Photo By slobo at istock

You need to take care of your HVAC system if you want it to routinely keep your home at a comfortable temperature. There’s nothing better than having heating and cooling when you really need it. However, your heating and cooling tends to fail a lot quicker if you don’t have a good air filter in there. Not replacing your air filter means an almost guaranteed call to a heating and air conditioning repair company, which means more money spent. Here’s what you need to know about the air filter in your HVAC system and how you can keep it clean.

What Do Air Filters Do?

Your HVAC system has to run air from wherever your furnace and AC are located to wherever you need warm or cool air in your home. Those ducts tend to get dirty over time, and that dirt and dust gets carried in the air that goes into your home. The only thing that stops that from happening is the air filter, which traps contaminants to help improve indoor air quality.

Every heating and air conditioning repair specialist will tell you that replacing your air filter regularly is one of the most important things you can do. Having good indoor air quality is a good enough reason to replace your filter every once in a while, but it’s not the only one. Your air filter also plays a big role in how well air flows through your HVAC system, helping to keep everything in working order. This is why replacing your air filter is such an important part of avoiding expensive heating and air conditioning repair bills.

Dirty Air Filter Problems

If you don’t replace your air filter on a regular basis, there are numerous problems you might have to deal with. For best results, you should have your air filter replaced at least every time you have a heating and air conditioning repair company do seasonal maintenance.

The biggest problem with a dirty air filter is that it impedes airflow in your HVAC system. A lack of airflow greatly affects the way your HVAC system works and can even cause it to stop blowing warm or cool air when it should. The best case scenario is that your heating and cooling keep working but are simply overworked due to a lack of airflow, which means more frequent repairs.

Another thing you have to think about with a dirty air filter is how it’s affecting indoor air quality. Air filters are designed to keep contaminants out of your home, and dirty air filters aren’t as effective when it comes to that. While a dirty air filter isn’t likely to cause any severe health problems, it could exacerbate problems in people who already have a respiratory issue like asthma.

Air Filter Replacement

The only way to make sure the air filter in your Arlington, TX, home is clean is to replace it on a regular basis. The good news is, replacing an air filter takes just a few minutes and doesn’t cost a lot of money. You can even have your air filter replaced when you have seasonal maintenance done in the fall and spring.

You should replace the air filter in your home at least twice a year if you want to minimize your heating and air conditioning repair bill. This ensures your system is always getting proper airflow and keeps the air in your home clean. However, this is simply a minimum recommendation. Since your air filter has to remove contaminants from the air, air filters in homes with pets or lots of people have to work harder. Depending on how many people you’ve got living in your household and how many pets you’ve got, you might want to replace your air filter as often as once every month or two.

As far as compatibility goes, a heating and air conditioning specialist can help you find a filter that fits your system. As long as you have professional help, finding a good air filter for your HVAC system is easy.

MERV Ratings

One of the most important things you need to understand about air filters is what a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) rating is. Every air filter has a MERV rating, so understanding them is a big part of choosing the right one. The MERV rating of an air filter describes how well it removes contaminants from the air. More specifically, it tells you how small of particles a particular filter can remove. The higher the MERV rating, the better the filter and the less you have to worry about heating and air conditioning repairs.

Most heating and air conditioning repair companies will recommend a filter with a MERV rating of at least 3, although you’ll get better indoor air quality the higher you go. Other common residential air filter MERV ratings include 7 and 12. Ultimately, you have to consider all the contaminants that need to be filtered out of your home. If you have a lot of pets or your home seems to attract a lot of dust, you might want to invest in an air filter with a higher MERV rating.

Creating a Schedule

If you don’t want to spend a bunch of money on heating and air conditioning repairs, you need to make sure you’re changing your air filter. The best thing you can do is talk with a heating and cooling company about how often you should change your air filter and create a schedule based on that.

At Minuteman Heating and Air of Arlington, TX, we know everything there is to know about air filters. If you’re looking for help choosing an air filter, help installing one or general heating and air conditioning repair services, we’re the guys to call. Whenever you need an HVAC problem solved, call Minuteman Heating and Air at (817) 284-2569.