It’s good practice to replace your HVAC system air filters regularly each month. But, sometimes your set schedule simply may not be good enough to get the job done. If you check your HVAC air filter when it’s time to clean or replace it and you discover that it’s covered in hair, dust and assorted debris you may be wondering how it can get dirty so fast. In this article, we will look at the environmental conditions in your home that could cause your HVAC air filter to become clogged prematurely and how you can improve the air quality in your home.
5 Reasons for a Prematurely Clogged Air Filter
Generally speaking, there are five main reasons why your HVAC air filter could be clogging up quickly.
- The HVAC Fan
Every ducted air conditioning system has a fan that’s needed to push the treated air through the ducts to cool the home down. The fan settings can be found on the thermostat, and there are usually two, they are “On” and “Auto.” If the fan to “Auto,” it will only move air when the HVAC system is actively heating or cooling your home. If the fan is set to “On,” the system will run continuously, and this means that the air in your home will be circulating through the air filter 24/7. If your air filter is clogging up too quickly, switching the fan to “Auto” will reduce the amount of air going through the filter and keep it cleaner for longer.
- Pet Hair
We love our pets, but let’s face it they can shed a lot of hair, and this will circulate in the air throughout the home. The air in your HVAC system will be recycled while it’s running, and this will gather up pet hair, and it will end up in the filter. If you brush your pet regularly, it’s possible to remove a large quantity of pet hair, and your pet will enjoy the bonding experience. If you vacuum regularly, this will also collect a lot of pet hair before it can be recycled into the air filter.
- Temperature Extremes
As we saw above, setting the fan to “Auto” will only run the system when heating or cooling is required. But, if the weather becomes too hot or too cold, the HVAC system will almost be running constantly anyway. There isn’t really much that you can do about the weather so you may want to shorten the air filter change intervals until the external temperatures become less extreme.
- A Dusty Home
Dust can quickly accumulate in most homes, and remodeling or DIY projects can generate a great deal of dust and debris. Any of this dust can circulate into the HVAC system, and then it will end up in your air filter. Establishing a regular cleaning routine to clean and vacuum the dust away will prevent this dust from getting into your filter.
- The MERV Rating
The Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value or MERV rating measures the size of the particles that an air filter can stop. The higher the air filter MERV rating is, the smaller the particles that it can catch. A basic fiberglass air filter will allow most of the smaller particles to pass through, and this means that it will not clog up as often. But, these inexpensive air filters allow pollutants to enter your air, and this will have a negative effect on your indoor air quality. Many people believe that simply getting an air filter with the highest MERV rating will clean their air better. This is true, but it causes other problems. If the MERV rating is too high, the HVAC system will have to work very hard to force the air through the dense filter structure. This is why high MERV filters are used in medical, scientific, and industrial facilities and not in domestic HVAC systems. If you install an air filter with a high MERV rating, your HVAC system could be damaged, and you will need to replace the filters far more often. It’s a better idea to use an air filter with an 7-12 MERV rating for most homes.
The Importance of Cleaning the Air Filter
All of the air that passes through your HVAC system goes through the air filter. This contains a number of contaminants, such as dust, debris, pet hair, mold spores, and other nasty pollutants. Studies have shown that dirty indoor air can often contain more pollutants than outdoors, and this can affect the health of everyone in the home. The contaminants are trapped on the surface of the filtration media, and they need to be removed to maintain airflow. If there isn’t enough air running through your HVAC system, it will have to work harder, this will affect the energy efficiency, and it could cause crucial components to fail.
How to Clean Your Air Filter
Every HVAC system is different; the full instructions to change your air filter will be in the owner’s manual for your system. It’s essential to get the exact size of filter; if it’s too large, it will not fit, and if it’s too small, the air will pass around it making it useless. If you don’t have much time, you can vacuum the surface of the filter to get rid of most of the dust and debris. This will not clean the smaller particles trapped there, and it’s always a better idea to clean or replace the filter.
How to Get Cleaner Air in Your Home
If you want purified clean air for your home, it’s a great idea to install an air purification system. This will remove most of the particles before they even reach your HVAC air filter. This is an ideal solution for homeowners that have people in their homes with asthma, allergies, and other respiratory conditions. It’s also possible to switch to a better reusable filter with a higher MERV rating in the 7-12 range that you can wash in soapy water, allow to dry thoroughly and then replace yourself.