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

One of the most routine issues that we encounter at Teays Valley Service Experts in Hurricane is dusty air filters. They can seem like a very insignificant piece of the whole home comfort puzzle, but the role they play in helping us control comfort is a lot larger than most homeowners recognize. 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 don’t remember to switch out your air filter? Here are a just a couple of the side effects you could encounter:

• Decreased airflow. This is easily the largest issue you’ll note when your home’s air filter is severely clogged. The longer the air filter goes without being changed, the more dirt, dust and other particles build up. Of course, this hinders air from passing through the filter as it should, meaning your system is working a lot harder to leave you with the same amount of air.
• Frozen coil. If your system is running harder as a result of a filthy air filter, you also run the risk of having the cooling coil freeze inside of the system, because it’s working overtime to leave you with cool air.
• Total loss of cooling or heating. This is also a threat 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 more than it should. When your system short cycles, it could overheat or break down from the added work, which could end up causing damage to your system.

In addition to these, you can also expect:

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