By Sierra Air Conditioning & Plumbing
We all love our furry family members, but we can all admit that keeping your home clean is sometimes a challenge when you have pets. Not only can your pets cause allergies for you and your family, but they can also accelerate the need for new air filters and maintenance on your Home Comfort System as their fur and dander can block the filters, reducing the efficiency of your HVAC system and in turn increase your energy bills. So how can you help both your lungs and your Home Comfort System’s efficiency stay in optimal condition with pets in the home? Here are a few tips!
Bathe Your Pet Regularly
Your pet picks up pollens and dirt on their walks each day and brings those allergens back to your home in their fur. Once your pet lays down on your sofa or bed or shakes in the middle of the family room, they are spreading these allergens in your home. Regular baths will reduce the allergens your pets bring into your home on a regular basis.
Keep Your Home Clean
In addition to the pollen and dirt, your pet’s fur and dander are most likely in every nook and cranny of your home. Make sure to vacuum carpets and furniture and mop your floors to minimize these allergens.
Clean Your Vents
When you are vacuuming the rest of the house, take an extra 5 minutes to put on the attachment and vacuum the vents in your home. Because this is where all of your air flows out of, it’s important to keep these vents clean. Otherwise, when they are plugged up with dust and hair, the airflow drastically decreases and your home may have issues cooling to your desired temperature.
Change Your Filters Often
Depending on the filters you use and the other pollutants in your home (cigarette smoke, household aerosol sprays, and cleaning products), there will be different specifications for how often they need to be changed out. Typically, if there are no pets in the home and you are using a 1” standard filter, they need to be changed once a month. With a pet, we suggest thinking about upgrading your filtration to a filter with a MERV rating of 8 or above, which more effectively filters allergens, pollutants, and contaminants.
Upgrade Your Filtration
There are definitely options for filtration upgrades, ranging from a thicker 3-inch filter that goes into the standard grille to a Whole-Home Air Cleaner. There are also hospital-grade whole-home air cleaners available for your home which offer ultraviolet germicidal lights to sanitize the air and eliminate mold, bacteria, and viruses. These Whole-Home Air Cleaners integrate into your Home Comfort System, helping to extend its life by running more efficiently and effectively since the air is cleaned before running through your system or the coil is sterilized 24/7.
Get Regular Maintenance on Your Home Comfort System
We recommend getting regular maintenance whether you own a pet or not, however, we definitely encourage this biannual maintenance even more so if you have furry family members. As mentioned earlier, pet fur and dander can clog filters and in turn make your Home Comfort System work harder than it needs to, potentially leading to expensive repairs in the future.
