You may know by now that the air we breathe inside our homes can often be worse than outside air. But is there anything we can do to improve our indoor air quality? Yes, there is. One way is by cleaning or replacing the filters in your air conditioning units or HVAC system.
How frequently should we be changing these filters? As a general rule, you want to clean or replace a/c filters every three months, although there are some situations where you should change them more frequently than that. For example, if you have a large household that includes several pets, you may notice that pet dander and dust accumulate rapidly, this would be an instance when changing the filters more often would be beneficial. You may also want to clean or change air conditioning filters regularly in households with allergy sufferers or when a smoker is in the house.
Your home’s outdoor surroundings also play a major role when it comes to indoor air quality. If you live in an area surrounded by agriculture or if there is construction going on nearby, it would be a good idea to clean your filters more often than the three-month guideline.
If you notice that your a/c system filters have become damp, wet, or damaged in some way, you should immediately replace them. If mold begins to develop in these filters, then your home’s air quality could become harmful due to mold spores being released into the air.