Good info and video, however, the 13 is going to be more dirtier regardless of which month it was used due to the fact it catches more dirt and dust, however, because of higher merv, it cuts down on airflow coming out of vents making your motor work harder to try and keep up with air flow also increasing your electric bill, after long term use, your circuit board and fan and motor will eventually burn out causing large and costly repair bill, merv 8 is middle of road which still does a great job of filtration and keeping electric bill down, hope this helps, and is much easier on your motor and components.

3M filtrete 1900 - merv 13, but also twice the media as most merv 8's on the market (1,560 sq. in) so they do not clog up fast, or create static pressure build up any faster then the typical merv 8. Oh, but they do collect smaller particulate matter MUCH better than nay merv 8 on the market (including particulates from wildfire smoke) - which equates to cleaner coils, less work for your motor etc, and FAR better overall air quality in your home. It's a no brainer. My residential HVAC heating/cooling system (Maytag) is close to 20 yrs old. Other than changing out a pressure switch yrs ago, not a single issue. I change the 3M 1900 every 4-6 weeks in summer, 8 weeks when snow is on the ground.

few people know how important this is. Some people never change them....I do every 2 or three months. Another informative video...thank you sir. The MERV 8 is generally good enough if you change them often in my opinion.

good to know pard , thank you :)

Good information. I was told by my HVAC tech that MERV 13 restricts airflow too much for my HVAC system - Too much stress on the the blower and system components. For my system, he recommended MERV 10 to MERV 7. This still keeps the system components clean and increases airflow which reduces energy cost. For our allergies, we use a separate air filter appliance.

Seems to me the extra pleats would add more surface area to filter media, to balance out the extra resistance from the tighter filter, resulting in roughly equal overall drag? I am trying a merv 8 washable filter over an electrostatic one. I'll wash it once a month and see how it works.

13 is too restrictive on air flow

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