Did you know that it is recommended that you change your home’s air filter every 3 months? Air filters are often out of sight and out of mind, so this 3-month recommendation is the maximum replacement period for changing your air filter. If you want to get serious about air quality in your home, we recommend checking your filter at least once a month and changing it as needed. How often you change your filter is ultimately up to you, but we have a few tips and tricks to make it a little easier to remember to change your air filters.
Instead of trying to remember to change your HVAC filter on a month-to-month basis, we here at FiltersFast.com strongly recommend changing your air filter at the beginning of each season.
For instance, March 20, 2019, marks the first day of spring. This serves as a perfect reminder to change your home’s air filter! You can then schedule your air filter maintenance around the other three seasons:
- First Day of Summer: Friday, June 21
- First Day of Fall: Monday, Sept. 23
- First Day of Winter: Saturday, Dec. 21
FiltersFast.com offers a complete line of air filters for your home. Whether you prefer a MERV 8, MERV 11 or MERV 13 air filter, we have exactly what you need to fit your budget and air filtration requirements!
If you’re unfamiliar with MERV ratings, no problem! We’re here to help! MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value. This acronym is a measurement scale designed in 1987 by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) to rate the effectiveness of air filters. A higher MERV rating means cleaner air but reduced air flow.
- MERV 8: These filters capture 80% of airborne particles like pollen, dust mites, mold spores, and pet dander down to 3 microns in size. MERV 8 filters are commonly used in residential homes and apartments
- MERV 11: These air filters capture up to 95% of the above mentioned airborne particles down to 1 micron in size and are also used in homes, apartments and hospitals or laboratories.
- MERV 13: These air filters are excellent for removing bacteria, droplet nuclei (sneeze), cooking oil, most smoke, and insecticide dust, most face powder, and most paint pigments. If you choose a MERV 13 filter expect greatly diminished airflow but improved filtration.
Now that we’ve covered when to replace your air filter and the difference in MERV ratings, let’s move on to the importance of changing your home’s air filter.
- A Dirty Air Filter Can Affect Performance of Your HVAC System: Neglecting to change your HVAC air filter on a routine basis will not only increase your energy bill, but it can also make your furnace and/or air conditioning unit work twice as hard to move air through your home.
- Dirty Air Filters Risk Health Problems: Dust, dander and mold spores can become quite the problem if you do not change your air filters routinely. A clean air filter is better able to trap these contaminants, so you and your family can breathe freely.
- Dirty Air Filters Increase Maintenance Costs: Dirty, clogged air filters can lead to costly maintenance or even worse, it can also cause your system to overheat and possibly burn out. Diligence on your part when it comes to replacing your HVAC air filter will dramatically reduce costly maintenance and/or system failure from possibly happening.
At FiltersFast.com want the best for you and your family, and by changing your home’s air filter on a routine basis, you’ll be pointing your family in the right direction for a more happier and healthier lifestyle.
This blog post is approved by the National Air Filtration Association (NAFA) because it aligns with their mission to educate end-users about the importance of air filtration. To learn more about NAFA, click here.
Blog by David Exum
Katie says
Hi Kay,
Thank you for your feedback. That is a great point. We recommend the 3 month replacement period as a maximum time frame. Depending on air quality and usage the filter may need replacing sooner and as early as one month. I will make sure to bring attention to this suggestion. Have a great week!
kay pickett says
I don’t mean to be rude, but advising people to change their furnace filters every 3 months is inaccurate at best, and dangerous at worst. It;s like telling people to dust or vacuum once every 3 months whether your house needs it or not. The best test is to check it at least monthly to see how dirty it is, especially in the winter for people living in cold climates where the furnace runs constantly.
It’s obviously not as big an issue during warm months when the furnace is not in constant use. People need to pay attention and change it when it needs it, not follow some silly rule about every 3 months or when the seasons change.