What Are the Consequences of Not Changing Your Air Filters?

Learn about what happens if you don't change your air filters: from increasing energy costs to damaging expensive equipment and decreasing indoor air quality.

What Are the Consequences of Not Changing Your Air Filters?

Not changing your air filters can have serious consequences, from increasing energy costs to damaging expensive equipment and decreasing indoor air quality. It can also lead to health problems, such as headaches, itchy eyes or throat, and dizziness. In the long-term, it can even cause respiratory disease, heart disease, or cancer. Air filters act as barriers to prevent contaminants from entering the HVAC system or circulating in the air.

When they are not changed regularly, they become clogged by the accumulation of particles and contaminants that adhere to the filter. This reduces airflow to the HVAC system and makes it work harder, using more energy and costing you more money. You may also be unable to keep your home at the right temperature, as the system needs to work for longer periods. If the air filter is clogged and can't trap contaminants like it used to, those things can go back to the air that everyone in your home breathes.

Immediate problems may include headaches, itchy eyes or throat, and dizziness. If the air filters are not changed and problems persist, the long-term effects could be respiratory disease, heart disease, or cancer. Getting the most value out of your home can be as easy as changing air filters. Homeowners who ignore filters in their heating and air conditioning systems risk increasing energy costs, damaging expensive equipment, and decreasing indoor air quality and personal health.

The danger of not changing the air filter in the house for a long time is that it will eventually lead to damage to the oven. This means that the entire system will be destroyed by excess heat. Because clogged air filters cause the system to struggle to create airflow, hot or cold air cannot properly go where it is needed. This clearly indicates that the air filters are clogged and should be replaced as soon as possible.

Remember, replacing air filters costs less than $50, so don't let delay and negligence cost you thousands of dollars. With a clogged air filter, air will not flow through the coils properly, causing them to stop working and causing total system failure. You'll notice some dust around the HVAC unit or in your home if you don't change the central air filter. So instead of waiting to see what happens if you don't change your air filter for a long time, it's best to change it.