Washable furnace filters

[uberjackalope]

It's that time of year again...time to turn the furnace back on.  Drat.

I'm tired of buying the disposable filters at Home Depot for $20 a pop. Has anyone tried the washable permanent air filters like this one from Amazon?

If so: Do they seem to work well? Is washing them relatively simple? Anything else I should know about these as an alternative to

Comments

[ginky]

We have a reusable one but I'm not sure which one it is because DH bought it and installed it and takes care of it. Our heater is also part of our ac system, and so I have no clue if it's the same type of thing but it looks like that.

He had to cut it down to fit (which is what you were supposed to do) and it fits better than the disposable ones did in the first place. Most of the time he vacuums it clean.

We replaced the interior filter recently, but we'd had it for a couple of years.

Overall, we're quite pleased with it and if it broke today we'd go buy another one.

[uberjackalope]

Good to know! Thanks. Our furnace is very ancient, and I have a feeling these things might work better in newer systems (I completely forgot, but we did have washable filters in the gas furnace at a townhouse we previously rented--they were okay but the system was completely different than what we have now, so I'm still on the fence about using these in our current furnace).

[supermelanie]

My parents have them and I would NEVER get them. They are a huge hassle to clean and they get the whole bathtub filthy.

[stemware]

We hose ours outside.

[supermelanie]

They only run their furnace in the winter, when conditions are less than ideal for standing outside and hosing things off. *shrug*

[stemware]

We've used both disposables and washables. I've noticed no difference in performance. Washables still should be replaced occasionally - every year or two. The thinner fibers break down over time as you wash them.

If you have an allergy problem, I'd stick with the disposables.