Have you ever noticed how much dust can build up in your home over just a few days?
Your home air filters are ten times worse.
As they accumulate more and more dust, they become less effective at filtering the air in your home. This can cause a whole range of problems for you. In this article, we’ll explain what they are.
Read on to find out why you need to keep your home air filters clean.
Why it’s Important to Clean Your Home Air Filters
Clean air filters could make all the difference to your finances, your carbon footprint, and even your health. Here’s how.
1. Save Money on Maintenance and Repair
If your air conditioning filters are clogged up, they’ll trigger a domino effect which will result in damage to the rest of your system as well.
If you leave it too long without cleaning or replacing them, you could end up having to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars making repairs.
Dirty filters will stop heated or cooled air from traveling through the system effectively. This puts the system at risk of overheating or freezing up. Individual parts will have to be repaired and replaced much more frequently as a result.
You may find that your air conditioner starts leaking, making loud noises, or breaks down completely.
You’ll also have to spend more time and money on cleaning your home, too. The dust and dirt that builds up on the filter will work its way through the system, eventually landing all over your household surfaces.
It’s much easier to clean your filters than it is to clean your entire air conditioning unit, let alone the rest of your home. Save yourself the time by staying on top of things.
2. Get Cleaner, Healthier Air
Take a look at how much dust, dirt and grime has built up on your ac air filters.
All of that dirt is being blown into your home, filling it with unclean air. All the while, you’re unknowingly breathing it in. Think of all of those dust particles making their way into your lungs!
This kind of build up is easy to ignore because you aren’t likely to notice it unless you go looking for it. For that reason, plenty of people spend far too long breathing in filthy air when they don’t have to.
This can be terrible for your health.
Dust and mold spores can cause irritation to your respiratory system, causing symptoms that usually come with hayfever. These include a runny nose, coughing and sneezing. If you’re starting to suffer, your air conditioner filter could be the culprit.
If you have a pre-existing respiratory condition, your dirty air conditioning filter will aggravate it, too. Chest infections, bronchiolitis and asthma will all flare up, creating lots of discomfort.
Statistics show that children who grow up in homes and cities with air pollution much more likely to develop asthma. That’s why maintaining the cleanliness of your air conditioner is important for your family’s health.
All you have to do is regularly check and clean your air filters, and replace them when needed. That way, you won’t have dirty air circulating around your home filling it with pollen, dust mites and other unwanted particles.
3. Extend the Life Span of Your Air Conditioner
When your air filters are clogged up with dust, the entire unit has to work harder in order to keep cooling and circulating air in the way that it should.
This puts a huge strain on your HVAC system. This continuous stress will cause it to wear out much more quickly than it usually would. When it does, it could spell trouble for your whole system.
A good air conditioning unit should last between 10 and 15 years. However, that’s only if it’s taken care of correctly. Clean your filters regularly, or you could end up paying for a whole new system sooner than you think.
4. Be More Environmentally-Friendly
Are you an energy-conscious consumer? Having an environmentally-friendly home is about more than insulating it and installing fancy smart home products.
It’s all about the little things. Small things you do on a regular basis can make all the difference. This includes turning off appliances when they’re not in use, turning down your thermostat, and of course, cleaning your air conditioner filters.
If your air conditioner is working harder as a result of a clogged filter, it will also be using more energy. Not only that, but it won’t work as well as it should. It won’t move air around your home efficiently, so your circulation will be much poorer.
This makes the entire system much less efficient.
By neglecting to clean your filters, you’re effectively wasting energy every time you turn on your air conditioner. These systems guzzle more than enough energy as it is, so anything extra is simply excessive. Reduce your carbon footprint by keeping it as clean as possible.
5. Reduce Your Utility Bills
Of course, higher energy consumption directly leads to higher energy bills.
When the filters are full of dust and dirt, the sensors which regulate the HVAC system may not work effectively. This means that they may not register the temperature changes and adjust the power as usual. As a result, your air conditioner will be running on high all the time, wasting even more energy and costing you more money.
Eventually, you’ll end up spending more money just to get the same change in temperature. Why spend more money than you need to, when you can simply clean your filters?
Call the Specialists
You can clean your home air filters by yourself. As long as you do it regularly, it’s quick and easy to do.
However, you also need to have your whole air con system checked over from time to time. For that, you’ll need to call the professionals.
Arrange for air conditioner maintenance a few times a year to keep everything in shape. That way, you won’t have to worry about it breaking down. Instead, you can keep it in tip-top condition all-year-round.