Can Dirty Air Filters Cause A House Fire?

The simple answer? Yes.

It’s one of the main reasons that we constantly remind our customers to change their air filters. Dirty air filters not only negatively impact your home’s air quality, but they also inhibit your system’s ability to perform. If you’ve allowed your air filters to get severely clogged, you could be blocking air flow completely. This will result in your furnace working too hard—yes, even in the spring and summer months, your furnace works hard to keep your air cool—and can eventually cause system failure.

Even worse than system failure—which could cost you thousands in either repair or replacement costs—is an overheated motor. An overheated motor can start a domino effect of bad reactions. Does your furnace have faulty wiring? If so, the overheated motor (or a rise in voltage) could spark a fire. Are there flammable objects around your furnace? Those could also catch fire. Trust us—there are lots of opportunities for things to go terribly wrong, but that’s what our experts look out for on our regular maintenance visits.

Another way a fire could start? When your furnace is working hard to pull air through, the dirty air filter could eventually get sucked back into the system. When this happens, air flow is compromised and you’re at serious risk of a fire starting at the furnace level. And, bad news, the smoke from the fire will travel through your ventilation system quite easily.

We don’t mean to scare you. We only mean to remind you that your home is running on a sophisticated system, and that system needs to be maintained regularly. The cheapest and easiest way you can do that is to keep those air filters clean!

If you’d like a thorough inspection of your home’s unit, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We’re ready to send one of our technicians to your house today!