Serving Carrollton, TX & Surrounding Areas 
Maintaining the air conditioner in your Carrollton, TX home is an ongoing effort. In addition to scheduling annual AC tune-up, there are several tasks that you should routinely complete on your own. Foremost among these is changing out your AC filter. This small, simple, and relatively low-cost component has a major impact on how your air conditioner performs. If you aren’t regularly changing your AC filter out, the following are eight solid reasons to start.
1. Preserve Your AC Warranty and Other Essential Protections
New air conditioners come with manufacturer warranties. These agreements protect homeowners from the high costs of AC repairs and premature AC replacement resulting from product defects. If something is amiss with your air conditioner’s construction, this warranty will pay for the needed corrections.
Similar protections are provided by home service agreements that cover both home appliances and HVAC systems. If you have a home service agreement, you won’t have to pay for AC problems that are the direct result of normal aging and wear. In like fashion, home insurance plans pay for AC problems resulting from covered perils like floods and fires. With a home service agreement and a manufacturer warranty in place, not many AC problems will result in out-of-pocket spending on your part.
However, the protections of these agreements only exist when homeowners are diligent in AC upkeep. When signing the respective contracts, you agreed to proactively preserve the health of your cooling system by performing basic maintenance tasks and scheduling professional service as needed. Routine filter changes are a standard expectation of insurance companies and warranty issuers. If you file a claim for AC repairs and your provider learns that filter changes have been skipped, the warranty or policy in question could be voided. With this in mind, taking the time to swap dirty filters out is definitely worth the effort.
2. Improve Your Indoor Air Quality
Contrary to what many people think, AC filters aren’t designed with human health in mind. Standard AC filters are largely intended to protect cooling systems themselves by keeping dust and other particulates from damaging their internal components. However, having a clean and high-functioning filter in place will limit the number of allergens and contaminants that are circulated throughout your living environment.
In general, AC filters should be inspected once each month. Most households require AC filter changes every one to three months, but factors unique to your home may make it necessary to swap this component out more or less often. If anyone in the home has dry, itchy skin or eyes, difficulty breathing, nasal congestion, or recurring headaches, an excessively dirty AC filter could be the reason why. Neglecting regular filter changes can be especially problematic for building residents with allergies, asthma, COPD, or other respiratory ailments.
3. Prevent Costly Repairs
Thick accumulations of dirt on your AC air filter will inhibit airflow throughout the entire system. As a result, your air conditioner will have to work both harder and longer to achieve the indoor temperature you want. Decreased airflow in cooling systems also hinders the heat transfer process and causes humidity to rise. This can lead to frozen AC coils and give your home a muggy, oppressive feel. It will also greatly increase the likelihood of repairs by subjecting your air conditioner to constant stress. Given that neglecting filter changes can also leave you without the protections provided by insurance plans and warranties, swapping this component out is a great way to save money.
4. Promote Greater Efficiency
At times, there’s very little that homeowners in Carrollton can do to limit their cooling costs. When outdoor temperatures are exceedingly high, running your cooling equipment is essential for keeping building residents safe and comfortable. The only way to keep your utility bill under control in these instances is by optimizing the efficiency of your AC system. This will allow your air conditioner to do more with less energy.
AC systems with blocked filters run longer, work harder, and struggle to create the preferred temperatures that homeowners have set on their thermostats. Making sure that your air conditioner always has a clean filter can make a big difference in how much you ultimately pay for cooling throughout the summer season.
5. Avoid Unpleasant AC Odors
Many of the problems resulting from dirty AC filters come with unpleasant odors. For instance, having too much moisture in your cooling system can leave your home with a damp, moldy smell. Letting dirt, pollen, pet hair, and other contaminants build up on this component can also make your home smell dusty and generally unclean. For fresher, cleaner, and overall healthier indoor air, swap your filter out as needed.
6. Minimize the Likelihood of Mold
Humidity regulation is one of the lesser-known benefits of central air conditioners. Although you count on this system to regulate your indoor temperature, it also extracts excess moisture during operation. When homeowners fail to make regular filter changes and the neglect adversely impacts the performance of their air conditioner, they may notice condensation forming on their windows and walls. Damp, muggy indoor air paired with increased airborne particulates creates the ideal environment for mold formation. This is true both inside of your air conditioner and without.
7. Extend the Lifespan of Your Cooling Equipment
Air conditioners that are constantly forced to work harder than they’re meant to don’t last as long as cooling systems that are diligently maintained. With routine maintenance and care, your current air conditioner could last up to 15 years. By neglecting filter changes, you may be creating the need for total AC replacement much earlier than expected. Worse still, without the protection of your warranty, this is a project that you’ll have to pay for entirely on your own.
8. Clean Air Filters Promote a Cleaner House
Dirty air filters have a limit on how much debris they can ultimately hold. If you ever waited six months or more to change an air filter out, it probably had a thick mat of lint-like material on its surface. Given that air conditioners are constantly trying to push air through these components, these accumulations frequently get blown off. The dust and debris end up in your ductwork and then ultimately are recirculated throughout your living spaces. If you have noticed that your home is dusty or dirty even though you have been keeping up your regular cleaning routine, the issue is probably a filthy air filter. Changing out your HVAC system’s filters will reduce the need for professional duct cleaning and result in a cleaner home that is less of a chore to maintain.
Contact the Professionals
At Dring Air Conditioning & Heating, we have been proudly serving the residents of Carrollton and the surrounding area since 1953. We install, maintain and repair heating and cooling systems. Our clients can also turn to us for duct cleaning, duct installation, and annual maintenance plans. To schedule an appointment, contact our team at Dring Air Conditioning & Heating today.
