3 months is an estimate. Be sure to check once a month.

You want high efficiency filters for 2 reasons:

1) it cuts down on the allergens in the air you breath. You spend most of your time indoors (at least I do) and breathing cleaner air just seems like a no brainer.

2) Better filters reduces the amount of crud that get's caught up on your condensor coils (looks like the radiator in your car) which transfers the cold/heat.

If you have a cheap fiber filter, it lets more hair and dirt get through to be caught on the coils. That's where you can get real problems with the condenser outside and the refrigerant freezing. I know since I experienced this personally. The HVAC guy said that the coils looked like they were covered by a rug. He showed me and I was really disgusted. The air intake on the main level was near the floor and my dog sheds ALOT. That combined to give the coil a nice fur coat that eventually froze the line since the coils weren't able to exchange the cold in the refrigerant with the heat in the air.

Sure you might lose some efficiency and put a little more strain on the fan, but that's better than replacing the whole system if it burns out or freezes up. Think of those coils as the radiator in your car. The car will overheat if you don't get air to the radiator. It's the same with your furnace. Keep a good air filter and keep it clean to keep a good air flow. Check the coils to see if they are getting dirty too. Spring and Fall are good times to eyeball them since they will be going in to overtime during the summer and winter.

where are everyone buying filters locally ?

This deal show expired on the 3M web

Does anyone have a PDF of the old rebate?

Thanks!

tulsastorm said:brokestudent said:Does anyone have a PDF of the old rebate?

Here you go.

psanto said:Rather than spending $20 bucks on a car cabin air filter get this filter and cut it the same size as your car filter (can get at least 2 car filters out of 1 filter) and save some money. Did this on my car and it works fantastic.
Which model did you buy? I'm thinking it needs to be the thinnest one, so your vent will still blow strong enough. The cabin air filters you can buy are normally very thin.

Also, when you cut your own, do you just leave the edges bare filter material? Do you have a hard time inserting them without any 'edging' (like the cardboard edging normally there)?
BTW, wouldn't some air blow around the edges without the edging?

This deal would have been even better if I was smart enough to buy the right size! Damn it. I already opened the package and sent in the UPC code before heading downstairs to put it in the furnace. Well, I guess I'm only out postage for sending in the rebate.

The question I am wondering is will they honor the old rebate form, if you send it in now.The one that is FAR

....

Just to clarify, there are two deals in this thread that are not really equivalent. The "original" one lets you get your purchase price refunded when you buy a Filtrete filter. The second one requires that you buy a Filtrete air purifier and send in a proof of purchase, after which you get a free filter for the air purifier.