Your Pets Affect the HVAC System

Your pets can be what makes home, home. All homeowners usually love their pets but they can also cause serious issues to your homes HVAC system if not properly maintained. A home with pets will take additional care on your heating and cooling systems. Pet hair and dander not only increase problems with your system but also will increase allergies, asthma and other health issues.

It is important, especially as a pet owner, to change your air filter frequently. For homes without pets, it is recommended to change your filter every month to three months. A home with pets should change their air filter every 20 to 30 days.

Change the Air Filter More Frequent

The air filter is an extremely important part of maintenance, especially with pets. The air filter’s job will protect your system from the debris from inside your home. It captures polluted air particles, dirt, dust or dander when the air passes through. If a pet homeowner doesn’t change their air filter pet dander, hair, polluted air particles and debris will build up. Ultimately this will restrict the airflow throughout the system, using more energy to heat or cool your home.

Pet Hair in the Ductwork

To get air moving throughout your heating and cooling systems it must intake impulses of air from inside your home. The air it intakes can contain pet hair and other particles that get through the vents, into the ductwork. Since pet hair is not supposed to be in the ducts it will get stuck to cause poor airflow within the system. Have a professional HVAC technician check out and clean your ductwork to ensure pet hair does not prevent airflow.

Allergies

An air filter’s job is not to eliminate allergens or pollutants in the air, it is to eliminate particles from getting into the system where they shouldn’t be. Pet dander has a larger effect on the residents inside the home than the HVAC equipment itself. Standard air filters will not remove allergens from your home and will spread throughout the house. If a resident suffers from allergies it is recommended to get a HEPA filter that will actually pull out the allergens from the system.