ORIGINAL REDDIT POST
How do you guys track all your filter sizes / maintenance dates?
I have like 5 different filters in my house (furnace 16x25x1, fridge, humidifier, etc) and I keep forgetting sizes and when I last changed them. I started just taking photos and keeping notes but it's messy. How do you track yours? Spreadsheet? App? Sticky…
I have like 5 different filters in my house (furnace 16x25x1, fridge, humidifier, etc) and I keep forgetting sizes and when I last changed them. I started just taking photos and keeping notes but it's messy. How do you track yours? Spreadsheet? App? Sticky notes on the furnace? I ended up building a little photo tracker for myself but curious what everyone else does.
Collected discussion
I just write the size and date on the new filter with a sharpie before I slot it in. Can't miss it when you pull the old one out months later and you're standing there wondering what size to buy again Also have a reminder in my phone that pings me every 3 months to check the furnace one, the fridge and humidifier I just eyeball when they look gross Photos always seemed like more work than they're worth, I'd forget which album I saved them in and then I'm scrolling through 400 pictures of my cat trying to find a furnace filter from last winter
i usually lose the paper after a while
thank you ill have to try that
"hey Siri, remind me in 3 months to change the filters." Easy peasy.
I have a phone reminder for routine maintenance on stuff, including filters. The fridge water filter tells me when it needs changing. This isn’t hard.
Magnet on the fridge?
I'm struggling to understand how tracking 5 items is difficult. Why do you need photos? You can't write the 5 items on a single piece of paper with the filter size leaving 3-4 lines between items for replacement dates? FURNACE - 16x25x1 - 2 months ~ Replaced - 3/8/26 ~ ~ Replaced - 5/9/26 ~ Replaced - 7/9/26
I have a Notes list labeled “measurements” with all the crap in the house Ive measured so far. Always have my phone, so always have the list. Room sizes, window sizes, filter sizes, number of cabinets (for hardware), door sizes, ceiling hieghts, etc. i live in an old house and everything is a different size.
When I need a filter, I reorder the same filter on Amazon, using my order history.
The calendar app on my phone.
I only have just the furnace filter. I wrote the size on the furnace panel with a sharpie. I use the same pen to write the installation date on the filter itself. I've started putting other house-related information in a 3-ring binder.
Google Keep
Order from Amazon, keep track thru recent orders. The size and date are right there
I use the really cheap ones and change mine twice a month. Around the first and 15th.
I use Microsoft Tasks for all my home maintenance.
The same way I know at any given time what I'm supposed to be doing and where to be. Google calendar, which can also include unscheduled tasks that will pester you until you do them. But also for one of my filters, I put it on a subscription ship from home Depot and just change that filter whenever they show up at the door.
Apple reminders app. Created a house mx list
TickTick app with with recurring to do list items that repeat based on the task completion date.
All the changes are setup as recurring entries in my Google calendar with details on sizes.
Apple reminder app for frequency I buy X filters per device every year or two. When I notice the supply is getting low I buy more. So I guess I keep track by looking at the inventory package. Great system if you have space.
I swap air filters quarterly. I do it when I pay my quarterly taxes. I always write the swap out date on the new filter.
I have a piece of paper taped to the side of the furnace with these various dates written on it. I don't need to digitize it and adding to it is right there on the furnace where the work is being done.
I try to change my furnace filter once a quarter but it's not ao crucial so the occasional missed quarter doesn't hurt anything. The size is clearly marked on the filter and I always buy more than one. All my other filters I change on new years day. I keep one on the shelf then just look back at my Amazon orders and reorder the same ones to replenish the shelf.
My Ecobee tells me when I need to change the HVAC filter, the fridge tells me when I need to change the water filter, and the dehumidifier tells me when to clean the mesh filter. The only outlier is the whole house humidifier which needs to have the pad changed every 2 years, but I have to turn the system on/off every year so I have a good reminder.
I created a maintenance log notebook for my house. 1 page per year. Filter swap out dates, emptying/cleaning AC condensate pumps, and so on, plus a comment box - bought new fridge 2023; replaced 1st floor AC in 2019; minor repair for leaky spirovent this year, water testing results, etc. I still don't swap my HVAC filters on time, but now I at least know how badly overdue I am.