Have You Checked Your Furnace Filter Recently?As inconsequential as it may seem, the furnace filter holds the key to your heating system’s dependable performance and energy efficiency, and your health and comfort. The filter traps many of the airborne particles that would otherwise cover the components inside the furnace and the ductwork. Keeping the filter clean requires a small investment in time and money, with a substantial payoff.

When your heating system runs full-time, it’s a good idea to check it monthly and replace it when you can see a layer of dust covering it. During lighter use, check it once every three months. A dirty filter slows the airflow going through it and it will take the furnace longer to heat your home, increasing energy bills, along with these preventable problems:

  • Airborne particulates can enter the blower compartment and coat the blower motor, the electronic components, and the heat exchanger. This coating of dust harms all these parts because it acts as insulation and they retain heat longer, which wears them faster. Over time, a dirty heat exchanger can develop stress fractures due to overheating.Unless your furnace is under warranty, it’s almost always less expensive to replace it than repair it. Cracks in the heat exchanger may emit deadly carbon monoxide into your home’s air, making the repair or replacement mandatory.
  • The furnace’s high limit safety switch will turn the system off when the airflow through the furnace falls too far and too much heat builds inside the compartment. Until the components cool off, your home won’t have heat.
  • Excessive dust from the furnace filter will enter your home’s air supply. Household dust is a mixture of lint, dead skin cells, pet dander, pollen and mold spores. As the filter clogs, the particles enter the ductwork and circulate through your home’s air, reducing indoor air quality. Allergic and asthmatic symptoms may become worse when a filter change is overdue.

The experts at Stack Heating & Cooling can help you with your furnace and furnace filter. We’ve provided top-notch HVAC services for greater Cleveland homeowners since 1976.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Cleveland, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).

Credit/Copyright Attribution: “ulegundo/Shutterstock”

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