Beware of possible fire hazard

City Duct Cleaning Inc. has always specialized in fire restoration work, and over the years we have seen fires in many homes that were caused by the homeowners having removed their electronic air cleaner cells and replacing them with a 4″ or 5″ cardboard high-efficiency air filter.

This in itself is a reasonable thing to do, as these disposable filters require basically no maintenance at all as compared to the cumbersome air cleaner cells that were replaced. And if the cells were not being cleaned regularly then the cardboard replacement can be even more efficient than what they had.

It is definitely much easier and way less time-consuming to replace one filter every three or four months than it is to properly clean the cells.

But if you’re going to use a cardboard-framed air filter rather than your electronic air cleaner cells themselves, you must make sure that the power supply is properly removed from the air cleaner.

We have seen many instances of fires having started in furnaces because of this. And as soon as the furnace blower comes on, it blows the black smoke throughout the home causing untold upset and damage. Furnaces have alot of plastic-coated wiring and other plastic parts which produce toxic fumes when it burns.

If you have replaced your electronic air cleaner cells with this type of air filter then check to be sure that the 120-volt power supply has been properly disconnected. It is not enough to just turn off the switch.

Ask your furnace technician to check this for you, or check it yourself if you know how. If you would like to have one of our technicians inspect this for you then we’d be happy to schedule a convenient appointment.