Hey there Do-It-Yourselfers! After two months of articles on ladder safety and maintenance, I hope your ladders and attic pull-down ladders are now replaced or in better shape, and you’ve been more mindful when you get on a ladder of any kind.
Let’s change the subject dramatically to one of the simplest easiest things to do that is so necessary to be done in every home with central air conditioning! CHANGE THE FILTERS! In most cases, this is something that extremely easy for any man or woman to do. We’ll talk about the more difficult cases, and ladder safety will be important for these conditions. Some homes have only one air filter and others have multiple filters and different sizes.
Every homeowner (or even if you rent a house or apartment, you’re responsible for the air filter) needs to know the number and size of the air filters needed and where the air returns to the air conditioning system are located. In the interior of the home, you’ll find them in walls or ceilings in hallways, stairways, bedrooms, kitchens, or they could be in most any room of the house. Some homes have a large 4” or 5” media filter cabinet installed with the unit and the air returns in the house would not need to be filtered. If you have some questions about this, ask your HVAC technician.
Every homeowner needs to know how frequently the filters need to be changed. The location of the air returns, lifestyle, and interior conditions influence how often you’ll need to change your filters. Every home is different. For example, a home with a lot of plush carpet and several pets that shed lots of hair will need to have the filters changed more often than a home with all hard flooring and no pets. 1” air filters installed in the interior of the home generally need to be changed more often than 4” or 5” media filters which are installed with the furnace and evaporator core equipment in an attic or mechanical closet.
In the past month of inspections, I have inspected a home in which the filters had not been changed since the home had been built seven years ago, inspected several homes where the filters were so dirty that the systems were starving for air, and a couple of homes where the filters were so dirty and deteriorated that they had come apart in the air return chase. I removed the filthy dirty bent air filter in a condo and the increased air flow allowed the two-bedroom unit to get five degrees cooler very quickly. In yet another home, I found a very dirty folding chair and a dead mouse inside the air return grille.
My recommendation for changing filters is to buy a supply of filters for all the air returns in your home and then change the filters regularly. I have three different size filters installed in my 2,010 square foot home, and I order my filters online to keep a supply on hand so that I change the first of every quarter. If you wait to buy the filter(s) needed every time you need to change them, you will likely not do it as regularly. Changing filters is part of good home maintenance and an important part of keeping your HVAC system operating properly, efficiently, and longer. That’s right, changing your air filters will help you get more years of operational life out of your system. Dirty, deteriorated, or no air filters at all allow dust and dirt to accumulate in the evaporator core and duct work and put more strain on the blower system.
Some homes have extremely high ceilings with air return grilles that have 1” filters. While these can be difficult and inconvenient to change, they still need to be changed. Be careful when on a ladder changing filters in high ceilings or other more difficult locations, such as the ceiling in a stairway. And by the way, for air grilles that are installed on a vertical wall, don’t put a piece of furniture in front of an air filter grille … it needs space for the air to enter the air return chase.
For cleaner air and more efficient and proper operating air conditioning in your home, change your filters my friends!
