One of the most important appliances in your home is undoubtedly your furnace.
Many people assume that the primary job of the furnace is to regulate temperature throughout those cold winter months of the year and keep everyone inside as comfortable and warm as possible.
While they would be correct, that isn’t the only purpose. One of the most integral components of a furnace is the air filter.
If you let your air filter collect too much dust, dirt, and other debris over time, it will get dirty. This will affect the performance of your furnace in a number of ways.
One of the worst things that can happen if you let your air filter get too dirty is that it can lead to a complete failure in your heating and cooling system.
An air filter that is too dirty will restrict airflow to the air handler in the climate control system of your furnace.
Not only that, but it will also put a significant amount of stress on the fan motor in the same location.
When that happens, it is only a matter of time before the fan itself blows out and the entire system suffers a shutdown.
This could lead to hundreds or even thousands of dollars in costly repairs if you’re not careful.
Another issue that you will face if you let the air filter in your furnace get too dirty has to do with the energy efficiency of the unit.
As the air filter gets dirty, the fan motor will need to work much harder than normal to regulate the temperature the same way it always has.
Even though you may notice comfortable temperatures inside your home when you need them the most, you will also usually notice increasing energy bills at the same time.
The total amount of extra money you’re spending per month heating your home will dramatically outweigh the initial cost of replacing the air filter.
One of the most important things that will happen if you let the air filter in your furnace get too dirty has to do with the quality of the air inside your home.
As its name suggests, an air filter is designed to filter harmful pathogens and other debris that could make everyone inside sick.
If the air filter gets dirty, it will be unable to do this and everyone inside your home could suffer as a result.
