The winter season is one season that may push your heating and air conditioning system the hardest. Luckily, things are relatively calm before winter arrives. That makes the fall season the perfect time to take steps to prepare your heater for the cold weather ahead, in particular, changing your air filters.
Air Filters Go Neglected
As a general rule of thumb, air filters need changing every few months. The exact frequency will depend on the quality of your indoor air and the condition of your HVAC system. Unless you changed your air filter recently, the fall season is the perfect time to change it. During the fall, heaters and air conditioners are only occasionally run, so HVAC maintenance is easier and more convenient. It’s a lot easier to change an air filter when the HVAC unit isn’t running than when it’s running almost constantly.
Indoor Air Quality Suffers in the Winter
Another reason to change air filters in the fall is to make sure your air handler can handle the dirtier air that is common during the winter. The primary reason for dirtier winter air is because of dust.
When air gets cold, its ability to hold moisture drops. This is why humid air is common in the summer. But when the indoor humidity levels drop, dry skin becomes an issue. The result? More dust. And the majority of dust consists of dead skin cells. With more skin cells shed by your body, you will have more dust in the air, so your air filters will clog more quickly. To avoid having to change your air filters so soon during the winter months, change them now, so they’re fresh and clean.
Additionally, there is often less fresh indoor air in the winter time. This is the result of closed doors and windows, which is understandable because it’s so cold outside! But it also means constantly recirculated air, which means fewer opportunities for the built up dust to flow outside outdoors.
The fall season, such as the month of October, is the ideal time to change the air filters in your heating and air conditioning system. Get in touch with our team of experts at Smoak’s Comfort Control today to ensure your HVAC is ready for the next season.