How to change your air filter at home

Table of Contents Show

How often should I change my air filter at home?
How Often Should You Replace a Home Air Filter?
What Should You Look for In a Home Air Filter?
How to Replace Air Filter in Different Parts of Your Home
Mistakes to Avoid in Changing Home Air Filters
Can you change air filters yourself?
What happens if you don't change air filter in house?

How often should I change my air filter at home?

How often you have to change the air filters may be on the following:

Air filter design
Overall indoor air quality
Quantity of pets
Household size
Air pollution levels and construction near the residence
The MERV Rating

For basic 1"–3" air filters, brands generally tell you to exchange them every 30–90 days. If someone in your family suffers from light to moderate allergies, you can put in a better air filter or change them even more frequently.

The shortest answer to "how often do I have to exchange the air filter?":

If there isn't a smoker or pets in your home, and your filter is the commonly sold 1" filter with a MERV rating of 4, you should be able to wait up to 90 days before changing it.

What air filter models last longer?

Some air filters are supposed to survive up to six months, while others have to be exchanged monthly. The denser the air filter, the longer it should last. Overall, you can examine the thickness of the filter rather than the brand. You also need to take a look at the MERV Rating.

The MERV Rating is a scale that goes from 1-20 and assesses how well an air filter can remove particles out of the air. The higher the MERV Rating, the smaller the particle that can be caught by the air filter.

While a filter with a higher MERV Rating should last longer, it can also restrict the flow of air in your home. And you will need to change the filter more often. And if you acquire an older system, plan to replace the filter more often to maintain the quality of your filter.

How regularly do I need to replace my air filter based on thickness?

The longevity of an air filter also hinges on its thickness. A 1" filter will have to be swapped out more frequently instead of a 4" filter.

A 1" pleated air filter must be replaced every 30-60 days.
A 2" pleated air filter should be swapped out every 3 months.
A 3” pleated air filter should be changed out every 120 days.
A 4" pleated air filter should be exchanged every 6 months.
A 5” or 6" pleated air filter ought to be replaced every 9-12 months.

One of the advantages of denser filters is not only do they live longer, but they also posses a better MERV Rating. This means they should do a better job of eliminating the particles within your home. They also generate less air resistance, which can help ones HVAC system run more effectively and reduce wear and tear on components including the blower motor.

If you own a whole-home air purifier, you will also need to switch out the filters more regularly.

How often should I exchange my air filter if I have a dog or cat?

If you want pets, you might need to switch out your air filter more regularly. Pet hair and dander can easily clog an air filter and reduce its effectiveness. For each shedding dog you have, expect to replace the filter a month sooner than you would with a home without pets. The same applies to cats, although they usually do not shed as much as dogs. If you want a hypoallergenic or non-shedding dog or cat, you might not have to replace your air filter as much.

Even though it's a good rule of thumb, you will need to check on your air filter more frequently to figure out if it has to be swapped out. Dogs tend not to shed the same amount year-round. They shed more in the spring and fall when they are blowing their coat. Inspect the air filter every month and exchange it when it looks clogged.

Here are averages that may help you understand how regularly you should install a new air filter at your residence:

Vacation house or an individual occupant and no pets or allergies: every 6–12 months
Common suburban home without pets: every 3 months
A single dog or cat: every 2 months
More than one pet or if anyone has allergies: 20–45 days

Looking to learn how to change a home air filter?

Perfect, you’re in the right spot. In this guide, you’ll learn:

How often should you replace a home air filter?
Where are the air filters located on my HVAC system?
What should you look for in an air filter?
Are there common mistakes in replacing air filters you can avoid?
… and much, much more.

Your HVAC system is complicated, but your air filters are not. You just need to know how often to change them, where to look for them, and how to properly install a new filter. This is a DIY project that won’t cause too much stress and won’t take all weekend.

Why change filters? Your energy bills can be affected by dirty air filters and the inefficient flow of air. Allergens like pet dander and dust mites can fill your home’s air without proper filtration. New air filters are a quick, inexpensive, and manageable home maintenance task for clean air and better energy efficiency.

How Often Should You Replace a Home Air Filter?
What Should You Look for In a Home Air Filter?
How to Replace Air Filter in Different Parts of Your Home
Mistakes to Avoid in Changing Home Air Filters

How Often Should You Replace a Home Air Filter?

Your central air/furnace filter should be replaced on a regular basis. Recommendations for filter changes range from every 30 days to once every 6 months, depending on the quality of the filter. Generally, for mid-range quality filters, and to ensure you and your family are experiencing good indoor air quality in your home, changing out to new filters every 90 days is a good practice. If your HVAC unit is running consistently, you might want to change the filters sooner.

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What Should You Look for In a Home Air Filter?

One thing to look for is the MERV rating. MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values and measures how efficiently the filter captures particles that act as pollutants that would otherwise run right through your heating and air conditioning system. Air quality is important, and you want a furnace filter and air conditioner filter that provides allergen removal without being too expensive. Look for a MERV rating between 7 and 12 for a good balance of efficiency and price. For reference, 1 is the least efficient and 16 is most efficient in the MERV rating scale.

The material to look for is either pleated cotton or polyester fabric filters. Fiberglass filters are less expensive but are also lower on the MERV rating scale.

How to Replace Air Filter in Different Parts of Your Home

Here are the steps you’ll need to take in replacing your home air filters.

Locate the Filters – You will find filters in one of two places. One will be to look for an air handler cabinet, usually in the blower compartment of the HVAC or furnace unit itself. Lift up the furnace cover and you should find the old air filter in place. You will also want to look for a filter in the return air duct. This is usually located in a wall near the HVAC unit and draws air in from the home to be warmed up or cooled down, depending on the time of year. Be sure to turn the heating and cooling system off before you remove the old filter.
Determine the size filter you need – The size of your filter can be found either on the old filter itself or you can consult the HVAC manufacturer’s manual for the correct size.
Remove and replace – When you’ve found and purchased the right replacement filter, you are ready to remove the old and replace it with the new filter. Make double sure you have the right filter and that the filter is facing in the right direction.

If you want to learn more about changing your air filter, take a look at this video:

Mistakes to Avoid in Changing Home Air Filters

Believe it or not, these mistakes with HVAC filters are fairly common and can be avoided by following the steps outlined above.

Forgetting to replace the old filter – You take the old filter out, get busy with other things, and forget to replace it with a new filter. It can happen – just make sure you stay on task until the new filter is installed.
Using the wrong sized-filter – be sure to examine the old filter carefully, and look at the factory recommendations for filter size. Filters that are the wrong fit will not work as efficiently.
Ignore those little arrows on the filter – You’ve got to make sure the airflow is going in the right direction in relation to the filter. Otherwise, the filter won’t be catching all the particulates and gross stuff in the air that it is supposed to be capturing.

It’s not a complicated project, but knowing exactly how it’s done makes all the difference in the world. With a system in place for taking care of your HVAC air filters, here’s to a safer, healthier home for you and your family!

Can you change air filters yourself?

You may not be ready to tackle car maintenance jobs like changing the oil or replacing spark plugs, but changing your vehicle's engine air filter is an easy job that you can do. Doing this job yourself can result in big savings. Many quick lube shops charge up to $25 or more to change an air filter.

What happens if you don't change air filter in house?

The air filter keeps dust and other debris from circulating through your HVAC system. If the air filter fails to do this, not only will the debris pass through and start clogging your HVAC system, but it will also end up circulating through your home along with the air that your system circulates.