When it comes to changing your air filter, the frequency of replacement depends on a variety of factors. Generally, most air filter manufacturers and HVAC companies recommend changing the air filter every 90 days or 3 months. However, this may change 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 more you use your home, the more you'll need to change your air filter. If you're a pet owner, you'll want to change your air filter every 2 months, especially when winter turns to spring and summer to fall. It's important to note that there are high-efficiency filters that are designed to filter out small bacterial, moldy and fungal particles, but standard MERV 8-11 filters only block the largest particles of dust, dirt and 26% of hair.
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. As a test, hang a white sheet several inches from the ventilation grille and check if the sheet turns gray, again proving that it's time to change the house's air filter. If your air filter usually lasts 90 days, you should replace it every 30 days during the peak summer and winter months, when the system works the hardest. Use a filter with a MERV rating of 12, such as the Nordic Pure Filter (available on Amazon), if your oven can handle it.A number of factors must be considered when deciding how often an oven filter should be changed, and many filter manufacturers recommend how often their product should be replaced.
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. While a filter with a higher MERV rating should last longer, it can also restrict airflow in your home.Because of their folds, filters such as the Honeywell Ultra Efficiency filter (also available on Amazon) have more square inches of space to trap dust, so they often require fewer changes - usually every 90 days. Specifically, to obtain high MERV ratings and greater thickness, these filters easily require only two filter changes per year. In general, filters with a MERV 16 rating or lower are considered suitable filters for HVAC systems for residential, commercial and general hospital use.If someone in your family has mild to moderate allergies, you can put a better air filter on them or change it even more often.
It is important to remember that when it comes to changing your air filter, there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration in order to ensure maximum efficiency for your HVAC system.
