How To Change Furnace Air Filter

Do you know how to change your abode air filter?

Changing a furnace filter is perhaps the quickest and easiest way to maximize the efficiency of your heating system—and to help purify your habitation's air. Doing and so is easier than you think.

The procedure should take all of five or 10 minutes. Probable the most-time consuming part of this projection will be finding what size filter you need, and running to the store to purchase a replacement.

Essentially, you are just swapping out the onetime filter with a new replacement. One time you lot accept the replacement filter, all you demand to do is go through these half-dozen unproblematic steps:

Turn off your furnace
Observe and locate your furnace filter
Determine the size of your filter
Remove the existing (old) filter
Insert the new filter
Return furnace to "on" position

1. To Change Your Habitation Air Filter, You'll Need To Turn Off Your Furnace

To prevent the HVAC unit from turning on while you lot are irresolute the filter, brand sure you turn the thermostat to the "off" position. This will help protect your HVAC system from loose debris or perchance a loose filter plumbing fixtures escaping into the duct.

For maximum rubber, disconnect power from your furnace system while yous are doing maintenance.

2. Notice and Locate Your Furnace Filter

Where is my air filter located? Here are ii suggestions to answer this vexing question.

Start, refer to the transmission that came with your heating and cooling system. This manual should tell you what kind and size of a filter is recommended for your heating and cooling system.

If you don't have your unit's operation manual, most air filters are located in either the blower compartment of the furnace (remove the furnace cover, typically by lifting upwards), or congenital into the metal ductwork before the blower fan.

Some of these systems come with filters that can be hosed off or rinsed in the sink or bathtub. Others utilize fiberglass filters that can't be reused. These filters are easily found at hardware, home improvement and even grocery stores.

3. Decide the Size of Your Home Air Filter

Check if your furnace manual gives you the size of the air filter to purchase.

If information technology doesn't, partially remove the existing filter and look for its dimensions, ordinarily printed on the paper-thin filter frame.

If y'all cannot locate this information, use a measuring record or ruler to mensurate the dimensions for summit, width and thickness. For instance, the filter pictured to the left are 16-x-25-10-4. In other words, 16 inches wide; 25 inches long and four inches thick.

Write these dimensions downwardly on a piece of paper to accept with you when you lot go to the store to buy the new filter. It'south also a good idea to write them with a permanent marking on the bodily furnace housing or ductwork to ease this process next fourth dimension.

While the concrete dimensions of the filter'due south width and length (e.thou., sixteen-x-25) are preset according to the size of your ductwork, sometimes you lot can add additional cleaning power by purchasing additional filter depth. For example your ductwork might allow you lot to purchase a 16x25x5 filter – that additional inch of filter capacity tin can go a long way to making the air you exhale cleaner.

4. Remove the Existing (sometime) Air Filter

Earlier you remove your existing air filter, note the arrow on the filter frame that shows the correct air catamenia direction. You will want to install the new filter in the same direction every bit the onetime 1. The "air-flow management arrow" printed on the new filter should exist pointed towards your furnace (or more specifically; pointer pointed towards your furnace fan unit).

It'south a skilful idea to draw the airflow direction pointer with a permanent marker on the actual furnace housing or ductwork. Ideally, you lot'd indicate the airflow direction and filter size (16x25x4 Airflow→)

Pull the old filter out and identify it straight into a garbage bag to avoid scattering the grit around.

Every HVAC filter has a MERV rating, which measures how efficiently the filter captures pollutants that laissez passer through your heating and cooling system. MERV ratings range from 1 (least efficient) to 16 (extremely efficient). Some studies evidence that medium-efficiency filters — in the MERV 7 to 12 range — strike the all-time residue betwixt allergen removal and filter cost.

>> Be sure to check out How Constructive are Your Abode Air Filters? to acquire more most MERV ratings.

Basic furnace dwelling air filters are designed to trap dust, clay, and airborne particulates before they can go into the arrangement and potentially damage the blower fan or the heating roll. More expensive filters perform the aforementioned office, plus they tin heighten the air quality in your home past trapping bacteria, pollen, and mildew and mold spores.

>> Learn more than about some of the pollutants your filter might be capturing in this commodity.

v. Insert the New Air Filter

Again, note the arrow on the old filter frame that shows the right air period direction. Remove the old filter and insert the new one and so that the airflow direction remains the same.

Home air filters are designed to filter air from one direction, so that as they load up with clay, they volition non collapse or fall apart. It's that uncomplicated.

vi. Return furnace to "on" position

Make certain you turn the thermostat in the "on" position once y'all take replaced the filter. With your fresh filter, you are now ready to utilize your furnace again!