Air Filters Smiths Falls

Air quality in Smiths Falls

• Rail yard diesel
• Highway 15 & 43 traffic
• Canal & river humidity
• Industrial park emissions
• Wood smoke
• Wildfire smoke

Smiths Falls sits at the midpoint of the Rideau Canal, where the Rideau River's falls were bypassed by a set of locks – including the Combined Lock and the Detached Lock – that still lift pleasure boats through the middle of town every summer. The canal, the river and the surrounding wetlands make for humid summers and plenty of mould spores in late season, especially in older homes with stone or block basements.

Smiths Falls is also a railway town, built around a major rail junction, and the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario celebrates that history. Freight trains and diesel locomotives still pass through, and homes close to the tracks can notice more soot and fine particles. Highways 15 and 43 bring truck traffic in from Kingston, Brockville and Ottawa, and the town's industrial areas – including the large former Hershey chocolate plant, later converted for cannabis production – add their own mix of emissions and odours.

Beyond the town limits, farms and woodlots fill Montague and Drummond/North Elmsley, bringing spring tree pollen, late-summer ragweed and dust at harvest time. Many homes in and around Smiths Falls burn wood in winter, and wildfire smoke from Quebec and northern Ontario has reached the area in recent summers. A pleated filter in the furnace handles all of these better than the basic fibreglass panels many older homes still use.

Smiths Falls climate, homes & HVAC systems

Smiths Falls has cold, snowy winters with regular deep-freeze spells, and a heating season that runs from fall well into spring. Summers along the canal are warm and humid, and window AC units are gradually being replaced by central air and ducted heat pumps. In most homes, the furnace fan runs for the better part of the year.

The town's housing is older than average: Victorian and Edwardian brick homes near downtown and Beckwith Street, workers' cottages built for the railway and mills, post-war bungalows, and a good number of converted multi-unit houses and apartment buildings. Many still have older gas furnaces with 1-inch filter slots, and some heritage homes heat with boilers and radiators. Newer subdivisions on the edges of town have high-efficiency furnaces and media cabinets, while surrounding rural homes use oil, propane and wood.

Which MERV rating is right for your Smiths Falls home?

MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) measures how well a filter captures particles of different sizes under the ASHRAE 52.2 test standard. Higher numbers catch smaller particles. Most residential furnaces in Canada run well on MERV 8 to MERV 13 – here is how to choose:

Not sure? Read our complete MERV rating guide. If you are moving up to MERV 13 on an older furnace, a deeper 2-inch or 4-inch filter keeps airflow healthy.

Popular furnace filter sizes in Smiths Falls

Most older Smiths Falls homes and rental units take standard 1-inch filters such as 16x25x1 or 16x20x1, often bought in multi-packs. Newer homes may use a 4-inch media filter.

How often to change your furnace filter in Smiths Falls

Filter depth	Typical home	Pets, allergies or smoke
1-inch	Every 1–3 months	Every 30–45 days
2-inch	Every 3–4 months	Every 2 months
4-inch	Every 6–9 months	Every 4–6 months
5-inch	Every 9–12 months	Every 6 months

Homes near the rail line or Highway 15, and older houses with pets, should check filters every month – fine soot and dust build up faster here than you might expect. See the full filter changing guide.

Air filters for Smiths Falls businesses & property managers

Smiths Falls has a varied commercial base for a town of its size: the Smiths Falls site of the Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital, long-term care and retirement homes, schools, government and social service offices, manufacturers and processors in the industrial parks along Highway 15 and Hershey Drive, plus retail plazas, restaurants and downtown shops.

We supply plant managers, property managers, landlords and HVAC contractors with pleated, pocket, rigid cell and V-bank filters in bulk. A business account gives you volume pricing and scheduled deliveries for every building you manage.

• Pleated filters in 1", 2" and 4" depths, MERV 8–13
• Pocket (bag) filters, rigid cell and V-bank filters for rooftop units and air handlers
• Wire panel, HEPA, carbon and media pads & rolls
• Volume pricing, scheduled deliveries and NET terms for approved business accounts

Shipping & delivery to Smiths Falls

Orders to Smiths Falls ship for a $25 flat rate, and orders of $2,500 or more ship free. Most orders arrive in 3–9 business days.

Standard sizes are usually made and shipped within 1–2 weeks; custom sizes can take up to 3 weeks. Prefer to collect? Free pickup is available Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM – 4:30 PM at 15 Melanie Drive, Brampton. Full details are on our shipping & returns page.

Areas we deliver to in Smiths Falls

Downtown Smiths Falls · Beckwith Street · Lombard Street · Hershey Drive area · Rideau Canal waterfront · Highway 15 corridor · Highway 43 corridor · North end · South end · Old Slys area · Port Elmsley · Rideau Ferry

Nearby location pages: Ottawa, Clarence-Rockland, Russell Township, North Grenville (Kemptville), Merrickville-Wolford, Beckwith Township, Carleton Place, Mississippi Mills (Almonte), Montague Township, McNab/Braeside, Arnprior, Horton Township, Renfrew, Whitewater Region, Laurentian Valley, Pembroke, Perth, Drummond/North Elmsley. Or see all locations we deliver to.

Smiths Falls air filter FAQ

Helpful air quality guides