which way does furnace filter go

Seems like a pretty straightforward question – hardly something worthy of having a blog post written about it.

Yet, Canadian homeowners are still confused over which direction their furnace filters should be facing. Get it right and you’ll enjoy cleaner air and higher efficiency; get it wrong, and you could be circulating dusty air through your home. In addition to that, you are causing your unit to work inefficiently while reducing the life span of your filters.

That’s because most filters are designed for air to flow in one direction so dust can’t accumulate on the blowers and motors, gumming up the works in your furnace. Making sure you put the filter in the right way will save you money in energy efficiency, help you boost the quality of your indoor air and extend the life of your furnace or air conditioner. Some furnace filters are re-usable. In this case, you don’t have to replace them, just clean them and re-insert. Remember which way you put them in and do the same thing when re-inserting.

You spend enough for filters: they should at least work the way they were intended to! With most pleated filters, the direction of air flow is critical . The dirt should not be accumulating on the metal mesh side of the media; if that is happening, you put it in wrong. Switch it. The mesh side is the back side ; the air should flow through the front side first. After you’ve switched it, draw an arrow in Sharpie on the furnace duct indicating “air flow” just as it is mentioned on the filters. This way you won’t forget next time.Some brands of filters print the arrow right on the frame of the filter so users know exactly which direction to slide it in. The arrow should be pointing to the evaporator coil, blower motor and fan, right inside the air handler. Take a picture of the set-up so you can easily refer to it the next time you install a new filter. Be sure to check your filters every couple of months or so. If you can’t see light coming through them, they’re clogged with dust and should be changed.  How Often To Change Furnace Filter

A similar problem facing homeowners is forgetting the size of the filter they need . To determine this in the first place, take a tape measure to the filter box and write down the measurement in fractions of inches. Be sure to shop for ¼ or ½ inches smaller for the ideal fit. Learn more about How to find size of furnace filter on our website. Once you know what it is, write down the size and keep it with your other passwords for safe keeping.

For answers to these and other questions about your furnace filters, give Filtration Montreal a call now or send us an email. We always want you to be confident in your purchasing decisions and filter use.