If you own a pet, you likely have a pet hair or dander problem as well. Even diligent home owners who are quick to clean up any cat or dog hair lying around have to deal with more frequent air filter changes and more indoor air quality problems. Owning your pet can even make your HVAC system more expensive to operate.
How can you prevent your four-legged friends from causing HVAC system havoc? Here are some simple tips that anyone can do to keep their indoor air quality high in spite of their pets.
6 Simple HVAC Tips For Pet Owners
Vacuum, Dust, and Sweep Often
Diligent pet owners are known to keep their homes free and clear of as much pet hair and dander as possible. This means using the vacuum often, even daily. A programmable It’s important to vacuum as much surface area as possible, even the corners of the ceiling and the floor. Keep ceiling fans free of dust and pet hair, as well.
Keep Your Pets Well Groomed
Grooming your pet isn’t just for their looks: it’s also to keep their hair from being left everywhere in your home! Short hair pets need to be brushed regularly, but long hair pets will need a bit more attentive grooming. Since most pets shed a fair bit, it’s important to keep them well groomed.
Change Your Air Filters More Often
Your air filter will get clogged with pet dander and pet hair over time. Because of this, you’re going to need to change your air filters more often than a non-pet owner would. Check and replace your air filters regularly. Keep to manufacturer’s specifications, or ask an HVAC professional for help.
Get Your Ducts Cleaned
Just like your air filters get more clogged, your air ducts will start to get full of dust, dander, and pet hair. All of these things will get into the air that you breathe. To prevent this from lowering your indoor air quality, get your air ducts cleaned thoroughly and regularly. This is something that an HVAC air duct cleaning professional will need to do for you. You shouldn’t need to do this too often; once a year will usually suffice.
Protect Your Air Conditioner Unit
If you have dogs or other pets that hang around outdoors, make sure they can’t get to the air conditioner unit! Dogs sometimes will urinate on or scratch at the outdoor AC unit, and that can cause problems that may need serious repair.
Protect your air conditioner unit by putting some fencing or some other guard around it. Make sure these guards don’t impact its ability to take in air.
Take Advantage Of HVAC Maintenance Packages
Many HVAC professionals, including our technicians at Moncrief Heating & Air Conditioning, offer maintenance service packages that will help you save money and time on common HVAC needs. We even include discounts for parts & labor in case something is really wrong with your system.
Pet owners benefit greatly from HVAC maintenance packages because they will be able to get their air filters changed, their ducts cleaned, and their components serviced at regular intervals. This way, pet owners don’t have to keep track of necessary maintenance.