Summer has arrived here in Maryland and we have had numerous days above 100 degrees this summer. My frugal self is often at war with my melting self as I try to keep the house as comfortable as possible without paying my life savings to the electric company.
The air conditioner repairman told me that I should be changing our air conditioning filters once a month. I wasn’t sure if this was true, so I did some research on the internet and found that everyone has a different opinion, but a lot of people advised to change the filters once a month.
According to the Consumer Reports website:
Dirty, clogged filters increase an air conditioner’s energy use. Vacuum dust and debris from inside a window unit before you install it. Clean the filter on window and central air conditioners monthly or as needed by vacuuming and washing. Some filters need to be replaced. Clear debris from outside louvers and coils. Keep plantings at least 2 feet from the condenser.
I try to vacuum my vents every so often, but two of them are pretty high so I have to stand on a ladder with the vacuum – not fun. My repair guy said a good way to remember to change your filters is to change them when you pay your bill each month.
After getting our bill last week I was excited to find a coupon for $2 off 3M filter’s in the Red Plum insert. I checked and these are available to print online as well.
Do you change your filter every month? Do you think it makes a difference?
We try to remember to change our filter monthly, but in all honesty it usually gets done quarterly. I don’t know if it makes the A/C run more efficiently (I hope it’s true, but I’ve never heard it!), but I do feel like it cuts down on the dust in our house. Or at least that’s what I tell myself ; ) Our house is so darn dusty and keeping the filter changed makes me feel like I’m helping the situation.
We change our filter every 4-6 months but try to clean in between. I think it does make a difference though. I think it’s more important in the summer time. If you have central heat and air, it’s also important to keep the grass cut away from your outside unit. They typically pull air in at the bottom, so they will use more energy if there is debris in the way.
Very true! We have a heating and air conditioning business.
Changing your filters every month is the best preventive maintenance you can do! Running your system with a clogged filter can seize your system and ruin it the same way that running your car without oil can seize your transmission.
If your filter is dirty and goes unattended it will cause restrictions to your coils. Coils are costly to clean! If it goes on long enough, like I said, it will destroy your system.
Mark it on your calendar and change them every month. Great advice!
Yes, you absolutely need to change your filter once a month…..especially if you have a bunch of children and pets! The amount of activity in your house affects how much dirt gets sucked into your intake. A dirty filter makes your a/c run a lot harder, lowers performance, and raises your bill. It will wear your unit out! My a/c repairman was here last week to fix my “broken” system and he told me the above. I didn’t think it could be my filter because I had just changed it less than 60 days earlier. Even my expensive thermostat told me it wasn’t time to change the filter. It was FILTHY. Summertime is here and so are all of the neighborhood kids and the dirt they bring with them! I will be changing my filter every month now:)
We have a washable kind, which has saved a lot of money and seemed to work as well as the other kinds. It was about $30 and has lasted us several years so far (knock on wood). We wash it each month (I have a reminder in my phone on the calendar feature–which I love!) and vaccuum the vent area around the filter when it seems to need it–every few months!
Yes, definitely change your filters. We have the 3-4 months type which I replace every 3 months instead of 4 especially in the summer months. Make sure it’s absolutely the EXACT size for your unit or you’ll end up having to have the inside motor cleaned which is quite expensive. Our filters are an unusual size so unfortunately, we can’t buy them at Lowe’s or Home Depot, but it’s one of those necessities. The A/C guy said that even 1/2 inch gap will get it clogged and you won’t even notice the cooling difference (but your bill will be higher).
We buy the really high number kind as far as particles are concerned -that is what the Lowe’s coupons are for, not the cheapy ones, and change it every 3mths. But we also keep an eye on it in case it gets too dirty before then. If I was buying the really cheap ones, I would change monthly. We have allergy sufferers in our house so we watch it closely.
Yes, we change our filter monthly. To be honest I’m not so sure it really matters this summer here in Florida it’s so hot! I will let my husband know that he could use the monthly electric bill for a reminder. I’m so ready to move north where there are seasons
I just cleaned out our room a/c not too long ago cause I noticed it wasn’t cooling off as well and as fast as it use to..and I knew it needed to be done cause we’ve been using it a lot lately with all the humidity to keep the house cool. Cleaned it out and then it worked like charm. It was pretty dirty. lol.
Yes & Yes. Your air vent is how the entire system is able to “breath”. It’s taking a huge breath in and letting nice cold air out…but when the filter accumulates a build-up of dust & dirt, it can no longer take as deep of a “breath” in and therefor it’s working allot harder to get and keep your house at your desired temperature setting. No the mention the re-circulation of dust…yuck!
Here’s a link to the national air filtration association and some facts on filter changing – http://www.nafahq.org/LibaryFiles/Articles/Article003.htm – basically – says get a quality, pleated filter (not the cheapies), we use MERV 8 and change it regularly.
I am a HVAC tech and I tell people all the time the most important part of maintaining an air conditioner or heater is to change the filter regularly. The reason people disagree is that it varies widely depending on the amount of dust and other particles in your house. You just need to visually inspect the filter to see if it needs to be cleaned. Also use a high quality filter and not one of those cheap ones that you get from the supermarket. For every dollar you save you are losing twenty in efficiency and damage to your unit buy buying a cheap filter. Also have professional maintenance done once a year. That will help lower your bills. Nice article.
We know that changing the filter at least every few months does make a difference in our house but we would always forget.
We were pleased to find http://primetimefilters.com/ and we signed up for automatic shipments every few months. The filter comes to our doorstep!
We have three children (three and under) and two dogs (we live in the inner-city with a small patio “yard,” so the German shepherd and the Westie are now inside pets).
During the hottest months and the coldest months when our air/heat is running all the time, the filters get dirty pretty quickly. Our system is pretty old, so I think the ductwork needs to be serviced or cleaned somehow. The newer home we lived in for three years did not require filter changes so frequently (but that was also before kids and our dogs were outside then).
I actually start having allergy problems if I don’t change the filter. I’m assuming that’s a result of the combination of the age of our system and the pet dander. So yes, I’m a big believer in changing the filter for health reasons, in addition to the energy efficiency reasons!
Yes… definately change your filter regularly! When we were younger and purchased our first home we never knew to change the filter… 8 months went by in the Georgia heat (it hardly ever gets cold in Augusta/Atlanta) and we accured an expensive repair bill – the lennox repair man smiled as he gave us his bill and said, “if only you had known to change the air filter!” I wasn’t laughing writing the check…
This is interesting. I just found out how to clean my filters. We rent, and the A/C guys are supposed to come around to service the units every few months, but they have never told me anything about changing the filters. (We aren’t in the US and our A/C units are different from the regular window units in the States. I like them better, actually.) Last time the service people came, they showed me how to take it out and I vacuumed it with my Dyson. The A/C units start smelling after awhile and I am sure this is why — because they weren’t being cleaned properly.
Filters on ducted systems for air conditioning and/or heating should always be changed on a monthly basis. Obviously in systems where no filter rack has been installed that is reachable by a homeowner easily this may be impossible. In addition, annual service should be performed by your local air conditioning professionals. We service many hundreds of our air conditioning and heating customers in New Jersey regularly. You’ll extend the life of your HVAC systems with regular maintenance.