You and many other conscientious homeowners replace HVAC filters quarterly. However, this simple chore can easily slip your mind. Is such a small task really that important?
What do filters do, anyway?
In this post, CREW Heating & Cooling’s air filter professionals in Spring, TX, lift the curtain on filters and choosing the best one for your lifestyle.
Understanding Indoor Air Quality
Outdoor and indoor air quality measures the number and type of particles circulating the air. Typically, outdoor air quality changes with the pollution of nearby traffic, manufacturing facilities, and other contaminant sources. Similarly, indoor air quality refers to the presence of contaminants within your home’s breathing spaces.
When you start digging, you’ll find that numerous factors can impact your indoor air quality, including:
- Pet ownership: Cats and dogs shed fur and dander. Dead skin and hair cells can trigger allergies.
- Outdoor air quality: Polluted outdoor air inevitably comes indoors. Living in an area with lots of morning traffic might mean your unit needs a stronger filter to protect you.
- Seasonal changes: You can’t escape pollen season by running inside. These allergens cling to clothes and shoes and blow into open windows. Humidity also drops to uncomfortable levels during the winter in Spring, Texas, affecting air quality.
- Lifestyle habits: If you smoke or vape inside, you’ll have lower indoor air quality. Light candles and incense can also negatively influence the air you breathe.
- Cleaning products used: Some household cleaning formulas release volatile organic compounds, which can trigger inflammation. VOCs stay in the air for months before fully breaking down.
Your HVAC filters take on all of these factors and more.
What Do Filters Do?
Residential air filtration products improve indoor air quality by trapping offending contaminants. The average air filter will tackle basic particulate removal by eliminating large particles like dander and dust. Advanced filters go even smaller, but you’ll see this reflected in the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (the minimum particle size it traps).
Depending on the MERV rating, a quality air filter might capture:
- Tiny dust particles
- Bacteria, viruses, and mold
- Pollen
- Smoke
- Human and animal dander
How can you choose an optimal product for your household in Spring, Texas? Let’s take a look.
How To Choose the Best Filter for Your Home in Spring, Texas
What do filters do besides removing particles? Start by looking at your HVAC owner’s manual for MERV recommendations. Then, consider what you or your family need from a filter regarding the following:
- Using a more powerful filter during pollen season in Spring, Texas, can facilitate allergens reductions to minimize sneezing, coughing, and nasal congestion.
- If any occupant suffers from asthma or other chronic inflammation, they might benefit from a higher MERV rating year-round.
- Feeling tired? Poor air quality can cause fatigue. Adjust your MERV rating if you sleep with your mouth open or wake up with a stuffy nose.
- Keep recurring sickness under wraps during cold and flu season. Choose a filter that captures contagious microbes.
- Odor removal might be the least of your worries, but why not improve your quality of life? Say goodbye to lingering smells with a filter that effectively removes dust, mold, VOCs, and dander.
Does your product’s recommended filter efficiency rating work with your HVAC manufacturer’s recommendations? Ask a professional technician like CREW Heating & Cooling for confirmation or additional air quality solutions.
Can’t Figure Out Which Filter You Need? That’s What the Professionals Do!
Since air filter replacements are an integral part of HVAC maintenance, a technician will change them during a routine tune-up. Companies like CREW Heating & Cooling offer HVAC maintenance services, so you could ask these technicians to change it and recommend other air quality products to make your home even healthier and more comfortable. For example:
- Purifiers: An air purifier benefits household members who struggle with contagious germs, including small children introducing new illnesses from kindergarten. A purifier eliminates viruses and bacteria.
- Portable filters: You can move a portable unit from room to room, enabling you to filter the most-used breathing spaces.
- Dehumidifiers: Summers in Spring, Texas, introduce excessive humidity into your home, which makes the air feel warmer. A dehumidifier dries the air out a bit.
- Humidifiers: Your furnace will dry the air out in winter, so you can strike a nice balance with a humidifier.
Scheduling HVAC Maintenance in Spring, Texas, With CREW Heating & Cooling
What do filters do? They maintain a healthier, more comfortable household. Still, a wet air filter or a clogged one won’t do the job.
To learn more or schedule services, contact CREW Heating & Cooling in Spring, Texas!