Your Pets and Your Air Filters

PETS & YOUR AIR QUALITY

Pet hair, especially from those that shed heavily can be very detrimental to the air flow in your home if you're not regularly changing the air filters. When the pet sheds, the hair is circulating and re-circulating through your HVAC unit. The filter is in place to stop this hair from damaging both the unit as well as the air quality, however, when your filters are left unchanged that hair and fur begins to build up in the system. This can lead to two issues:

• Damage to your HVAC unit, which will shorten it's lifespan and require maintenance
• Decreased air quality due to the filter becoming so clogged that it's not able to filter out all of the hair

WHAT DO I DO ABOUT IT?

When you have animals, it's important to change your filter more frequently to prevent the build-up. While under normal circumstances you may only need to change your filter once every 60-90 days to keep air quality in your home up to par, your pets may require you to change the filter every 30-45 days to prevent a constant odor of your pets, and to stop you from breathing in the hair.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

If you have pets that shed a lot, people with allergies or asthma in your home, or anything else that would cause you to be especially concerned with the air quality it would be a good idea to make changing your filters part of your monthly routine for your home. Just as you wouldn't let your grass grow too long, you wouldn't want to let air quality become a problem for anyone in your home, or to the HVAC unit itself.