Dirty Air Filter Horror

Filter the 13th
Happy Friday the 13th! For some reason, we thought this unluckiest of superstitious days that gave birth to a hockey-masked killer horror movie franchise made us think of dirty air filters.
After all, a dirty air filter may cause many unlucky mishaps to your air conditioning unit and can actually kill your AC. … You might be saying to yourself, “Kill my air conditioner? No way! Come on, really, how important is an air filter?”  We understand your doubt. After all, it’s just a cheap little thing made of paper and cardboard that goes in your air conditioning unit to trap some dirt, right? How much harm can a dirty little air filter really cause?
Oh boy, are you in for a surprise! You probably already know that your air filter keeps pollution and debris out of your air conditioning unit. But most people don’t realize an air filter — that cheap little paper and cardboard thingy — really can wreak havoc on your air conditioning system if it gets clogged. We know you probably have a busy life and can easily overlook checking your AC’s air filter, but the fact is changing it is a pretty simple task and replacing it is relatively cheap.
Here are some of the machete-wielding horrors a dirty AC filter can cause to your AC system:
Filthy Air Ducts
When your air filter is dirty, everything that moves past it gets dirty too, including your air ducts. And if your air ducts are dirty [cue: scary music], the air you’re breathing is dirty too! Keep breathing that filthy air and instead of wearing a Jason Voorhies hockey mask for Friday the 13th, you’re going to need a Darth Vader mask to breathe! You should get your air ducts inspected and cleaned anyway, and (here comes the shameless plug) when you get your air ducts cleaned by Super Heat & Air, you get $100 off for an entire home duct cleaning service!
AC/DC
No, we’re not talking about the classic rock band that brought us “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”. In this context, AC/DC stands for Air Conditioner/Dirty Components. As we already mentioned, everything that gets past dirty air filters gets dirty too. So if your air filter is dirty, your AC components will get dirty too. Makes sense, right? We’re talking components like dirty cooling coils, which eventually leads to freezing evaporator coils, which could block airflow and that’s not cool! Frozen evaporator coils cause your system to work harder, which means higher energy bills and possibly total system failure, which means you will have to get your AC replaced [cue: horror scream]! And getting your air conditioner replaced is a dirty deed that CANNOT be done dirt cheap!
Air Handler Can’t Handle It
Dirty air filters can also be deadly to your air handler (the indoor A/C unit blowing the air throughout your home). A dirty air filter can cause the air handler to overheat and break, which is another problem that is not “dirt cheap” to fix. An overheating air handler is most common during the summer, when your air conditioner is most frequently used. A clogged air filter means reduced airflow, which in turn causes the fan motor to work harder. If the fan motor burns out from being overworked, it could result in overheating and eventually system failure. So if you let your AC break down during a hot Florida summer, we’re not talking about Friday the 13th anymore: we’ll be talking about Hellraiser instead! Don’t be a pinhead: change your air filter!

Sniff Sniffle
Hey, did we mention that when your air filter is dirty, everything that moves past it gets dirty too? … Yeah, yeah, we know, it’s getting a little redundant, but the best way to get the point across is to hammer it home! Allergens can cause more than just the sniffles. They can cause headaches, fatigue, and a slew of other nasty symptoms you won’t like. The most common cause of allergic reactions to air conditioning is a dirty air filter. So when your air filter is dirty, it becomes less effective at blocking dirt, dust, mildew and other allergens from flowing through your indoor air. And yes, at the risk of being redundant once again: you’re breathing that stuff in! [cue: jump scare]
Serial Biller
We already mentioned reduced air flow’s effect on your fan motor due to a dirty air filter. But reduced air flow also leads to cooling inefficiency, which in turn leads to higher cooling bills. Air conditioning units are designed to meet a certain amount of internal airflow. And if yours is struggling to produce that airflow, it will raise your energy bills to horrific highs! A simple changing of your air filter once a month or even every 3 months (for higher quality filters) is not only simple and inexpensive, but will save you money on your monthly electric bill. Pretty scary, huh?
So there you go, that little paper and cardboard thing you’ve been neglecting can cause some serious carnage to your AC unit. Don’t let your busy life keep you from changing your dirty air filter. You don’t want your air conditioning unit to end up in our AC graveyard now, do you?

Happy Friday the 13th from “Super Heat and Scare!” And if you need help with changing your air filter, keeping your AC system clean or any other air conditioning service, call us. (813) 279-8213

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