How Often Should You Clean Your Air Conditioner Filter?

Clean or replace the air conditioning system filter or filters every one to two months during the cooling season. Filters may need more frequent attention if the air conditioner is in constant use, if it is exposed to dusty conditions, or if you have pets with fur in the house. As a general rule, you should clean the air conditioner filters inside the indoor unit every two weeks. In more polluted environments, you should clean filters more regularly.\The only way to be sure how often the air filter needs to be changed is to perform a visual inspection of the filter every month.

After a few months, you'll get an idea of how quickly it gets dirty. You'll need to re-evaluate if you're having a new pet or if the outside air quality has been poor. When you buy a new air filter, you'll find the manufacturer's recommendations for the replacement program.\If you have allergies, you can reduce your symptoms by using a high-quality air filter and adopting a more frequent replacement program. Fiberglass air filters are the more affordable of the two, but less efficient at capturing dust and particles in the air.

As a general rule, experts suggest that people should change an air filter every two to three months and a water filter every six months. At his home in Dallas, Ogden-McKee, 39, uses five air purifiers with integrated HEPA filters (short for high-efficiency particulate air), one in each room, but the kitchen drinks water from a filtered container and fills its glasses with cubes created in an ice maker with a filtration component.\Pleated air filters are more expensive at first, but they are also more efficient at trapping particles and can last up to 90 days, depending on use. The first step to figure out how to clean an air conditioning filter is to turn off the air conditioner. If you have young children in the house, it's a good idea to use high-quality pleated air filters and replace them every two months.

Children are more sensitive than adults to indoor air pollutants, such as mold, dust mites, dander and pollen, so make your home an oasis by using quality air filters and replacing them before they become too clogged and dirty.\After a period of smoke-filled days with poor outdoor air quality, inspect the air filter to see if it needs to be replaced. If you live alone, without pets and with good surrounding outdoor air quality, the manufacturer's recommendations for changing filters are likely to work well for you. To improve air quality, turn the thermostat fan switch from AUTO to ON. Replacing a clogged filter with a clean one can reduce air conditioner energy consumption by 5% to 15%.\It will be easier for you to remember this important task if you learn how often you should change your air filter in the first place.

The pandemic helped improve the condition of air filters, as public health officials touted the benefits of ventilation and air purifiers to remove SARS-CoV-2 from the air.