The Dangers of Not Changing Your Air Filters

Not changing your air filters can have serious consequences for your home and health. When air filters are not changed regularly, they become clogged with particles and contaminants that can damage your HVAC system, increase energy costs, and decrease indoor air quality. This can lead to a range of health problems, from headaches and dizziness to respiratory disease, heart disease, or cancer. It is important to inspect your filter every month and replace it as soon as possible.

As mentioned above, if the filter is not changed, debris and dirt will soon clog the unit, leading to overwork. This, in turn, increases your energy bills. It takes longer to cool your home. With an old air filter in operation, you'll notice that the air conditioner takes a long time to cool your home.

If the air filter is clogged and can't trap contaminants like it used to, those things can go back to the air that everyone in your home breathes. Immediate problems may include headaches, itchy eyes or throat, and dizziness. If the air filters are not changed and problems persist, the long-term effects could be respiratory disease, heart disease, or cancer. Replacing the air filter and having the HVAC system inspected regularly are part of a preventive maintenance routine.

Failure to change the air filter can damage other parts of the system and can result in a large repair bill later on. Changing air filters regularly can help preserve the life of your system and make it work more efficiently. Getting the most value out of your home can be as easy as changing air filters. Homeowners who ignore filters in their heating and air conditioning systems risk increasing energy costs, damaging expensive equipment, and decreasing indoor air quality and personal health. See below to learn what can happen if you don't change your air filters.

Personally, I always change my filters every 30 days and recommend the same to my customers: the EPA recommends at least inspecting their filter every month. If you have any questions about what type of filter is best for your system or how often you should change it, please contact us at Air Filters Delivered. If you haven't changed your home's air filters lately, the next step should be to determine which filters you need and replace them as soon as possible.

What Can Happen if You Don't Change Your Air Filters?

When air filters are not constantly changed, they become clogged by the accumulation of particles and contaminants that adhere to the filter. I remember that once I inspected a house where there were several filters on the roof, and the owners who worked for a foreign embassy had no idea about the maintenance of the house, it seems that they never changed the filters.

If you have a higher efficiency filter and don't change the AC filter often enough, a buildup of moisture can cause mold to build up in the ducts, leading to serious mold infestations.

Why Is Changing Your Air Filter So Important?

But why is this? How can something as simple as changing an air filter be so important? The truth is that not changing your air filter on a regular basis can cause a number of problems with your HVAC system.
  • It increases energy costs.
  • It damages expensive equipment.
  • It decreases indoor air quality.
  • It affects personal health.
In general, most air filter manufacturers and HVAC companies recommend changing your air filter every 90 days or 3 months.

Willis Diruzzo
Willis Diruzzo

Typical sushi enthusiast. Infuriatingly humble music geek. Typical internetaholic. Subtly charming social media maven. Lifelong bacon buff.