Breathing in fresh and clean air allows the inhabitants of a home to stay healthy. Airborne viruses are abundant, especially outdoors. There’s no sure way of always knowing what you’re breathing, particularly when the people around you get sick. But even in situations where there are no ill individuals, you might still want cleaner air. 

Poor air quality can arise from smoking, secondhand smoking, outdoor pollen, and a load of other particulates making their way into and around your breathing space. Fungal spores are everywhere, and in great numbers in locations with heavy humidity. Try to keep your home air quality in check, though it’s not always the easiest to know exactly how to carry this out.

Stay Healthy by Cleaning the AC

Running the air conditioning without changing the filters when you should result in breaking in unhealthy air. It might come as a surprise to many, but improper cleaning and maintenance of air filters is a big reason for sickness. Air filters are tasked with blocking out the bad elements in the air outdoors before it makes its way into your living space.

Most do a great job of this, that is, unless it’s not cleaned when it should be. This is based on filters that aren’t disposable, the kind that doesn’t need replacing at monthly or yearly intervals.

Disposable Air Filters

Poor upkeep of ACs with disposable air filters is even worse for the lungs. Many of the disposables wear out fast. Once this happens, the filter can no longer block out pollen and other airborne pathogens. That means unhealthy air anywhere there’s a vent.

 There are two ways in which this can be solved. The first is by keeping up with your filter changes. Disposables can last from anywhere from a month to nearly a year, so know the expiry date of the brand that you’re buying.

Filter Wear

But also remember that the air quality in the vicinity of your residence may also wear down the filter faster than somewhere else. Located nearby a highway, busy intersection, or environment that’s densely populated with flowering vegetation? The filters will have to work harder under such conditions.

You may find yourself changing them well before the date that’s recommended by the brand. Try to find vents that you can permanently keep, or something strong enough to hold out for a couple of months.

The second option is to double the filters. Today, you can find filters that are placed next to the end of the vents. Some of them may require that you unscrew the vent covers to use, but doing this should be too difficult for most.

They’re typically in an adhesive form, where the shell is unrolled and pressed onto the rim of the vent. However, these are usually disposable, with replacements needed at about the same rates at the larger filters.

Everyone deserves to inhale clean air. Follow the tips provided and you can make this a reality for your living environment.