Why Should You Change Your Furnace Filter?

Even though it’s May, cool temperatures have lingered here in southeastern MA and Rhode Island – which means your furnace is still working away to keep your family warm and comfortable.

So here’s a question for you: when was the last time you checked your furnace’s air filter?

Most of us don’t do this simple heating maintenance task nearly often enough: although many factors influence the frequency with which you should change your furnace filter – how airtight your home is, whether or not you smoke or have pets that shed, and what type of material your air filter is made from, to name a few – a good rule of thumb is that your air filter should be checked once a month and changed every two to three months.

Problems Caused By Dirty Furnace Filters

Think changing an air filter that often is overkill? Think again! When you run your furnace with a filter clogged by dust, fur, and other particles, you can expect to experience:

• Lower air quality – A dirty filter won’t block as many contaminants, and your indoor air (and lungs) will pay the price.
• Higher bills – Forcing air through a dirty filter requires more energy than pushing it through a clean filter – energy that you pay for with higher energy bills and less comfort.
• More frequent repairs – A dirty filter causes your heating system to overwork, which often leads to problems down the road: simply put, the more strain you put on your heater, the more likely it will need heating repairs – or even a premature replacement.

The good news is that furnace air filters are relatively inexpensive to replace. In fact, a filter change is part of your annual heating system maintenance, which you could schedule today and get out of the way!

The professional heating service we offer is based on the availability of technicians from our parent company Wesco Oil. If you want the peace of mind that comes with having heating oil experts a phone call away, we can help you upgrade to a Wesco Oil account.

Contact Discount Oil Brokers today to learn more about routine furnace maintenance in RI!