How Often Should I Be Changing My Air Filter?

Several factors can affect how often you should be changing your air filter. Things such as indoor and outdoor air quality, how many people you have living in your home, how often you run your AC, if you have pets, if you have allergies, and even the type of filter you use can all change the frequency of replacing your filter. It’s best practice to check your filter at least once a month, at least until you get an idea of how long it will last for your situation in your home.  

Air Quality- The quality of the air that is going through your filter and system will affect how quickly your filter needs to be replaced. If there is a lot of foot traffic in and out of your home (as well as construction or highways in the area) you will need to change your filter much more often than if you are someone who lives alone, with no pets, and never leaves the house. 

Household Size-The more humans in your home, the more dead skin cells and other particulates will be in your air. If this is a vacation home that isn’t always occupied, or there’s only one person living in your home with no pets or allergies, then you may only need to change your filters every 3 months. On the other hand, a family home with multiple people living their daily lives will want to change their filter every 1-2 months at the very least. It’s good practice to get used to checking your filter once a month. A great time to check the filter is when you pay your power bill, rent or mortgage since these are all things we also must do each month. 

Frequency of Use- You may have to change your filter more often in the summer than in the winter. Your filter is only working when your HVAC unit is. So, when you run your AC in the hot, humid Florida summers, you’re using your air filter. During the “winter” months, when it is cool and pleasant, you may not be running your AC as often. That means the air isn’t circulating through your air filter, and it isn’t catching as many particles, which leads to it lasting longer.  

Pets- Our fur children are important to us, but we could all do without all the pet hair and dander that they shed into the air! If you have pets, then not only do you want to consider using a higher MERV rated filter to be able to catch all those unwanted particles, but you will also need to change your filter more often.  

Allergies- If you’re one of the many Floridians that suffers when the pollen count gets high, then you might need to change your filters more often. The more pollen there is in the air, the quicker your filter will get dirty and need to be replaced. 

Type of Filter- The type of filter you use can change how often you need to change it. For instance, a MERV 8 filter isn’t as efficient at catching particles as a MERV 13. Since the MERV 13 is catching more particles, it will become dirty and clogged faster than the MERV 8. Therefore, the MERV 13 will need to be changed much more often.