Furnace Filter Quandary
I just had repairs done to my furnace, and my "furnace guy" told me the furnace motor will have to be replaced soon. He also noticed that I was using the better quality 3-M pleated filters, and warned me against it. It seems that these filters clog up in about four days, and the motor has to work very hard to get air after that. He recommended that I use the OLD BLUE FIBERGLASS filters! What gives here? Am I ruining my furnace, simply because I like living in a relatively dust-free environment? Is this really something that can damage a furnace?
Answer:
Well I have been using pleated paper filters in my furnace for 10 years, same motor. Use the pleated paper filters, especially if you have air conditioning. With the fiberglass filters the smallest air passage in the system is your evaporator coil for the AC. What gets by the filter gets stopped by the coil. Filters are cheaper than having a HVAC tech clean the coil. With 1" thick filters you may need to change them as often as once a month if the AC or heat runs often, every 3 months at least. Oh, by the way, I am a HVAC tech.