Are fancy furnace filters worth the price?

[spinbaby]

A basic fiberglass furnace filter costs about $1.36. A fancy filter that promises to remove allergens costs more than ten times as much. Worth it or a scam?

[quip]

1. Scam. Replace your cheapies often (monthly) and you'll be fine!

[spinbaby]

2. I suspected as much

But the packaging promises such wonderful things--it will remove allergens, electrostatically reduce your dusting chores, and leave your house fresh and sparkling...

[Burma Jones]

3. I don't think so, but it's fun to say "Fancy Furnace Filters"

[crispini]

4. I use the fancy ones, and I think they make a difference.

The American Lung Association says:

Only high efficiency filters can trap pollen, plant and mold spores, bacteria and other tiny particles that can bypass your respiratory defense system. High efficiency filters have a MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) rating of 10 or higher. Filtrete brand filters that have the American Lung Association Health House logo on the packaging are highly effective. The higher the MERV, the more efficient the filter will be at trapping small particles.

http://www.healthhouse.org/iaq/CentralFiltration.cfm

However, none of the windows in my house open (old house) so I'm using anything that'll help me out as far as better air quality! :)

[quip]

5. You're correct; they are more effective, but by how much and at what cost is the question.

[crispini]

8. Well, if you already get a lot of air flow in your house, maybe you don't need it.

I have an older house that is super prone to dust anyway, plus, like I said, windows painted shut -- so having a really good filter is good for me! :)

[tigereye]

6. yes, it makes a lot of difference in our house with our old furnace....

I think we buy the middle range ones...

[Jokerman]

7. Use with caution!

We used those "Fancy Furnace Filters" for a while on an old system. When the fan motor burned out the service tech showed me a warning printed in very small text on the package about the restricted air flow of these filters.

Seems that the fancy filter had restricted the air flow beyond the specs of our furnace and that's what caused the motor to overheat and die.

It is possible that he didn't know what he was talking about but there was no warranty involved and no reason I could see that he would be telling me a tale.

Just my two cents.

[Felix Mala]

9. We had our furnace man remove a pricey, electronic filter system...

Now we just use the disposable filters. The pricey electronic system was impossible to maintain. Take the thing apart. Take out two filter units that were six inches deep, 24 inches tall and 10 inches wide. These were surrounded with wire and you had reach inside and clean each section of blades with a cloth at the end of a bar. You could rinse with the hose, but it had to be really dry. They were supposed to be cleaned once a month! But it was impossible to clean them without a hose.

The furnace guy took all that stuff off and fashioned a place where could use filters.