A home full of furry friends makes life more enjoyable, but it also strains our HVAC system. Our lovely furry pets shed their dander, which floats through the air, gets sucked up through our vents, and makes its way to our air ducts which causes the air quality in our home to deteriorate. The air filters play a significant role in the entire HVAC system, including helping to filter through the pet hair and dander.
Air filters help prevent contaminants from infiltrating our system’s air distribution and also protect the HVAC system from dust accumulation. Clogged or dirty air filters make our HVAC system work harder and run longer causing high energy bills and can lead to system malfunctions. To prevent this problem, we can follow these five strategies for controlling pet dander.
Regularly Change Your Air Filters
It’s necessary to change our home’s air filters every one to three months. Pet owners should aim for a monthly replacement and use a high-quality air filter designed to trap pet dander and other allergens. Using a high-quality air filter not only decreases our allergy symptoms, but it can also prevent dust, dirt, pollen, and pet dander from infiltrating our ducts, limiting the need to have them cleaned too often.
Keep Your Air Ducts Clean
Pet dander, dirt, dust, hair, and other debris can accumulate inside our ductwork, enabling the HVAC system to circulate these allergens throughout the home. Furthermore, when our ducts become clogged with litter, it’s much harder for conditioned air to pass through. When this happens, we might experience more allergy symptoms or asthma attacks. Keeping the ducts clean allows fresh air to pass through. Try to schedule a professional duct cleaning routine to keep your home free from allergens.
Vacuum Your Vents
Similarly to changing our air filters, we should also vacuum our vents. Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter or one specifically designed to trap pet dander and eliminate pet hair from all floor types. Make it our routine to vacuum every vent in our home once a week to prevent dust buildup.
Install an Air Purifier
Air purifiers are excellent for allergy sufferers because they clean the air to make it more breathable. Portable systems work just fine in single rooms but consider investing in a whole-home model to enjoy breathable air in every space of your home. Whole-home purifiers give us better control over our home’s indoor air quality and will help the whole family breathe easier and safer.
Remove Pet Hair and Danders from the Air
Contrary to what most people believe, pet dander is not animal hair. Dander is tiny, even microscopic flakes of skin shed by every animal. Many people are allergic to dander, but we can eliminate excess pet hair and dander from the air by giving our pets regular baths. This action will help to keep shedding in check and keep the hair in the tub instead of in the air.
Make sure to follow these helpful tips to keep the air in your home fresh and clean. At Einstein Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling, we fully understand your pets are members of your family, and we want to do whatever we can to keep all of your family members safe and healthy.
Contact us today at 888-671-7767 or email [email protected] if you have indoor air quality concerns as well as for plumbing, heating & cooling, water heater, and sewer & mainline problems. Our professional technicians in Oregon, Washington, and Nevada are happy to help!