5 Healthy Reasons to Change Your Furnace Air Filter Today
Are you not sold on the importance of changing out your furnace air filters more frequently? Do you wonder what the actual benefits are of switching it out monthly rather than bi-monthly? If so, then you need to educate yourself on the reasoning for air filter maintenance.
Doing so can stress the importance of having a clean furnace air filter for you and your entire family. It can affect your family’s health, your monthly budget, and so much more.
See below for an in-depth guide highlighting the many reasons that you will want to switch out your furnace air filters far more frequently. Be sure to use them to your advantage.
Table of Contents
1. Lowers Your Energy Bill
Who isn’t interested in saving on their monthly energy bill, right? Odds are that you have a million other places you could apply that money in your monthly budget.
Whether you knew it or not, your lack of switching out your furnace’s air filter is costing you dearly on your monthly energy bill.
An air filter’s primary job, as the name would imply, is to filter out the dust and dirt particles in your home’s air supply. That way, when the heater pumps out the air back into your home (in the form of heated air), your family is breathing in as clean of air as possible.
However, those dust and dirt particles add up quicker than you might imagine. The longer one air filter remains in use, the more it blocks the typical airflow of your HVAC unit.
In order to compensate, your unit has to work twice as hard to pump out the same amount of clean air and keep your house at the desired temperature that you placed on your thermometer.
The harder your unit has to work to pump out air, the more energy they use and the higher the bills will be. By simply switching out the air filter each month, you’ll keep energy bill costs as low as possible.
2. Increases the Life of Your Unit
Your HVAC system is one well-oiled machine. With proper care and maintenance, you can expect it to last anywhere from 15 to 25 years without having to worry about replacing it. You’ll get a full return on your investment.
However, not replacing your furnace air filters frequently enough can land you in a world of hurt. Since the system will have to compensate, it can lead to costly repairs and (eventually) a replacement.
Families that don’t often switch out their air filters experience their systems burning out, which is less than ideal in the middle of the winter. Most expert HVAC services will tell you that a clogged air filter is the number one reason they get calls.
The worst part is that it’s an easy fix. It doesn’t require you to contact a company to have the service performed. The process takes all of 5 seconds and filters themselves can be purchased in bulk for next to nothing.
Think of it this way: you not switching out that air filter, which takes 5 to 10 seconds max, is costing you thousands of dollars in only a few years (if that).
3. Better Air for You and Your Family
Have you and your family already been through a round of sicknesses once or twice each this winter? Have you had trouble breathing inside your own house? If so, then it’s likely that the air filter needs to be switched out.
By switching out the air filter each month, you can ensure your family is getting the best air quality possible. This can decrease the likelihood of sickness and also help regulate the humidity in your house (which can otherwise lead to mold growth).
Your home is filled with dirt and dust particles that, without a clean air filter, can build up in your home rather quickly. This can also lead to the depreciation of your prized items, as dust can lead to electronics failing to turn on, furniture losing its vibrant color, and so on.
4. Cleaner Home
Are you tired of seeing dust gather around your home? Wintertime is notorious for seeing dust gather around your desks, nightstands, beds, TVs, counters, cabinets, and so much more.
Believe it or not, you can alleviate that stress by switching out your furnace air filter on a more frequent basis. The clean filter allows the system to keep air circulating more in your home, not allowing the dust to sit stagnantly.
You can also look forward to dusting your home less often. It’s one less chore that you’ll have to do on a weekly basis!
5. Less HVAC Service Appointments
Nothing against your friendly neighborhood HVAC maintenance service, but you don’t want to call them more than once or twice a year for a checkup.
However, the more you neglect your air filters and HVAC system, the more times you’ll be calling them to make repairs. Many of which can be traced back to you not switching out the filter frequently enough.
You have one job when it comes to your HVAC maintenance: switch out the air filter. As long as you do, you’ll save money on your energy bills, have a healthier living space for your family, and won’t have to schedule HVAC repairs quite as often.
Switch Out Your Furnace Air Filters to Unlock These Benefits
Now that you have seen all of the benefits of switching out furnace air filters more often, be sure to do so in order to provide them for your family.
It’s always helpful to associate switching out your filter with a specific task in order to help you remember. For example, every time you pay your monthly mortgage/rent, make it a habit to switch out the air filter directly afterward.
Be sure to browse our website for more articles on ways to help your HVAC unit work properly, as well as many other helpful topics.