For optimal air quality and efficiency, it's important to replace your furnace filter regularly. But how often should you do it? Generally, most air filter manufacturers and HVAC companies recommend changing the air filter every 90 days or 3 months. However, this may vary depending on the location of your home, if you have pets, and the age of your system and equipment. If you have pets at home, you should consider changing the filter every 60 days or 2 months, and in the case of households with several pets or people with allergies or respiratory conditions, we recommend that you change the filter every 20 to 45 days.
Vacation homes or empty houses that aren't used much can wait to change filters every 9 to 12 months. The general consensus is that the more you use your home, the more you'll need to change your air filter. The thickness of the filter you have placed also affects how often you need to replace it. Thinner filters, such as the traditional disposable model (1 inch thick), should be replaced at least every two months.
Thicker filters are designed to be more efficient because the thicker the material, the more debris it can filter through your home's air ducts. Even coarse-grained filters should be replaced every 6 to 12 months. If you answer yes to any of the following questions, you'll want to replace the filter more often than recommended: Do windows and doors open frequently? Is it wintertime? Are you using your home more than usual? The oven filter is used to clean the air of contaminants and dust just before air enters the oven system. The oven power switch is usually placed close to the oven itself and looks like a normal light switch.
The boiler owner's manual will specify the best MERV rating for your furnace and, in general, filters with a MERV rating of 6 to 9 should be changed every 90 days, while those with a MERV rating of 10 to 12 should be changed every 60 days. Because filters with higher MERV values are denser, your oven must work harder to suck air through them, and not all ovens are powerful enough to do so. To keep air quality under control and your home clean, it's important to replace your furnace filter regularly. For 3- to 4-inch filters, replace them every 6 to 9 months. For 5- to 6-inch filters, replace them every 9 to 12 months.
In most cases, you should change the filter at least every three months, even in summer. If you can't remember to do it, a good rule of thumb is to change the boiler filter every time the seasons change.
