It’s easy to forget about the air filters in your heating and cooling system. However, thinking about them more often can help keep your whole family healthy.
Letting this task fall by the wayside can impede the optimal function of your entire HVAC system. It also has the potential to take a toll on your health because it compromises your home’s indoor air quality.
Why Indoor Air Quality Matters Inside Your Home
Outside, you have no control over the air quality. You can protect your health by maintaining pure indoor air quality inside your home. Your air filters can help clear the air of common pollutants and irritants that would otherwise keep circulating throughout your home.
Air filters can remove and reduce pollen particles, dust, dirt, pet dander, mold, bacteria, viruses, and smoke. Each airborne particle varies in size, something you can’t see with the naked eye. Many of those particles are smaller than 10 microns, and you can inhale them with every breath you take. They can cause irritations in the nose and throat, potentially affecting the heart and lungs.
How Can You Remove Harmful Particles from the Air in Your Home?
The best way to remove particles from your home and protect your health is to take a three-pronged approach:
Remove the Source
If you want to keep healthy indoor air quality, you’ve got to start at the source of the contamination. This means keeping your home clean and dusting off surfaces on a regular basis. If you have pets, try brushing them outdoors to keep pet dander and hair out of the air.
Smokers should step outside rather than smoke indoors. You should also take care of moisture buildup in your home to prevent the chance for mold to flourish.
Ventilate Your Home
Even the best home cooks can create a smokey situation indoors. Ensure that when you cook, you use the exhaust fans to push the particles out of your home. The same is also true with chemical cleaning products.
Use Air Filters
The air filters you choose for your HVAC system are instrumental in removing particulate matter. You should choose one at least medium efficiency and replace it at proper intervals.
Does an HVAC Air Filter Improve the Indoor Air Quality in Your Home?
Air filters trap dust and keep it from circulating throughout your AC unit and home. However, that’s not all air filters can do.
In short, a 30x30x1 air filter | Filter King or another size can help you remove certain particles from the air in your home. Depending on the MERV rating of your filter, they may even be able to remove the most concerning particles that can negatively impact your health.
It’s important to note that not every air filter will be effective. The lower the MERV rating of the filter, the fewer pollutants it will be able to capture and remove from the air. For example, an air filter with a MERV 1 rating will not help much.
You will have better air quality in your home when you use air filters with a MERV rating of 7 to 13. One thing you should keep in mind is that not every HVAC system can handle air filters with a MERV 13 rating. They may restrict the airflow and cause damage to your system. It is important that you check with an HVAC professional to determine the highest MERV rating you can safely use with your air conditioner.
What Else You Need to Know About Air Filters and Your Health
You should know that even if you use the best air filters with the proper MERV efficiency rating to remove particles effectively, you’re defeating the purpose if the filter is dirty. It would be best to replace it when it gets covered in dust, dirt, and debris.
Air filters only clean the air in your home when your HVAC system is running. If you shut off the system because you want to open the windows on a beautiful day, keep that in mind.
Air filters only remove airborne particles that come into contact with it. The filter will not pick up anything that has settled onto the surfaces of your home. It’s impossible for air filters to completely clean the air in your home, though they can drastically reduce airborne particles.
This means that if you have allergies or asthma, you may want to reduce the sources of irritating allergens while ensuring proper ventilation. You may find that using an air filter with a MERV rating of 12 or higher can also improve things for anyone with allergies or asthma in your home. It’s essential to check and ensure your system can accommodate air filters of this rating first.
If your system cannot work with filters with a high MERV rating that high, you should choose the highest MERV rating that your air conditioner can use. Generally, filters that fall in the mid-range between MERV 7 and 13 will be helpful.
Don’t Forget to Change Your Air Filters
Above all, even when your HVAC system can capably handle a filter with a MERV 13 rating, you do not want to forget to change it. Depending on your system type and the thickness of your filters, you may need to change them more or less frequently.
If you’re unsure of what to do, a good rule of thumb is to pull out your filter in your system and look. When you find it looking dusty, replacing it with a fresh air filter is a good idea. This will help you maintain the indoor air quality in your home and add extra protection for your health.
You shouldn’t just let your air filters do all the heavy lifting. You should ensure your kitchen and bathrooms are properly ventilated to help eliminate irritating particles and keep dust from settling on your surfaces. Along with using an air filter with a mid-range efficiency rating, you can take a proactive approach to minimize troublesome dust, pollen, allergens, bacteria, viruses, pet dander, smoke, and mold from flowing through your home.
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