Is Your Air Conditioner’s Filter Sabotaging Your Home?
Ignoring your air conditioner’s filter can lead to serious problems where your health, comfort, and wallet are concerned. Although it’s a small part of your overall cooling system, it has a large impact on the wellness of your unit.
Schneller Knochelmann Plumbing, Heating & Air has listed three of the top problems around your home caused by a bad air filter. Check your home and air conditioner for the following, in order to keep your home feeling comfortable and your air conditioner running efficiently.
Bad Filters Spread Dust, Dirt, & Germs
When not properly maintained, an unclean filter can facilitate the buildup of dust and allergens in your ducts. Every time the unit cycles on, it forces those particles into the air around you. Dust will settle on your furniture giving a continually dirty look to your home, no matter how often you clean.
The particles in the air are then breathed in and can trigger asthma and allergies, as well as putting you in contact with germs being spread around. If you’re noticing more colds, coughs, or allergies in your family, check out your air conditioner’s filter. What you find might surprise you.
Prolonged Cycling
When the air in your home reaches your designated temperature, your air conditioner should turn on in relatively brief cycles throughout the day to maintain that temperature. (If your air conditioner is always running in continuous, short cycles, you might have a different problem.)
When a filter is dirty or poorly maintained, the unit will cycle for longer periods, wasting energy and raising your utility bill. If your air conditioner seems to be running all the time, make sure your filter is clean! However, if your filter looks clear, call your technician to prevent serious damage to your air conditioner.
Uneven Cooling
You may notice, that despite constant cycling, the air coming from your vents feels weak. This means a dirty filter is restricting air flow. In your home, you may begin to notice warm spots, places in your home where the air conditioning isn’t even reaching. Know that your system is working twice has hard, costing you more, and only doing half the job.
Failing to change your air filter will damage internal equipment and shorten the life expectancy of your unit. Filter maintenance is a small task that takes very little effort or cost. Most heating and cooling companies actually include cleaning or changing filters in their maintenance plan.