How to Replace a Home Air Filter
Replacing a home air filter is not a difficult task. What can make the job tricky is 1) remembering to do it, 2) buying the right replacement filter, and 3) making sure that you are replacing ALL the filters.
What you may need to change your filter:
-A Stepladder
-A Screwdriver-The vent cover does not normally require tools for removal, but sometimes the locking clamps are hard to pull open. If so, a flat head screwdriver can be used to pry them open.
How to change the filter:
-Remove the vent cover
-Pull out the old filter, noting which direction the arrow on the side of the filter is pointing
-Insert the new filter, pointing the arrow in the same direction
-Replace the vent cover
Honestly, the most difficult part of changing a home air filter is purchasing the correct replacement filter. Most importantly, make sure you purchase the correct size. The easiest thing to do is to look at your existing filter- it should be labeled with dimensions. Lowes.com has published a guide on choosing an air filter. The article doesn't really tell you which filter to buy. It's really a primer that describes the different kinds of filters available.
Here are some additional tips that may help to make your filter changing experience as painless as possible:
-Purchase several at once
-Change them regularly (every 30-90 days depending on how dirty they get). Schedule the changes in an automated calendar or tie them to a monthly/quarterly payment that you make- something that will remind you.
-Make sure the furnace is nor circulating air while you are attempting to change the filter
Finally, you may have several filters to change and each may be a different size. For example, my house has two heating/cooling zones. So I need to change the filter on two furnaces- one in the basement and another in the attic. Additionally, I have three returns that each have filters. All in all, I need to monitor and change five different filters (in three different sizes).
Jon
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Content from this post as been used to expand the article http://www.wikihow.com/Replace-an-Air-Filter-for-Your-Furnace