The filter on your furnace isn't something most people think about regularly.
And yet, it's critically important to your health and home heating costs.
Your furnace circulates hot and cold air through your home.
With this comes all the particles that get kicked up inside the home when you move from room to room.
Some of these particles are visible - dust, hair, smoke, and pet dander.
Some are invisible - mould, bacteria and viruses.
Originally designed to protect the furnace and fan, furnace filters are now designed to reduce harmful particles and improve air quality.
A filter on your furnace will trap the particles - visible and invisible - that travel through the air and ensure they don't keep circulating through your home.
Over time, the filter can become clogged with dirt, dust and other particles.
When that happens, your furnace has a harder time circulating air.
It has to work hard to push air through the filter, which increases your power costs and puts stress on your entire furnace.
In extreme cases, a dirty filter can damage your furnace or even catch fire.
Most experts recommend checking your furnace filter about once a month and cleaning it or having it cleaned or replaced as necessary.
Maintaining a clean furnace filter can help regulate the temperature in your home, lower your power costs, preserve your furnace and keep the air you breathe clean.
While there are a number of difference furnace filters to choose from, the HVAC industry has developed a standard for filter testing, called MERV.
The higher the MERV value of the filter, the better the filtration and the cleaner your air will be.
It's best to consult an HVAC professional before changing the filter on your furnace as used improperly, some filters can degrade the efficiency of your furnace.
Types of filters include: HEPA: High Efficiency Particulate Air filters, better known as HEPA, have small corrugated separators that increase the strength of the filter.
They are able to remove tiny, invisible particles known as "sub-micron" particles and can significantly improve air quality.
While they are excellent at improving air quality, HEPA filters won't fit all furnaces.
Electrostatic: These filters are charged with static electricity that attract small, electrically-charged particles, such as dirt or allergens.
They are an efficient way to improve air quality and filters are often washable.
Pleated: These filters have folds, or pleats, that increase its surface area, allowing the filter to grab more particles from the air.
The design of the filter means most particles become trapped on the surface of the filter, rather than inside.
While this makes the filter more efficient, it also means it must be replaced more often.
One of the benefits to pleated filters is that they are easy to replace and can fit most furnaces.
Activated Carbon: These filters use a form of charcoal that has been processed to make it porous, allowing it to trap small particles from the air and hold them between carbon atoms.
Activated Carbon filters are best used in homes that have high levels of chemicals, such as tobacco smoke or volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and are particularly efficient at removing odours and allergens.