For maximum effectiveness, we recommend you change filters at least every two months. However, the life of a filter can depend on the individual conditions in your home. You may need to change your filter more often if your home has:
- Construction work in progress
- Pets
- Smokers
- Use Air Conditioner very often
- High traffic road nearby
- Home or neighbor burn incense
In these cases, you may want to change the filter more frequently.
Screen filters of air conditioners were originally developed to protect your air conditioner. They were not intended to improve your indoor air quality. Filtrete filters were created to both help protect your air conditioners AND clean the air passing through your filter.
Our filters improve your indoor air quality by attracting and capturing allergy-aggravating microparticles. Your air is cleaned each time it re-circulates through the filter.
Surprisingly, even expensive washable/reusable filters can’t capture microparticles as well as electrostatic Filtrete Filters can. The real difference is the electrostatic charge found in most Filtrete Filters.
Filtrete Filters that are electrostatically charged have both positive and negative charges on the fibers. The charge helps pull more particles from the air passing through the filter than a filter without a charge.
The Filtrete Odor Reduction filter contains activated carbon and starts working in minutes to reduce odors throughout your home. In the case of tobacco and wood smoke, removing smoke particles can help reduce the odor, and high efficiency Filtrete Filters readily capture these particle types.
Filtrete Filters are engineered and tested to last three months under a wide range of typical operating conditions. Some of the reasons you may need to change your filter more often include: construction work in progress, furniture or drywall sanding in progress, pets, smokers, or a fan running continuously. If you use any filter for longer than the recommended lifetime, it may begin to restrict airflow or cause your heating/cooling system to malfunction. When in doubt, change the filter more frequently.
Atmospheric dust consists of a wide variety of particulates ranging in size from 0.001 micron to a relatively large 100 microns. Because of the weight of the large particles, they will settle on your furniture long before they could reach your filter. The filter will capture some dust, but it will not eliminate the need for dusting.
You may feel cool and fresh when the air conditioner is on. However, ordinary window type and split type air conditioner actually won't bring in fresh air. It works by circulating indoor air through the cold coil and returning to the home. If the indoor air is not clean, the pollutants will keep circulating into the room.