Four Risks Associated with Dirty Air Filters

If you are an active follower of AAA Service on social media, you already know the importance of changing your air filter. We stress it to all of our followers and customers because it can cost and keep you safe! Now if you don’t follow AAA Service and you don’t know the risks, we’ll lay them out for you here.

Below Average Efficiency

For the sake of this experiment, pretend your air filter is a cheese grater. When you take a brand new block of cheese and the grater is clean, it’s relatively easy to shave back the cheese. As you continue to shave the cheese, the holes begin to clog and it becomes harder and harder to shave. This is the same thing that happens with your filter. The dirtier it gets, the harder the unit has to work to dispense cold/hot air.

Poor Indoor Air Quality

• If a dirty air filter is severely clogged, it will let go of some of the dust and mold to make room for more.
• That released dust and mold are now in your air.
• The higher the MERV rating on a filter, the more particles it is going to catch.
• But some HEPA filters actually have too high of a MERV rating because it restricts airflow in residential systems

Shorter Lifespan

Like we explained in the first bullet point, an air conditioner or furnace that has a dirty filter is forced to work harder. Just like a prized horse, the harder you work it, the quicker it is going to retire. You need to take some of the load off by cleaning the filter and making the air conditioner’s life easier.

Ventilation Fires

A filter that is extremely clogged can actually present a fire hazard. It will suck air back into the system and thus create a suction that poses serious problems. These events are rare, but they can happen if you are completely negligent about the cleanliness of your air filters.

Here at AAA Service, we handle installations and repairs for residential and commercial HVAC systems. We have been doing it for over thirty years, so when we give you advice like this, we hope you take it seriously. It is only for your benefit!

To schedule an HVAC appointment, call 303-313-3333 or book on our website for faster service!

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