Everything You Need To Know Before Buying Furnace Air Filters

Air filters are an important part of the systems they are in, making sure that the air being pumped into your home stays clean. Furnace filters do so for their coming back through return ducts and make sure the blower fans inside stay clean.

Without the air filters you have in place, the air in your home will dip in quality. Lower quality air is not only uncomfortable but also dangerous to people with more sensitive breathing requirements. You’ll need to maintain your furnace filter to make sure they are working properly over time. This sounds easy, but the process can be more complicated than you think.

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What Your Furnace Filter Does

The furnace in your home usually operates by heating up incoming airflow before pushing it back out via blower fan. The heat is determined by your thermostat and the furnace pushes the heated air into your home’s duct system. The furnace filter is there to make sure the air coming through the return ducts do not cover the blower fan. This prevents the recirculation of airborne issues form inside the home like dander and smoke from messing with the system.

Furnace Filter Quality

The quality of a furnace filter is described by its placement on the MERV rating system. The system tells you just how effective the mesh weaving of a filter is at cleaning out incoming airflow. The higher the rating, the better the filter is at trapping the smaller particles coming in or out of a home, like smoke and mites.

But the higher quality also means that the system may have a harder time pushing air through. This could lead to issues where the system becomes strained trying to pushchair through the tight mesh weaving. It’s worse for furnace filters since holding back heated airflow can lead to a dangerous rise in temperatures for the furnace. Be sure to consult your owners manual to make sure your air filters have the proper MERV rating.

Replacing Older Filters

You should also be sure to consistently replace old filters before they can cause these problems. To do so, you are going to need to know the size of the furnace filter you are going to replace. Every filter has a measured length, width, and depth that lets you know their exact dimensions. You can figure out the sizes your replacement filters need by reading the numbers off of your old ones. They will be printed on the cardboard edge, or if this is not an option you can use your furnace systems owner’s manual to read up on the size needed.

When you have your new filters ready, all that remains is taking out the old ones and putting in the new with the arrows pointed in the right direction. If they are of the reusable variety,  then it will need vacuuming and washing before it is dried off and placed back in. Do not try to clean filters that are not labeled for reuse, they become damaged and less effective over time. Be sure to check your furnace filters at least monthly to make sure they are working properly and keeping the heated air coming through cleanly.

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