Will putting filter material on cold air return reduce the furnaces effectiveness?

Question

I have a ton of dust in the house and thought that placing cuttable register filter material on the inside of the cold air return grate would help. I am wondering if this will do any good (house still VERY dusty), or if I am inadvertantely effecting the furnace's performance.

Answer 1

My fist job in the HVAC business was cleaning ducts and you wouldn't believe the amount of "stuff" I cleaned out of older houses duct work. Most of the customers did the duct cleaning because of alergy or asthma problems. I would also recomend they install an electostatic air cleaner after I finished cleaning.

If you live in an older house, your best starting point would be to get your ducts professionally cleaned.
You can add filter media to your cold air grills, and it will not drastically affect your air flow, IF your replace them regularly, if you leave them in too long and they become partially plugged you will begain to have furnace problems.

Your furnace will begin to short cycle because it won't be getting enough air flow, which will lead to furnace failure.
I honestly wouldn't recommend it, I've been to customers houses who have done this and they eventually start forgetting about changing the filters, until I showed up to work on their furnace.
You'd be better of leaving the grills alone and having an electostatic air cleaner installed at your furnace they do a much better job of keeping the dust down than regular filters.
Adding a whole house humidifier will help keep the dust down too.

Also using a vacuum that has a HEPA filter will make a big dent in your dust problem.

Call a reputable HVAC company in your area and have them take a look at your ducts and filter, they can probably help you out.

Answer 2

Furnace Filter Material

Answer 3

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RE:
Will putting filter material on cold air return reduce the furnaces effectiveness?
I have a ton of dust in the house and thought that placing cuttable register filter material on the inside of the cold air return grate would help. I am wondering if this will do any good (house still VERY dusty), or if I am inadvertantely effecting the furnace's performance.

Answer 4

I think it will affect the performance. Start by replacing the filter that is in the furnace. Then have a professional duct cleaner come in and clean the ducts. You could try using an industrial vacuum to do the job yourself but it might not be as good. Before you get the ducts cleaned, dust the house thoroughly. Use damp cloths and the kind that grab the dust. You still may need to do it several times. After the duct cleaning, replace the furnace filter again and replace it every month, even during the summer.

Answer 5

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the more filters you have in the system the better the air quality,,,because it gets more of the dirt and dust out of the air. However you should keep your eye on them and dont let them get too clogged up where it would affect the air flow.

Answer 6

No, I don't think so. The furnace filter itself is more dense and compact compare to the cuttable ones, meaning it is the one that's controlling the furnace efficiency.

Answer 7

it will slow the flow a little bit but it will effectively cut the dust by putting the filters in the returns this is healthier for those living in the home

Answer 8

on most systems the cold air return is the same one used for heating or cooling modes