Changing the Air Filter in Your Delaware Home: How Often? – Sobieski Services | DE, NJ, PA, MD

Changing the Air Filter in Your Delaware Home: How Often?

Most important HVAC maintenance jobs have to be left to the professionals, but changing the air filter is one task that you can do on your own. The time interval between changing your disposable filter will vary based on many factors, it’s up to you to understand what makes your filter dirty.

What makes air filters dirty?

An air filter is designed to remove all sorts of things from the air that passes through your ducts, ranging from dust mites to bacteria. It does so in a mechanical way, trapping small particles in extremely fine pockets of space. This means that when there are more particles in the air, it will remove more particles, which makes it become dirty faster.

Any of the following could be responsible for a rise in air contaminants that your filter must remove:

  • More visitors: More people entering and walking around your home will bring in more dirt and dust.
  • Pets: Animal dander can contribute particles that need to be removed from your air and can also trigger allergy symptoms.
  • Smoke: If there are people that smoke inside or close to the home outside, your filter will get dirtier faster.
  • Construction: A significant amount of dust and dirt is often blown to nearby houses from construction sites.
  • Humidity: During warm months in particular, if you are unable to keep your home’s humidity down, it will provide an ideal breeding ground for mold and bacteria.

The typical time between filter replacements is one to three months. It will vary based on the above factors and more. The simplest test for deciding when an air filter change is necessary is to hold the filter up to a light source and try to peer through. If you can’t see through it, it’s time to change it. If you need help changing the air filter in your home, please contact Sobieski Services.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC & plumbing systems).

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