Change Your Air Filter

Change Your Air Filter

How Often Should You Change Your Air Filter?

Fall is a difficult season for allergy sufferers. The ragweed pollen in the air is a major trigger of seasonal allergies. Besides allergy medication, one way to help combat the sneezing and itchy eyes is by changing your air filter. Changing air filters more often can improve air quality and help alleviate allergy sufferers' symptoms. In addition to being better for you, changing the air filter regularly is good for your HVAC system. The air filter in your HVAC unit helps remove the majority of particles from the air, resulting in not only better indoor air quality, but also increased efficiency of your entire system. Additionally, it can contribute to the longevity of your system and lessen the need for repairs over time. The air filter plays an important role, so it’s essential that it remains clean so it can do its job properly. Which begs the question: how often do you really need to change your HVAC system’s air filter?

 

The answer is that frequency varies from household to household, but here are some factors that affect how often you should change your filter:

Factors to Consider

Overall usage 


The timeline for changing your air filter correlates directly to how often your HVAC system is used. If you have a vacation home used only a few times per year, the filter would only need to be changed once a year. For a typical family home, the filter should be replaced every 90 days (or three months) at a minimum. During the warmer months of the year when your air conditioner is used often, it’s recommended to replace the air filter on a monthly basis. 

People and pets


Your home’s overall air quality is affected by the number of people and pets living in your home. The more people and pets you have, the more frequently you’ll need to replace your air filter. Pets bring dirt and dust from the outdoors indoors as well as add their dander to the air, all of which negatively impact indoor air quality. In general, change your filter every 60 days. More pets mean your air filter is working that much harder to clean the air, in which case your filter should be changed monthly. 


Allergies


If you or anyone in your household suffers from allergies, your air filters should be changed every 30-45 days. A clean filter will better remove allergens, including mold and dust, alleviating the symptoms and allowing the allergy-sufferer to breathe more easily.

 

Type of filter 


There are many high-efficiency air filters on the market which trap more air particles and allergens and have a longer lifespan than traditional filters. Check the manufacturer’s suggestion for filter replacement, and adjust based on that as well as the above reference factors. 

 

If you have more questions about air filter replacement or how to replace your filter, the HVAC experts at Hubbard Heating & Plumbing can help. Hubbard Heating & Plumbing provides the highest quality engineering, installation, and service in plumbing, heating, and air conditioning and to meet the needs of our residential and commercial customers. Contact us today!

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