When and How to Change Your Furnace Filter

Maintaining your furnace can help more than you’d think in the months in between furnace service appointments. One of the most basic, and essential, ways to take care of your furnace is in changing your furnace filter. Having a dirty air filter can contribute to a host of unfavorable issues for your heating and cooling system, its efficiency, and ultimately, how much your energy expenses are month after month.

So what goes in to determining when you should replace your furnace filter?

• Type of filter: the two most common filter sizes are 1 inch and 3 inch filters. 1 inch filters usually need to be replaced every month and 3 inch filters should be swapped out every three months, based on the recommendations of the filter manufacturer.
• Home habits: if you have pets in your home, it may make sense to change your filter more often due to pet dander. If you have someone in the house that has allergies or asthma, consider replacing your home’s air filter more regularly to help with their symptoms.

Now you’re possibly wondering how to replace your furnace filter. Inevitably this will vary depending on what furnace you have, but normally: 

• Open or take off the air filter panel near the bottom of your furnace to uncover an open compartment.
• On the top of that open compartment is where you will find your furnace filter resting on two metal brackets.
• There will be a little space to move your filter back and forth that allows you to bring down one end of the filter and take it out of the compartment.
• When adding the new filter, inspect the perimeter of the filter for an arrow that specifies the air flow direction, to be sure you’re installing the filter in the proper direction. In most cases, the arrow should point towards the main part (or top) of the furnace.