Five Factors that Shorten Air Filter Life

The air filter in your air conditioner or heater needs to be periodically changed, but few people change it as often as they need to. This is particularly true for those whose homes have one or more of these factors that can greatly increase the amount of contaminants that your filter has to remove from your air. If you have any of these factors in your home, you need to be regularly inspecting your filter and changing it more frequently than you might think. Here are five of these factors.

Household Size

This one is fairly simple: the more people that live in a space, the more dust, dirt, and debris are going to be tracked inside and stirred up into the air. Someone who lives alone is going to need to change their filter a lot less often than a large family.

System Use

How often do you use your system? An air conditioner that never runs will never need the air filter changed. Conversely, a system that runs constantly will need to have the filter changed far more often. If you find that you’re running your air conditioner for hours a day every single day, be sure to at least inspect it fairly frequently to make sure it’s still in good condition.

Burning Objects

Small indoor fires can deposit soot, smoke, and ash into the air, even in microscopic particles. The most common way this happens is with those who smoke cigarettes, pipes, cigars and other tobacco products inside. However, those who burn incense or light candles inside will also have to deal with this issue.

Flooring Choice

Believe it or not, the flooring in your home has a huge effect on your air filter. Wood or other hard flooring surfaces don’t trap or retain dirt, which means they’re easy to clean. However, carpet and soft flooring options trap dust, pollen, dander, and other things that get trapped by your air filter when they get released into the air.

Pets

Dogs and cats make great companions, but both also have an unfortunate downside: many of them shed, and almost all of them release dander and other materials into the air. These particles clog up your air filter and increase the need to change it.

Need Indoor Air Quality? Talk to your air conditioning repair experts at Airrific Air Conditioning & Heating today! Call (941) 371-3355.