Do Furnace Filters Need To Be Sealed? If So, Why And How To Do It?

One of the most important parts of your furnace is its filter. It is in charge of purifying the air brought into your house.

Therefore, if you’re wondering whether or not your furnace filter has to be sealed, you’ve come to the perfect spot because we have the answer for you.

You should seal the furnace filter. Your filter media box can be sealed airtight using a gasket or magnetic strips.

We’ll go through sealing your furnace filter’s benefits, how to accomplish it, and the products you can use if you decide to do it in the parts that follow.

Why Is Sealing Your Furnace Filter Important?

If your furnace is installed in a dirty or unclean room, the region around the filter allows air to flow directly to the blower and entirely bypass the filter.

Your furnace’s blower compartment will be inundated with murky, dirty air.

Without air filtration, the fan in your furnace can let all the dust, dirt, and allergens into your house. As a result, your furnace will become dirty and less efficient.

The appearance of dust in your home will increase, and furnace troubles such as parts that fail more frequently and wear out more quickly will result from dirt clogging the system.

What Are A Few Options For Furnace Filter Sealing Products?

It can be difficult to decide which product to use to seal your furnace filter. The two choices for filter seal products are as follows:

FilterLock Seal

This product consists of two flexible vinyl pieces that overlap one another. The metal ducts surrounding the filter are connected by the magnets in the strips. The Slot Seal’s ability to be reused contributes to the filter’s efficiency.

Your home’s air quality remains better and cleaner when you use this well-fitting, safe gadget.

Air Filter Gaskets

This item stops gas and air leakage in HVAC systems by sealing HVAC air filters in the mounting frame.

Single- or double-coated air filter gaskets are available with high-performance adhesive choices. Custom die-cut gaskets are available kiss-cut in rolls with an easy-to-peel release liner, and they decrease material waste.

Additionally, single- and double-sided tape that may be cut to any desired size is available in rolls or spools for purchase along with air filter gaskets.

How To Close A Gap In A Furnace Filter

Simply ask your HVAC professional to install a new cover or build one for the furnace filter slot in your heating and cooling system.

You can seal the furnace slot by yourself by performing the following simple steps and a FilterLock seal:

• Get ready to use the magnetic strip.
• Before enabling the sides to unite, mount the bottom piece first and slip it underneath the filter slot.
• Make sure the item is centered within the filter slot opening after it is in place.
• For the remaining strip of your sealer, repeat steps 1-3.
• Finally, use incense smoke to verify that you applied the seal appropriately.

The Benefits Of Owning A Duct System

Common comfort problems, such as overheated or underheated rooms in the summer or winter, can be helped by insulating and closing ducts.

Furthermore, faulty ducts can reduce a heating and cooling system’s efficiency by up to 20%. Efficiency is increased, energy expenditures are decreased, and duct sealing and insulation usually pay for themselves through energy savings.

Additionally, the certainty that your furnace won’t draw in undesirable air and disperse it throughout your home is the primary advantage of having your furnace filter sealed.

Additionally, it gives you peace of mind knowing that your home has high-quality indoor air circulation.

What Areas Of Your Furnace Can A Filter Be Installed? What Are The Steps For Installation?

Filters for furnaces are normally located on the return side, fresh air intake, and return grille of the furnace.

Return Side Of The Furnace Air Handler

The filters on this side of your HVAC air handler purify the air, protect the HVAC motor, and improve the quality of the air inside your home.

You can follow these easy steps if you’re unsure how to put filters in your furnace’s air handler:

Make And Configure A Filter Media Box

• Place the finished filter media box in the space between the return air grille and the AHU box.
• You can spend money on an air handler with a built-in filter box if you don’t want to deal with the effort of making one. Before installing the filter, just make sure the box is the right size.

The Filter Is Slid Into The Box

• Before covering the opening with the filter access panel cover, place the filter into the slot. The panel cover needs a gasket for an airtight seal.
• To increase airtightness and make it easier to remove the cover for cleaning or replacement, tape the edges of the cover with duct tape or magnetic tape.
• Leaving the filter cover off or not sealing it could allow the air handler to pull unconditioned and/or unwanted air into the house.
• Leakage at the filter cover could result in poor interior air quality if the air handler is installed in a garage or another unsuitable location.

Finish Up

• To complete the air handler installation, install the wiring and condensate plumbing.
• Ensure that the filter is not obstructed by any wiring or piping.

Return Grille

Put the filters in the return grille if your furnace is in an awkward place. Ensure that the grilles may be opened from the interior of the house.

Install safety-removable grilles to lessen the chance that they will unintentionally fall to the ground when you open them, such as those joined by a hinge along one side.

Install filters with MERV 6 or higher ratings in accordance with the size specification provided by the HVAC designer. It is not advised to install filters with MERV ratings higher than what the HVAC system was designed to handle.

Greater air resistance brought on by higher-than-required MERV filters may cause device failure and increased energy use.

Fresh Air Intake

You can always choose to put your filter near the air intake if none of the previously listed choices work well with your furnace. You can accomplish this by following this easy advice:

Pick A Spot And Dig A Hole For The Intake

• Locate the outside air intake away from polluting sources, such as a porch ceiling or an eave, to make filter maintenance easier for you.
• Cut an air intake hole that matches the size of the grille and filter that will be installed. When selecting a filter size and MERV rating, airflow resistance should be taken into account due to the pressure drop in this outside air intake duct.

Setup The Register Boot To Which The Duct Will Be Connected

• The majority of register boxes have a four-inch minimum depth. The duct terminal won’t make touch with the filter because of this separation.
• Allowing several inches of gap between the filter and the duct termination helps lessen the airflow velocity through the filter, enhancing filter performance and extending filter life in addition to ensuring that the whole filter’s surface area is utilized.

Place The Grille And Filter In Place

• Install a hinged grille outside the entrance for the fresh air intake. Install a wire mesh bird and bug screen after that.
• After positioning the filter on the interior side, close the grille.

Advice For Keeping Your Furnace Filters Clean

Your furnace’s longevity and effectiveness depend on regular furnace filter maintenance. The furnace has to work harder to disperse warm air around your house when the filter is blocked with dust and debris.

The additional stress brought on by using your furnace in overdrive will result in a shorter lifespan. Your furnace will ultimately need to be replaced, ideally now.

You should keep in mind the following maintenance advice for furnace filters:

Clean Your Filters Frequently
Normally, you may do this every three months, but you can do it more frequently if you need to—for example, if you live in a dusty area, have doggies who shed, or run your furnace fan nonstop.

A Disposable Filter Should Not Be Cleaned
The parts of this sort of filter degrade over time and are not meant to be reused or cleaned.

Verify That Your Filter Fits Tightly
Since air takes the path of least resistance, it is essential that your filter is installed as firmly as possible. There must be no evident gaps on either the furnace side or the plenum side, and it must extend to the end of the filter bed.

Utilize The Necessary MERV Rating
For household use, a MERV value of between 5 and 8 is sufficient. Consult your HVAC expert so they can advise you on the effects of using filters with MERV ratings higher than the suggested ranges if you intend to do so.

Keep Your Fan Running Nonstop
Run your fan continuously to provide airflow and to encourage ongoing filtering. However, if you want to do this, make sure to routinely check your filter because continuous use causes it to fill up more quickly.

Conclusion

Your furnace filter has to be sealed. Not only does it increase the effectiveness of your furnace and guarantee that it won’t malfunction in the long term, but it also gives you the assurance that the air moving in your home is clean.