Articles and Tips
How to Change Your Furnace Filter
Have you changed your furnace filter lately? Did you even know that your furnace *has* a filter?? Read this tutorial, and see what you've been missing...
Your furnace does have a filter. In fact, some newer models have two filters. Each time the motor starts up, it starts drawing in air to heat (or cool). That air goes through a filter first, to screen out debris that would otherwise get into the motor and damage it.
Your filter works like the screen on a window, trapping the stuff you don't want to get through. Those filters catch all kinds of stuff. Pet hair. People hair. Airborne dust and dirt. The skin flakes that we all shed every day. And some bugs...
All that stuff sticks on your filters, eventually building up until it's hard for the air to get through. (Imagine all the holes in your window screen getting clogged up.) Once the filter is clogged, the motor has to work harder to pull in enough air. That's causes a lot of stress on the motor, and eventually, it will burn out.
Your furnace is design to work with a steady supply of clean air. Once your filters get full, the only thing to do is to change them for new, clean ones. They're not designed to be washed, and new ones are cheap. Besides, the old ones are yucky. They need to go straight in the trash.
To change your furnace's filters, you'll need to get to them. The first step is to TURN OFF THE ELECTRICITY to your furnace. Be safe!
Okay, now you have to get to your filters. If your furnace is in the basement, it'll have a panel (usually near the bottom) that comes off without tools. If your furnace is built into a wall, it may have two panels. DON'T unscrew anything! The access panel you're looking for is meant to come off easily, so that you can change these filters. If you have to use tools, you're probably looking in the wrong area.
If you haven't found a way in while you're reading this, you can try calling your local furnace repair place, telling them your make and model, and asking for directions. Or you could read the manual that came with your furnace, if you still have it.
Once you've found your way inside, look for a set of metal grooves holding a cardboard-framed rectangle. The size will be different for each furnace, but 12-20 inches on one side and 18-30 on the other is a common range. Almost all will be 1 inch thick.
Find that, and slide it out of the metal grooves. (Double check whether there's a second one on the opposite side, so you can get that one too.) Before you throw it away, look for markings on it. That's how you'll know what size to replace it with. It'll have all three dimensions in inches, and look something like this: "14 x 20 x 1".
The replacement filters are in the Home Improvement section of your local WalMart, (near the paint.) You can also find them at building supply stores that sell new furnaces, but you'll pay more there.
You do *not* want to pay extra for 'name brand' filters. Remember you're supposed to be replacing them every three months, and the store brand works exactly the same.
Once you've got the new filters in place, put the access panels back on. Then turn the power back on. Make a note on your calendar to do it again in three months.
Keeping your furnace loaded with clean filters has one of the biggest payoffs in home maintenance. For a dollar or so every few months, you can greatly reduce the stress on your furnace's motor, making it last years longer. And along the way, you'll pay lower energy bills because your furnace isn't working as hard.
Changing your furnace filters on schedule can prevent you from replacing your furnace or needing an expensive repairman. A little preventative maintenance can save you from a costly repair later.
* This article was written by Susan Corbett of Associated Content; follow this link for more of Susan's articles.