HVAC Maintenace Tips for Pet Owners

HVAC maintenance is a must-have for pet owners. Having a pet can greatly increase the quality of your life because household pets provide an unconditional amount of love and companionship for all members of your family. While your home must also be comfortable for your family, it is also the home and place of comfort for your pet. For indoor pets like cats, small dogs, or a hamster, most of their time is spent inside the house.

For you as a pet owner, this also means that your pet adds fur and dander to your home. This can greatly affect your air quality, as well as your HVAC system, as well as your HVAC maintenance in Greenville. It is important to maintain your home’s air quality while also creating a safe space for your pet.

With that in mind, here are some tips you can keep in mind to control the level of pet hair and dander in your air and home:

Impact of Pet Hair and Dander

For most pet owners, shedding and hair can be found all over the house on furniture, clothes, carpets, etc. Hence, it is only natural to assume that this fur will make its way into your HVAC system.

Most pet hair is light and behaves exactly like dust, floating in the air and settling on many surfaces including your vents and ducts. Through the circulation of your HVAC system, it can also feed into your ductwork and circulate in the home, which can be a major problem for people with allergies.

In fact, research shows that up to 3 in 10 people can have an allergic reaction to pet hair and dander in the United States. While both hair, fur, and dander occur naturally, they are bound to affect the air quality in your home. This problem can usually not be controlled through extensive cleaning and vacuuming, which is why regular HVAC maintenance in Greenville can be of help.

Brushing and Grooming Your Pet

One of the important elements of your pet’s health is brushing and grooming, and this can have many advantages for your home’s air quality as well as any allergic friends and family around you. By regularly brushing your pet, you can ensure that loose hair is captured on a brush and disposed of properly, and does not end up in your HVAC system.

Air Filters and Air Duct Cleaning in Greenville, SC

Your air filters are responsible for cleaning your air and filtering out small particles, including pet hair and dander. If you have a pet at home and know they are shedding, you can assume that your air filter will have to work much harder to filter out excess hair, which can lead to premature life spans for the filter.

It will thus need to be changed more frequently. If without a pet you changed your filter once every three months, you can now try to change it every two months, and visibly check your filter to assess it. Similarly, any ductwork or vents that feed into the air filter will also need to be cleaned regularly.

Air Quality

The air quality is maintained through air filters, which are measured with the standard of Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value. For homes, standard MERV 8 filters are used, but with a pet, it is recommended that you use a filter of MERV 10 or 12 to maintain healthy air.

Regular Cleaning and Vacuuming

Any leftover hair that is not pulled into the HVAC system usually ends up settling on furniture or clothes. By regularly vacuuming your carpets, floors, and corners, you can get rid of pet hair and fur that can become an issue in the long run.

Protecting Your Outdoor Unit

Some pets, especially large dogs, can be curious about your outdoor unit and its activities. Other pets may even be interested in territorial urinating, which is sure to create a bad smell in your whole home. To protect your outdoor unit from any damage, it is recommended that you put up a fence a few feet from the unit. This will also help avoid any long-term damages.

Scheduled HVAC Maintenance in Greenville

Your pets can lead to your HVAC system facing several issues in maintaining air quality and circulation in your home. Because the love of pets is entirely worth it, you will need to make sure that indoor air is safe for both animals and humans by following up with scheduled maintenance, at a quicker rate than normal to ensure that it working properly and that any small damages do not become big issues. A licensed technician can advise you on how regularly your home needs HVAC maintenance.

Protect Your Home and Pets Today

Your pets can add a lot of love and companionship to your life, which is why it is important to take care of them and of yourself. To ensure that your HVAC system supports your pets, contact General Air for all your heating and cooling concerns in Greenville, SC concerns.