Healthy Home Hub is dedicated to serving families and communities that aim to achieve a quality of life. We believe that properly informed citizens can perform to their optimum capacity and become more productive individuals, thus, contributing more to society.
The best place to start this journey is through your home. Live healthily and breathe freely for a stronger family.
Why It Is Crucial To Have The Right Air Filter For A Healthy Home
Regardless of the season or weather, clean air is something that each one of us should strive to breathe, especially at home. After all, the cleaner the air, the less probable it is for us to get sick. It’s our responsibility to take care of our overall physical health which includes taking care of our heart, blood circulation, and lungs. You may think that staying at home is a quicker and surefire way to enjoy clean air. However, it’s highly likely that the air inside your home is dirtier than you imagine.
In a statement released by the Environmental Protection Agency, the accumulation of certain pollutants indoors is usually two to five times higher as compared to outdoors. These pollutants found in indoor air can definitely affect human health. Some indoor sources and activities where these pollutants come from include cleaning, cooking, building materials, secondhand smoke, home furnishings, and consumer products. These pollutants from indoor air can be gases or particles, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Other forms are mold spores, pollen, lint, dust, and other debris.
Therefore, it is crucial to buy the right air filter for your home’s HVAC system. A good air filter should be effective at trapping pollutants and reducing indoor air pollution. Likewise, it should be able to help in improving indoor air quality and be an effective supplement when it comes to controlling pollutant sources as well as ventilating with clean outdoor air.
What To Consider Before Buying Air Filter For A Healthy Home
Determine the size of your air filter. Air filters for the home, which include ventilation, heating, and air conditioning air filters come in various sizes, whether in thickness and in area. They work best when they have a compact fit. When there are gaps found around the filter’s frame after it’s installed, it only means that the filter is the wrong size for your home air filter system. Therefore, it’s important to check the requirements for your system and match it with an air filter of the right size.
Know the various types of air filters. Generally, filters are most effective when they are new and clean. However, some filters last longer than the other types. For home air filters, the following types are available: disposable fiberglass, disposable pleated, disposable electrostatic, and permanent electrostatic. These home air filters offer varying maintenance requirements and performance levels.
Be sure to check an air filter’s minimum efficiency reporting value. Each type of air filter has a corresponding Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV). With this rating system, it is easier to determine the efficiency of an air filter when it comes to trapping particles. Generally, home air filters have a rating of 1 to 13. The higher the MERV rating, the higher is the efficiency in collecting more particles. It is suggested that a filter with a MERV rating of 6 or even greater is best for a healthy home.
Know how often you need to change your home air filter. Whatever type of air filter you have, it is recommended to change it every three months in order to maximize the system’s efficiency. Reusable air filters should be cleaned or washed regularly in order to prevent it from restricting air flow which happens when the filter is full of particles.