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Why should you change your AC air filters regularly?
Why should you change your AC air filters regularly?
As with any system designed to push clean air into a space, be it your car, or your home, the only way to ensure the quality of that clean air is by installing a proper filter for the air to flow through. However, these filters only last a very short time, and must be changed regularly.
Airborne particulars, pet hair and dander, and typical household dust, can clog your filter, making your HVAC unit have to work harder to pull air to be cleaned and redistributed. This can also tax any other components in the HVAC system, causing them to wear out prematurely.
Warning signs your AC filter needs to be changed
Let’s say, hypothetically, you have had an AC installation on your home in Elmhurst, Il. For no explicable reason, the unit is not operating as well as it used to, and it has only been 6 months since it was put in.
What could be the problem?Let’s troubleshoot:
- The unit is getting too hot
- The air isn’t getting very cold
- My electric bill has gotten higher
- My allergies are going nuts
- There is a cake of dust near my vents
This only happens two ways: excessive use, or a clogged filter causing it to work too hard.
A filthy filter will not allow the cold air to return into the home, which leaves you with a unit blowing hot air.
With the increased work the AC unit is having to do to pull air through the dirty filter, it is using more electricity to compensate.
Your filter is designed to suck in allergens, but like anything, once it is full, it spills over, and now your allergens are being circulated through the home.
Just like allergens and pet hair, dust is also caught by the filter. If the filter has been neglected, it will still pull dust, but it will become sticky with moisture and form a muddy bond near your vents.
The common denominator here, and by far the easiest preventative AC maintenance a homeowner can do in their Elmhurst, Il home, is swapping those filters at the appropriate intervals.
Traditionally, air filters need to be changed monthly. Pick a day in the month and attach it to another monthly task so you don’t forget. If you have two filters, change them both. If you are still confused, call the HVAC professionals at 24 Heating & Cooling and get their insight on your air filter questions.
Simple vigilance is the best way to protect your AC unit, and save your money.