When and How to Change Your Furnace Filter

Maintaining your furnace can help quite a bit in the period in between furnace service appointments. One of the most basic, and crucial, ways to take care of your furnace lies in changing your furnace filter. Having a filthy air filter could contribute to a number of negative concerns for your heating and cooling system, its efficiency, and ultimately, how much you’re spending on your energy bills every month.

So what goes in to determining 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 typically need to be changed every month and 3 inch filters need to be swapped out every three months, depending on the recommendations of the filter manufacturer.
• Home habits: if you have pets in your home, it may make sense to replace your filter more often due to pet dander. If a family member suffers from allergies or asthma, think about switching out your home’s air filter more regularly to help ease their symptoms.

Now you’re possibly wondering how to swap out your furnace filter. More than likely, this will vary depending on what furnace you have, but typically: 

• Open or take off the air filter panel near the bottom of your furnace to expose an open compartment.
• On the top of that open compartment is where you’ll see your furnace filter resting on two metal brackets.
• There will be a small amount of space to move your filter back and forth that allows you to remove one end of the filter and pull it out of the compartment.
• When adding the new filter, inspect the perimeter of the filter for an arrow that shows you the air flow direction, to make sure you’re installing the filter in the correct direction. In most cases, the arrow should point at the main part (or top) of the furnace.