When and How to Change Your Furnace Filter

Caring for your furnace can help more than you’d think in the months in between furnace service appointments. One of the simplest, and critical, ways to care for your furnace is by switching out your furnace filter. Having a filthy air filter may contribute to a number of unfavorable issues for your heating and cooling system, its efficiency, and ultimately, how much your energy expenses are 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 normally need to be changed every month and 3 inch filters need to be replaced every three months, dependent on the recommendations of the filter manufacturer.
• Home habits: if you have pets in your home, it might make sense to change your filter more often due to pet dander. If you have someone in the house that suffers from allergies or asthma, think about replacing your home’s air filter more often to help with their symptoms.

Now you’re possibly wondering how to swap out your furnace filter. Inevitably this will differ depending on what furnace you have, but usually: 

• 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 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, look at 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.