reusing a disposable furnace filter

[phred]

Last winter I needed to change my furnace filter, but wimpy me didn't want to go the store during the storm warning.  So, I used a Swiffer dusting cloth to daub all the dust off the old filter.  It came out looking new; I put it back in the filter housing.  I've since replaced it, but am wondering if I could've damaged the furnace?

[Bob W]

No idea if it would damage?   

But I have been washing and sun drying my filters for years.  They are an very large, custom, expensive size that I have to have mailed to me.

I throw a little soap on them and hose them down and then sun dry.   I figure the sun will kill and pathogens.   

[alberteh]

Did not damage anything. A furnace filter is designed to do one thing: protect the furnace motor and heat exchanger from damage/buildup. It is not designed to filter your home air. If you run one of them fancy 3M super filters and don't replace it before it clogs up what you are doing is decreasing the airflow through your furnace and causing the blower motor to heat up more (shorter life). The only filter you (usually) need to protect the furnace itself is the one that filters only the particles that can harm your furnace, so a non-restrictive macro filter that filters out only very large particles is fine.

By cleaning it and reusing it may have caused the motor to run hotter but is not a big deal in the short term.

[MBot]

 Has anyone ever tried something like this?

http://www.amazon.com/16x20x1-Electrostatic-Washable-Permanent-Furnace/dp/B0013QYB3W/ref=pd_sim_60_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1R6AGNA3GXQ857DWV2X8

I had never heard of them before today. Figured better to post in here than start a new thread.

[Clean Shaven]

I tried one of the washable electrostatic filters years ago. It let more dirt past it than even the cheap paper ones. I wasn't impressed.