Want to learn more about your furnace and how to maintain it properly? Call Leith Heating & Cooling today for more tips on extracting a stuck filter in your furnace.
Having your furnace system ready is an important part of home maintenance. When cleaning, changing, or even checking on your furnace filters, you can follow a few simple steps to learn how to remove a stuck furnace filter. If you’re having trouble unsticking a furnace air filter, let our team at Leith Heating & Cooling, a leading provider of reliable furnace repair in Schaumburg, explain how to remove a jammed filter.
Furnaces Need Regular Filter Replacement
Keeping your furnace or boiler running is essential for Schaumburg’s cold seasons. Replacing a furnace filter is easy as long as you have the correct filter. With a few simple steps, you can replace your filter in just a few minutes:
- Turn off your furnace: To replace your filter, first turn off the power to your furnace so that no debris or dust becomes caught without filtering through. Without a filter on your furnace at all times, any loose dust can enter into the furnace’s components and cause damage.
- Locate the service panel: Once you’ve turned off your furnace, try to find the service panel indicated by your furnace’s manual. If you no longer have a manual for your furnace, you can find service panels near the air intake or the blower compartment.
- Evaluate your filter: Before removing your filter, note which direction the arrow points on your filter frame. This arrow indicates the direction of airflow, which determines how you install the replacement filter.
- Replace your filter: After you note which way air flows for your filter, replace the old one with the new one. Once you install a new filter, you can turn your furnace back on.
How Do Furnace Filters Get Stuck?
While changing out the furnace filter is normally an easy task, the filter can occasionally become stuck by being wedged in the service door or sucked into the blower motor. Of the two predicaments, a furnace filter getting stuck in a service door is the easiest to resolve.
Unfortunately, a filter that gets stuck inside the blower mechanism is harder to remove and may happen for any of the following reasons:
- Filter strain: Depending on your furnace filter change frequency, the strain from all the dust and debris on the filter may cause it to collapse inward. This can cause thin filters, such as fiberglass types, to become stuck in the blower.
- Improper filters: If your filter uses thin material or has a cheap design, the crease construction or structural weakness may cause it to be pulled into the blower motor. When purchasing filters, be sure to accurately measure for size and type so that yours doesn’t slip through and get stuck or become so clogged that it causes internal issues.
- Incorrect setup: If you accidentally set up your filter incorrectly, your filter may be at risk of collapsing. This is why paying attention to your filter’s orientation (and the arrow that indicates it) is important for successful installation.
If your furnace filter is stuck on your blower motor, this is a major issue that we recommend resolving with a professional fix. While you can resolve stuck furnace filters that are simply jammed in place, a filter that’s stuck inside your blower motor needs extra care to ensure the internal mechanisms of your furnace aren’t damaged.
Tips for Loosening a Stuck Furnace Filter for Schaumburg Homes
Removing jammed furnace filters, especially when they’re full of dust and dirt, can be a hassle, but you can learn how to remove a stuck furnace filter with the right tips. If your furnace filter is stuck, there are a few ways to loosen it without brute force. If your furnace filter is stuck, try some of these furnace filter removal techniques.
Steadily Jostling the Filter
If your filter is stuck, try gently tugging it to see if it will budge. The filter may be bent, causing the entire structure to become stuck within the frame. If your filter is bent, a steady jostle may bend it back into position but try not to be too rough with your filter.
Bend the Filter’s Sides
If you’re having trouble getting your filter out, another option is to gently bend the sides. This can help encourage the filter to pop out without damaging any internal mechanisms.
When bending, try not to overextend the filter, as doing so may get it more lodged than it already is. Instead, slowly bend the filter until you feel a pop.
Use Pliers To Remove the Filter
For particularly stubborn filters, we recommend a pair of pliers for the job. If you’re having issues getting a good grip on your filter, a squeeze from a pair of pliers can help you get a good grip on your filter before extracting it.
Strategically Destroy the Filter
If your filter is full and needs to be replaced, there’s no harm in destroying one that you will throw away anyway. When extracting stuck furnace filters, try gently breaking them so that no part of the filter bends and gets stuck against the sides of the unit.
If you’re trying to extract a fiberglass filter, use gloves, as fiberglass can harm your skin. Only destroy your old filter if there’s no other way to extract it since doing so may risk damage to your furnace if you do it improperly.
Leith Heating & Cooling Can Help You Learn How To Remove a Stuck Furnace Filter in Schaumburg
Now that you know how to remove a stuck furnace filter, you understand how dangerous it can be for your furnace. Depending on your furnace filter change frequency, some filters may be hard to extract due to dust or grime. Don’t feel pressured to make expensive mistakes when Leith Heating & Cooling has you covered.
If you have a stuck filter in your furnace, we can help. Call Leith Heating & Cooling in Schaumburg, IL, at 847-565-1568 for an appointment in Schaumburg.
