Stay vigilant in keeping an eye out for dirty air filter symptoms so you don't end up with a clogged AC filter becoming a burden on your HVAC system. More dust has been piling up in your home. Your air filter appears gray in color and seems to be covered in pollutants. You see unusual increases in your energy bill.
You can usually tell a dirty HVAC filter needs to be changed just by looking at it. The filter will be gray or black and bits of debris will be visible. But you may notice other changes that indicate the furnace is not operating properly.
A filter that is clogged with dirt is an obvious sign of a dirty air filter. Performing a visual inspection is an easy way to know if your air filter needs to be changed. A brand new air filter is white or off-white in color, while a dirty air filter will appear darker with the dirt and debris visible.
From green to red to purple to black, the colours indicate the filter's ability to remove particles from the air. The highest rating (black) can remove large and small particles as well as odours.
Cleaning an air filter only has two additional steps from replacing one. Again, the first step is to turn off the HVAC system. Find the service panel, open the furnace, and then locate your filter and remove it from the furnace. From here, you'll want to place it dirty side up and gently vacuum the large debris.
A buildup of debris in your vents can restrict proper airflow, leading to incorrect combustion of your furnace leading to brown or black soot and debris accumulating on your filter. You may also notice that the heat from your vents isn't as warm as it should be or blowing out as much air.
Whether black or gray, any dark discoloration entails a dirty furnace filter and should be cleaned. On top of particle pollution, combustion can turn regular build-up into black soot and saturate the entire furnace filter. Pet dander, dirt, and dust don't cause black soot per se, but enough buildup can lead to it.
NO. A furnace filter has a critical job to perform and a filter cannot be run without one. For a furnace to work properly, it should always be equipped with a clean, working filter. As we'll see, a dirty filter can cause problems, and so can having no filter at all.
If you keep experiencing this situation in your home, we recommend you start with a whole-house duct cleaning to eliminate most of the excess dust and dirt in your home's HVAC system. Then, consult with one of our expert heating and cooling technicians to find the optimal filter for your HVAC system.
A brand-new air filter, or at least one in good condition, should be relatively clean. Fresh filters feature a white or off-white color, while older filters may be darker in color due to all the dirt and debris they've collected. If your filter looks dark or off-color, bring in a mechanic to check it out just in case.
Brown. In most cases, the brown residue accumulating on your filter is from household dust, pet dander and other airborne particles. It can also be caused by tobacco smoke, and traces of cooking grease and oil.
If your filter becomes clogged, it can cause your furnace to shut off as a safety feature to prevent damage to the furnace. To fix this problem, simply replace your air filter on a regular basis. If you have pets, be sure to change your air filter more frequently.
A clean air filter is off-white in color and will have no dirt or debris caught in its folds. A dirty air filter, on the other hand, will appear gray or brown in color and you'll likely be able to see dirt trapped between the layers of fabric. This dirt is getting in the way of the flow of oxygen to the engine.
For 1- to 2-inch filters, replace them every 1 to 3 months. For 3- to 4-inch filters, replace them every 6 to 9 months. For 5- to 6-inch filters, replace them every 9 to 12 months.
You can run the furnace without installing a filter, but only temporarily (such as overnight, awaiting a new filter). If you let it run very long without filtration, contaminants will build up.
A dirty furnace filter is discolored. It's gray or brown instead of its original white or light color. You'll notice a thick layer of dust, dirt, and debris covering the filter's surface. The filter may look clogged or matted, with visible clumps of dust and hair.
Your air filter turns black after only a month because of high dust levels in the home, leaky seals allowing more dirt in, contaminated ductwork, an undersized or defective filter, or simply because it's time to change it more frequently. Let's dive a bit deeper into the culprits.
If your HVAC filter clogs and causes you to change it more often than every 3 months, your home may have high dust levels and poor air quality. You also may be running the system too frequently or using a low-quality filter.
A furnace running with a clogged air filter is starved for ventilation and produces high levels of carbon monoxide (CO) – a colorless, odorless gas than can be fatal for humans and their pets. A clogged air filter can also increase the chances of a fire, further advancing the safety concerns in this home.
For most homeowners, black air filters aren't a cause for panic. They simply mean that you need to increase the frequency that you change your air filters, and that the filter is doing its job.
Your filter gets clogged faster when your furnace is running more often. That's because more air is cycled through your filter when your furnace goes through more heating cycles, so more contaminants get caught on the filter's media. The colder it gets outside, the faster your filter will get clogged with dirt.