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

One of the most basic issues that we hear about at Calverley Service Experts in Fort Worth is dirty air filters. They might 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 larger than most homeowners recognize. Regardless if it is cooling season or heating season, having a clogged air filter can cause a host of concerns for your heating and AC system.

So what exactly happens when you forget to swap out your air filter? Here are a just a few of the side effects you may encounter:

• Decreased 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 swapped out, the more dirt, dust and other particles build up. Of course, this prevents air from passing through the filter as it should, meaning your system is working significantly harder to leave you with the same amount of air.
• Frozen coil. If your system is running harder due to a clogged 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 threat if your air filter goes unattended for months and months on end. In essence, you will have worked your system so hard that something breaks 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 could 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
• Lower energy efficiency
• Decreased air quality
• Increase in dust and debris
• Lack of comfort