What Happens When You Don't Change Your Furnace's Air Filter

One of the most basic problems that we hear about at McElroy Service Experts in Grand Island is dusty air filters. They may seem like a very small piece of the big home comfort puzzle, but the role they play in helping us maintain comfort is a lot greater than most homeowners realize. Regardless if it is cooling season or heating season, having a dirty air filter can cause a host of concerns for your heating and AC system.

So what exactly happens when you forget to switch out your air filter? Here are a just a handful of the side effects you might encounter:

• Reduced airflow. This is easily the largest headache you’ll note when your home’s air filter is very clogged. The longer the air filter goes without being switched, the more dirt, dust and other particles build up. Of course, this inhibits air from passing through the filter as it should, meaning your system is working a lot harder to provide you with the same amount of air.
• Frozen coil. If your system is working harder because of a dirty air filter, you also run the chance of having the cooling coil freeze inside of the system, because it’s running overtime to give you cool air.
• Total loss of cooling or heating. This is also a probability if your air filter goes unchanged for months and months on end. In essence, you will have worked your system so hard that something gives out or wears out and needs to be replaced or serviced.
• Short cycling. Short cycling means the heating and cooling system turns on and off excessively. When your system short cycles, it can overheat or break down from the added work, possibly causing damage to your system.

In addition to these, you can also expect:

• A shorter equipment lifecycle
• Decreased energy efficiency
• Diminished air quality
• More dust and debris
• Lack of comfort