Here at Key Heating and Cooling, we love our pets. Our dogs and cats are important members of our families, showing us unconditional love and making our world a better place. Unfortunately, our furry friends can create stress on our HVAC systems that generate home comfort throughout the year.
We believe in the importance of maintaining a happy and healthy living environment for both you and your four-legged companions. That's why we're excited to offer tips to help create a comfortable home for every member of your family.
Pet Hair in Air Filters: The Negative Impact
Understanding the effect pets can have on your heating and cooling system is crucial for knowing how to perform proper maintenance. Pet hair, dander, and fur can clog the air purifier in your ducted or ductless system and block vents.
Dirty air filters in your home cannot clean the air properly, leading to irritants circulating and causing indoor allergies. They can also attach to furniture, and cleaning can become much more difficult.
Pet Accidents and VOCs
Pet accidents can also be detrimental: not only to your home environment, but to your HVAC system. Pet urine and feces contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
VOCs include bacteria and ammonia, which create bad odors and respiratory illnesses. If not cleaned, mold and mildew may form, further impacting the indoor air quality of your home long term.
If your pet uses the bathroom outside, keep them away from your outdoor HVAC unit. Volatile organic compounds found in pet urine are highly acidic. If your pet does their business on your system, the VOCs can damage copper coils and aluminum fins, and degrade the exterior of your unit.
If condenser coils are damaged, it can lead to a refrigerant leak, which can release toxic hydrofluorocarbons into the air. Fumes from refrigerant leaks can negatively impact your outdoor environment. Keeping your furry friend away from the HVAC unit will help to prevent damage long term.
Maintaining a Healthy HVAC System With a Pet
To keep your indoor living environment happy and healthy for both you and your four-legged friend, regular air filter changes are a must. Changing your air filter at least once a month ensures that impurities will be kept at bay.
Also, it's important as a pet owner to select the best air filter possible. We recommend a high efficiency particulate air filter, which captures up to 99.97% of dust particles and is excellent at trapping dander and pet hair. That way you can keep your air and your furniture clean and keep allergies at bay.
Bad odors may still linger in the air even with a high efficiency particulate air filter (or HEPA). Carbon filters are a great option for trapping volatile organic compounds and foul smells and restoring a clean fresh scent into your home.
To effectively kill bacteria, viruses, and mold associated with volatile organic compounds, and to improve the air quality in your home, we recommend installing an RGF Reme Halo air purifier, which kills up to 99.9% of bacteria and viruses. (rgf.com) The Reme Halo also neutralizes pet odors, mold, and dander, so you and your pet can breathe easy. Learn more about the RGF Reme Halo here.
Lastly, it is imperative to schedule regular maintenance with an HVAC contractor. Booking a system tune up at least twice a year verifies that your HVAC is running properly. To schedule your HVAC maintenance, click here.
Beyond HVAC: Keeping Your Home Environment Clean
Keeping the air quality in your home pristine can be done beyond routine HVAC upkeep. Cleaning up after your pets ensures that the air filters in your system are picking up less impurities and extending the lifespan of your filter.
Use a damp towel or a Swiffer to catch pet hair, dander, and dirt on common surfaces. Grooming your pet regularly will help to reduce the hair and dander that may impact your air filtration system.
If your pet has an accident indoors, clean the area immediately to avoid VOCs, mold, and mildew from spreading around your home and causing respiratory distress.
If possible, teach your pet to go to the bathroom outdoors so that the indoor climate in your home isn't disrupted. Set up a protective fence around your unit to protect it against damage from pet urine.
If your pet primarily lives indoors, change puppy pads and litter boxes regularly, disposing of them in a closed space as frequently as possible.
Trust Key Heating and Cooling for a Healthy Pet-Friendly Home
Keeping your indoor atmosphere healthy and enjoyable with your beloved fluffy companion doesn’t need to be difficult. Following these tips and scheduling regular HVAC maintenance will provide a more comfortable solution for you and your fur baby.
To schedule a tune up, click here or call Key Heating and Cooling today at (833) 258-8811. Stay tuned for an exciting update from Key Heating and Cooling next week!
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