So I’m curious about other people’s air filters in their house. First off, our air filter is pretty large and apparently a strange size, so I can only get them at Home Depot. I can get cheap ones, but recently there was a sale on a nicer one, so I bought a pack.
Brian had the idea to write the date on the filter so you can always see when you changed it last. With the cheaper filters, we changed it about every 3 months. They were gross after 3 months, but not horrible. After a few weeks, the new expensive filter was disgusting. Really. I waited until a month had gone by, and then I went ahead and changed it. I can’t tell you the grossness that it had become. Ew. Just. Ew.
After having changed it, I looked at the new one that afternoon, and within an hour, it too had already turned from white to gray. It wasn’t severely gross yet, but definitely on its way.
So my question is: are we (Brian, me, Samantha, Molly and Maddie) THAT disgusting? Do I not dust frequently enough? Do I open the back porch door too often? Is the new filter just that good? What’s the deal? Should I use the new filters and change weekly until we get the house to a decent level of dustiness?
Everything is completely normal. The higher quality filter is going to catch more “stuff” from the air and ultimately leaves the air exiting the system cleaner. Unless you build a bubble over your house you will never get it so that the filter does not get dirty. Just keep using the good ones and change them every month. FYI: when they are dirty they actually filter out more “stuff” than when they are clean, but it will restrict the airflow causing your heater or air conditioner to run more costing you on your utility bill.
Face it, you are just gross.
Thanks Lizzie.