When It Comes to Your Home, #nofilter Could Cause #bigproblems

In today’s tech and social media-driven world, hashtags have become a common way of identifying subjects, people, and places in posts. The hashtag #nofilter has become a trend, and is used when people post an image without any changes, edits, or enhancements made. While this might be great for your social media presence, the same is not true for your home. Failing to change your AC filter on a regular basis can have negative effects not just for your HVAC system, but also for the people living within, and visiting, your home.

Your home’s AC filter is responsible for pulling dust, dirt, pet dander, and more out of the air as it circulates through the system. Obviously, each home is unique in that some people clean vigorously and routinely (read: very little dust) and have no pets, while others might have multiple pets in the home and only pick up their duster a few times a year. Regardless of your preference for keeping your home, the need for your AC filter to be changed doesn’t waver. Even the cleanest home can have dirt you don’t see in the air, and that can cause a host of issues including:

• Aggravation of existing allergies. For those who are allergic to dust, cat/dog hair or dander, or even certain pollens, failing to change your filter can leave your family member or guest with a very unpleasant reaction. Coughing, sneezing, itchy/watery eyes, etc. can result from breathing in air tainted with allergens.
• Asthma triggers. Much like those with allergies, people who suffer from asthma are sensitive to the air around them. Unlike most seasonal or environmental allergies though, setting off an asthma attack can result in difficulty breathing and can even mean a trip to the hospital if the attack is severe enough.
• Unpleasant odors. If you miss several filter changes, all of the nastiness that gets filtered out of the air in your home will continue to build up, and over time that can actually lead to a musty-smelling home. That’s not what you want to live with each day and it’s certainly not how you want to greet visitors!

Here at Ridge Energy Savers, we recommend changing your filter monthly. It’s an inexpensive and easy way to keep your system running at its best. Simply set a reminder on your phone or computer, or place a post-it note on your calendar for the same day each month so you don’t forget to pop a new filter in. Are you a routine customer with Ridge Energy through our AC maintenance plan? If you’ve recently had an appointment, you can skip your filter change this month! That’s because we do it for you when we tune up your HVAC system. It’s just one of the details that we pay attention to when you call on Ridge to come to the rescue! If you aren’t already on an AC maintenance plan, the benefits are huge and will increase the efficiency and longevity of your system. Give us a call to find out more and make your appointment before summer hits in Florida!