What You’ll Learn
Is your old furnace sabotaging your indoor air quality and health?
If you’ve experienced unexplained allergy-like symptoms or feel like your air is too dry or too wet, the first place to look is your furnace.
MERV-rated filters play a key role in reducing indoor air pollution, and while some older furnaces can accommodate them, modern systems are often designed to use them more efficiently.
The 4 Reasons:
You’ve been home for 5 minutes, and you’re already sniffling.
The air feels stale, and your family hasn’t been free of a runny nose in weeks.
You’ve treated it like a comfort issue, but what if the problem is your aging furnace, quietly contaminating the air you breathe?
Upgrading your furnace could improve your health and safety—and silence those sneezes.
1. More Than Just Dust: What’s in Your Air?
You may think it’s only the dust that makes you sneeze, but the filters of your old furnace may be letting many other particles circulate, such as:
- Mold spores
- Pet dander
- Pollen
- Smoke residue
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Outdated filtration systems allow these irritants to stay in your air—and in your lungs. This can lead to sleepless nights, allergy flare-ups, and worsening symptoms for people with asthma.
Upgrading your furnace filters can help trap more indoor pollution, so that the air your family breathes is cleaner.
The Cost of Not Upgrading Your Filters
Not changing out your filters may seem like a budget-friendly choice, but over time, it can hurt your wallet and more.
Continuing to breathe in polluted air will degrade your health.
As your health worsens, the doctor visits increase, and what began as “allergies” becomes something much more serious.
Without the right filters, older furnaces let harmful air particles through. That’s why MERV ratings matter.
Understanding MERV Ratings
Older furnaces can still function well if they are compatible with MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) rated filters.
Modern furnaces make it easy, as they can handle filters with higher MERV ratings, and some even have dual filter systems.
The higher the MERV, the more effective the filter can be in trapping particles, as is shown in the chart:
| MERV Rating | Recommended Use |
|---|---|
| 13 | Superior filtration, 70-75% efficiency |
| 11+ | Better filtration, 60-65% efficiency |
| 8+ | Good filtration, 30-35% efficiency |
| 6+ | Basic filtration, <20% efficiency |
2. Carbon Monoxide: The Hidden Danger
As an odorless, silent, and colorless gas that can build up, carbon monoxide (CO) leaks can have fatal consequences.
Breathing in CO can cause headaches, fatigue, confusion, nausea, and even death.
Modern Furnaces = Built-In Protection
Modern furnaces come with new and improved safety features and high-quality heat exchangers, which reduce the risk of CO leaks.
Aging furnaces pose a real risk. Most CO incidents happen when homeowners assume that nothing is wrong. By the time you have any physical symptoms, it could be too late.
3. Humidity Control: Finding the Right Balance
To live comfortably, there must be a balance in humidity.
- Too low? Everything dries up—your hands, your lips, your throat. You’ll be spending too much on balms to ease the discomfort.
- Too high? Now there’s mold everywhere—which is incredibly hard to remove—and your throat still feels weird.
Out-of-control humidity isn’t just uncomfortable, as prolonged exposure to mold can have long-lasting effects.
With an outdated furnace, maintaining the recommended indoor humidity level of 30-50% is a challenge.
New Furnace, More Humidity Control
New furnace systems can be customized to address humidity concerns. Most can easily integrate:
- Humidifiers
- Dehumidifiers
- A combination of both humidifiers and dehumidifiers
- AC systems that can act as dehumidifiers
Since these systems can be integrated into modern furnaces, they can monitor the entire home, not just a room or two, as a standalone humidifier would.
Upgrading your furnace means no more band-aid fixes.
Say goodbye to the dehumidifier that you forget to turn on or empty, and the cheap fans you bought last summer as a last resort.
Your home will finally be comfortable, and your immune system won’t be under attack anymore.
4. Your Peace of Mind
When your heating system is working with you—not against you—you can finally relax.
No need to worry about invisible gases, mold, humidity, or how soon you’ll run out of tissues.
A modern furnace literally helps you breathe easier.
With regular care, your peace of mind never fades.
Yearly tune-ups make sure that your furnace is running safely, efficiently, and cleanly.
With a system you can trust, cleaner air, and less stress, a healthier home awaits.
Take the First Step Toward Cleaner Air
A new furnace is more than an investment in your home; it’s an investment in your health.
It will improve your air quality, decrease the likelihood of mold growth, prevent CO leaks, and give you peace of mind.
Protect your home, protect your health. Become a Kauffman Gas customer today to get started!
FAQs
How do I know if my furnace is affecting my indoor air quality?
If you’re noticing persistent allergy symptoms with no other explanation, stale air, or uneven heating, the filters on your furnace are not doing their job.
What is a MERV rating, and which one is recommended?
MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) measures how well a filter can trap particles. The higher the number, the more and smaller the particles it can catch.
A MERV 13 is recommended for residential air quality improvement.
Do new furnaces come with built-in humidity control?
New furnaces can have “add-ons” that offer moisture control.
What makes carbon monoxide so dangerous?
If enough of it is breathed in, it can cause serious illness or death with no warning. CO is very hard to detect; unlike other gases, it does not have an odor or color.
How often should I schedule furnace maintenance?
Furnaces should be checked at least once a year to ensure efficiency, extend the life of your system, and catch any safety issues.