Simple Ways to Remember to Change Your Air Filter

Your HVAC technician has likely reminded you about the importance of checking and changing your air filter in between professional maintenance visits, and it’s not a chore you should neglect for a number of reasons:

• Running your HVAC system with a dirty filter reduces the equipment’s efficiency, which increases your yearly heating and cooling costs.
• Debris from a clogged filter can degrade your air quality and worsen allergies, asthma and other respiratory problems.
• A badly clogged filter that causes a severe airflow restriction can overwork and damage costly HVAC system

You can prevent these problems by examining the filter once a month and replacing it when you see any dirt accumulating. Here are some easy ways to remember this critically-important chore:

• Set up an automatic reminder on your cell phone or computer — Enter your chosen date on the device’s built-in calendar, write yourself a message, then schedule a monthly text, email or audible alarm reminder.
• Store your replacement filters in a hard-to-miss location — You’re less likely to overlook a stack of new filters if you store them in a conspicuous place, such as your entryway coat closet or next to the washing machine in the laundry room. To remind you when to check the filter, jot down the date you’ve chosen on a brightly-colored sticky note and put it on the top of the stack.
• Create a yearly chore calendar — Pencil in all your usual household maintenance chores on the appropriate date blocks, including your air filter checks, and post the calendar in a visible spot, like on the front of your refrigerator.
• Stick to the same day every month — It’s easier to get into a habit of checking the filter if you do it on the same day each month. Choose a date that’s easy to remember, though, like your birthday or anniversary.

At Sobieski Services, Inc., our goal is to help our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey learn more about energy and home comfort issues — especially HVAC and plumbing issues — so that they can save money and live in healthier, more comfortable homes.

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