Your furnace’s air filter is your home’s first, and sometimes only, line of defense against airborne contaminants that threaten the air quality in your home. As winter approaches, we will be spending more time indoors and now is the time to start thinking about indoor air quality. If you are like most homes, you probably use cheap fiberglass disposable air filters in your furnace. You may think that you are being responsible about your furnace care, but even if you change this type of filter monthly, you could still be allowing thousands of harmful contaminants to roam freely in your breathing air. If you haven’t thought about your furnace’s filter in months or maybe even years, poor air quality is probably not your only problem.
MERV Ratings
Most filters use the MERV rating system to express their efficiency at removing particles from the air. Electrostatic air filters do not use this scale, but for any other type of filter, you will find that it is labeled with “MERV” and then a number. The higher the number the better the filter is at removing particles from the air. The fiberglass panel filters you have been using probably only have a MERV rating between 1 and 4. That’s pathetic. What you should be looking for is a filter with a rating between 5 and 8. These filters can remove particles down to 3 microns, and for most families that will be the right amount of protection. (more…)
