What Does an Air Filter Do?

Air conditioner filters remove particles from the air. They have a dual role as they help keep the air conditioner clean and remove a variety of particles from the air. An air filter can remove dirt, dust, pollen, and mold particles and so they have a significant role in circulating clean air through the system.

Some air filters are reusable and need cleaning at regular intervals, others need to be replaced and disposed of.

Why Regular Maintenance Is Necessary

Air filters or furnace filters will need replacing at regular intervals. How often will depend upon:

1. the composition of air – if there are lots of dust particles in your local environment, or if you have pets, they won’t last as long,
2. the quality of the filter, poor quality filters may need replacing more regularly,
3. how often you use your air conditioning or heating system. The more you use it, the more often an air filter will need to be replaced.

A dirty air filter will reduce airflow and the efficiency of your system will fall as a result. Your system will be forced to work harder, which causes wear and tear on the parts, and your running costs will be higher.

If you don’t replace the filter, it will start to pollute the air and your air conditioning system. Dirt and dust will settle on the sensitive mechanical parts of your air conditioner and, over time, could impair their effectiveness and cause damage. If you remove the air filter completely, the particles in the air will start to build up on your evaporator coil which could result in an expensive repair.

How We Can Help

Air filter maintenance is part of the annual service and we will always check your air conditioner filters at this time. If you need an air filter replacement we can do so, or, if it becomes a problem between services you can replace the filter yourself (depending upon the type of air conditioner you have) if you are confident to do so.

Take care when removing or replacing air filters yourself, make sure you use one suitable for your air conditioning system. Check whether your filter can be cleaned or must be replaced, never clean an air filter you are supposed to dispose of after one use or the problems described above could arise.

Air filters are cheap and widely available, keeping your air filter clean is easy but failure to do so could be expensive.