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Where Is My Air Filter Located?

Homeowner Replacing Home's Air Filter

Changing your air filters will consistently give you good indoor air quality—if you can find the filter.

Good indoor air quality is dependent upon regular air filter changes for your heating and cooling unit. Knowing this, you decide to change the air filter yourself.

After rolling up your sleeves, you go to change the air filter—but there’s a problem: you don’t know where it is. You open this part, then that door, look under there—nothing. No filter.

Time to do some digging. (Safety tip: turn off your thermostat before you start looking for your air filter to prevent your unit from starting up while you’re looking.)

There are four possible places where your air filter might be hiding:

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  1. Behind the Grill on Your Wall
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    Some air filters are placed right behind the air return grill on your wall. Just unscrew the grill from the wall and check to see if your air filter is inside.

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  3. In the Vertical Slot of Your Air Handler
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    The air handler (the HVAC unit in your home, garage, attic, or basement) may have a thick vertical slot with a removable cover. There’s usually some type of opening mechanism (or a cover that you can lift up) that allows you to remove the cover and reveal your air filter.

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  5. At the Bottom of Your Air Handler
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    If you don’t see a vertical slot, your air handler might be located horizontally at the bottom of your unit. The horizontal slot is also likely to have a removable cover, but depending on your unit, you may need to remove the metal panels on your unit to reveal the horizontal slot.

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  7. Behind the Grill on Your Ceiling (Handler in the Attic)
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    If your air handler is in the attic, the air is likely being pulled through a grill on the ceiling directly below. Check for the air filter behind the grill on your ceiling.

You might spend a bit of time searching for your air filter, but once you find it, you’ll always know where to look next time.

Good indoor air quality is important, especially for people with sensitivities to dust or other air pollutants. If you’ve done a thorough search for your air filter but are still having trouble, contact us here at Brummitt Heating & Cooling; we’ll be happy to perform an in-depth check of your indoor air quality—and find that filter once and for all.

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