the floor, furniture, etc. Your couch and upholstered chairs become very dusty as people often do not realize their couches, beds, etc., are huge dust collectors.
I don't think your fan is working properly. Is it heating well? My filters are always covered with dust, and the fan itself will get clogged with it. Turn your furnace off and check to see if the fan is clogged.
I don't know how to change my furnace filter. What do I do?
By SHARON from Cudahy, WI
Check out the following website, use their search box at the top.
There's a 'door' on one of the sides of the furnace itself. Open that and you'll easily be able to figure out how to slide the filter out.
My furnace filter is between the furnace and the humidifier. The filter is installed upright. Should the arrow point to the furnace or to the humidifier? I don't know where the furnace blower is.
By Jean H.
The arrow goes in the direction of the air flow.
Keeping your furnace filter clean and replacing it as needed will increase the efficiency of your furnace. This is a page about "How often should you change your furnace filter?".
Ever wonder when the last time you changed your HVAC filters was? Using a bright colored index card, I write the years, with corresponding months, leaving room for my date I changed the filters for the next three years.
