Dogs, cats and other household pets are part of the family, but they also introduce fur, dander and outdoor contaminants into your home. It’s important to consider the impact these things may have on your home’s indoor air quality and HVAC system, and take steps to mitigate the impact.
Groom your pet regularly. Consistent grooming, including regular brushing and fir trimming, not only helps keep your pet looking and feeling its best, it also lessens the amount of hair and dander entering your air filters and air ducts. The result is cleaner filters and ducts and improved air quality and HVAC functionality.
Keep your carpets and furniture clean. Your pets may gravitate toward cozy spots in your home – who can blame them? But when they are relaxing, they are transferring hair, dander and allergen-ridden surprises from outside onto your indoor surfaces, and carpets and fabric surfaces can be harder to clean. The contaminants on indoor surfaces can contribute to heightened allergies, asthma or respiratory illness.
To counteract this, be sure to regularly vacuum your carpets, and have them professionally steam cleaned per manufacturer’s instructions, often once per year, and wash/shake out other fabric surfaces consistently. When you do this, you can minimize the negative effects of fur and dander on your family’s health and your HVAC system.
Protect your exterior HVAC unit. Regularly check your HVAC to make sure your pet isn’t clawing or chewing on the unit or consistently marking it, both of which can have negative impacts on the unit’s functionality and longevity. If you notice your pet interacting with your HVAC unit in this way, contact your HVAC provider for ways to protect your unit without blocking air flow or breaking housing codes.
Keep your filters and ducts clean. This step is crucial to maintaining an efficient HVAC system in any home, especially one with pets. Experts typically recommend that you change your air filter every 1-2 months when you have a pet in your home, and check your filter every 30 days when you are a pet-free household. When you should change out the filter depends on the type of filter, the extent to which you are using your air conditioner, and the amount of debris gathered by the filter – which increases when you have pets. Talk to your HVAC professional about the optimum air filter for your home and HVAC system. Dander can easily get into air ducts. When pet dander or other airborne contaminants get stuck in your air ducts, they are then recirculated in your home whenever your HVAC system is on. Ask your HVAC professional to inspect your air ducts for pet hair, dust, and debris as part of your regular HVAC maintenance.
At Beech Island Appliance Co., we love our clients, their pets, and an efficiently functioning HVAC system. We offer three tiers of annual HVAC maintenance, all of which include both duct and filter inspections. And if your unit is in need of immediate attention, we also offer repair and installation services. Would you like to talk more about increasing the efficiency of your HVAC unit with pets? Call Beech Island Appliance Co., today at (803) 827-0421.