Health, Home

Things That Happen When You Don’t Change Your Air Filter

You may have heard from a lot of people how important it is for you to change your air filter. A lot of AC units even come with a filter that tells you when it’s time to change it. If yours doesn’t come with this feature, however, then you may be wondering “how often should you change your air filter?” and even how to know if yours is working properly. The problem is that if you leave filter too long before changing it, this can really affect your family’s health.

Respiratory Irritation

The contaminants that are in the air can really have a detrimental effect on your respiratory system. This includes mold spores, dust, pollen and so much more. Even if you don’t have allergies, you can still experience a huge range of symptoms when you come into large amounts of dust. When the dust and pollutants enter your air conditioning unit, they then blow freely throughout your home. Your respiratory system contains a lot of delicate membranes and they can cause you a lot of discomfort if they are irritated, which is what happens if you don’t change your air conditioning filter.

https://www.pexels.com/photo/adult-air-beautiful-beauty-321576/

Respiratory Agitations

In addition to irritating the mucus that is in your respiratory tract, the mucus that is in your body can worsen any pre-existing conditions that you have. People have been known to have serious asthma attacks as a result of pollen and even dust. This really does depend on the individual but small children are much more likely to develop asthma when they live in a home that is very high in mold spores. It’s important to know that it is nearly impossible for you to eliminate every mold spore that is in your home but it is also important that you take the right steps to ensure that you minimise the effects. Steps that you can take include making sure that your air filtration system is cleaned out properly and that you also clean and vacuum your home on a regular basis. If you do suspect that there is mold or anything else of the sort in your home then symptoms that you could experience include a cough, sneezing, red and watery eyes or itchiness.

https://www.pexels.com/photo/bloom-blossom-cleaning-dandelion-434163/

Heat-Related Illnesses

When you have a blocked or even a dirty air filter, this can cause a thick layer of dust to accumulate inside the filter. This ultimately means that your air conditioning unit has to work way harder in order to draw the air in, so there isn’t enough energy to cool or heat the room properly. This may not seem a huge deal, but it can lead to heat-stroke in very hot climates and even hypothermia during the winter. This is especially the case if you live with an elderly family member, so making sure that your air conditioning unit is working properly is very important and you’d be surprised at how much healthier your family will be when you replace your filter on a regular basis.

To check to see if your air filter needs replacing or not, it’s a good idea for you to open up the cartridge every 2 months or so to see if there is a visible build-up of dust or grime. You can also call out a professional to take a look for you.

Disclosure: This is a contributed post.

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    December 20, 2017 at 3:56 pm

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    January 10, 2018 at 2:13 pm

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    February 15, 2018 at 8:35 am

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