Pets Have a Huge Impact On HVAC Systems – Here’s How You Can Help Maintain Care For Your Unit

5 Common Problems with Residential HVAC Systems (and When to Call a Professional)

What’s not to love about our four-legged family members? Well, maybe we could live without all of the shedding and dander. While there are so many wonderful aspects of having a furry best friend, sometimes the shedding is unavoidable. Not many homeowners are aware that having a pet can put extra strain on your HVAC system. Luckily, there are simple steps you can take to help your HVAC unit. Not only will these tips help keep your system running smoothly, but they will also improve the quality of life of you and your furry companion! Change Air Filters Frequently Air filters prevent dust, hair, and other debris from getting into your furnace and air conditioner. Changing your air filter helps keep your HVAC system running efficiently and keeps the air in your home clean! Normally, with our MERV 11 and 13 air filters, we recommend changing them once a year. However, when you have a pet in the home, the filters get clogged easier due to the amount of shedding and dander a pet produces so if you notice a lot of shedding you may consider changing it out every 6 months. If you are unsure if yours needs to be changed more frequently, we would be happy to take a look for you at your scheduled maintenance and let you know our professional recommendation. Keep Your Pet Groomed It’s no surprise that grooming your pet helps keep the shedding at bay. Considering how quickly hair can block your air filters, it’s crucial to get your pet groomed regularly. Brushing your pet frequently between grooming appointments will also help minimize shedding. Make sure you clean up the hair you collected from brushing them. You don’t want that going into the air filter! Get Your Ductwork Cleaned Even if you change your air filter consistently, your air ducts can still collect pet hair and get clogged. When your ductwork gets blocked, it limits the amount of air that gets pushed through, making your unit work harder. Getting your air ducts cleaned every five years will help clear out any clogged debris and improve the overall efficiency of your HVAC system. Having a professional come in to clean your ducts is the best option. They have equipment that allows them to reach areas you would not be able to. Clean Your Carpets Often The carpet in your home may look clean, but it can easily trap the dander from your pets. When someone walks over your carpet, it will cause the dander and debris to get stirred up and recirculate in the air, making its way to your air filter. You can help prevent this by routinely vacuuming. You can even take it a step further and rent a carpet cleaner to do some in-depth cleaning! Invest in an Air Purifier Air purifiers can do wonders in helping remove a large amount of hair and dander in the air! Not to mention that it pulls the particles out of the air before it even reaches your air filter. Investing in a quality air purifier could help lengthen the life of your HVAC system. Removing all of that hair and dander before it reaches your air filter, allows your system to do its job without overworking itself. Check out Better Homes and Garden’s top recommendations for air purifiers for pet owners here. Protect Your Outdoor Unit We’ve talked a lot about how hair and dander can affect your HVAC system, but we haven’t addressed the direct damage your pet can cause to your outdoor unit. Our pets are curious creatures and sometimes get into places where they shouldn’t be. Protect your outdoor unit to prevent your pet from chewing on exposed wires or “marking” their territory on it. Consider putting a barrier around your outdoor unit. However, make sure that the airflow is not blocked if you do this. While it sometimes feels like your furry companion has control over the house, you need to have control over your HVAC system! We hope these tips help prevent negative ramifications on your system so that it can work smoothly for years to come! At Brackett Heating, Air & Plumbing, we want to ensure your heating and cooling system is working efficiently for both you and your pet. Contact our team for your annual maintenance check today!