If you own a dog, you may have some concerns about their shedding hair interfering with your central heating and air conditioning system. If so, use the following three tips for keeping your dog's hair from clogging up the duct work and unit.
Brush Your Dog Outside Daily
The first thing you can do to minimize the amount of dog hair floating around your home and into your HVAC system is to brush them daily. Removing their hair while outside also keeps the dander from flowing through the duct work and throughout your house, where it can exacerbate allergy symptoms.
During the spring and summer, the heat outside may make your dog shed even more. If this is the case, you may want to brush them twice a day to keep up with the loose hair.
Vacuum Your Vents Weekly
Along with brushing your dog, vacuum your vents and the ends of the ducts once a week, especially during hot weather. The hairs can become caught in the vents and the spaces directly beneath them.
You should also vacuum the grate over the cold and hot air return vent. When the air comes out of your vents, it spreads the hairs back up into your home, then the return grates suck the air through them and into your furnace or air conditioning unit, where it could clog up the filter or motor.
Change Your Filter at Least Monthly
Even if you are diligent about brushing your dog and vacuuming the vents, hair is still going to end up in your HVAC unit. When it enters the unit, it is stopped by the filter to keep it from flowing back out into your home. This causes the filter to become clogged up fairly quickly, so it should be changed on a regular basis.
During late summer, fall, and winter, you should be able to change your filter once a month. However, you should always check at least every couple of weeks to make sure that the filter is not clogged up with hair, which decreases your unit's ability to run efficiently because the air is blocked.
In the springtime and early summer, you may want to go ahead and change the filter twice a month. Since your dog will shed more during these seasons, the filter will most likely clog up faster than other times of the year.
Using the tips above can help you keep the impact of your dog's hair on your central heating and air conditioning system to a minimum. However, if you are still worried about the hair, contact HVAC service like Reid’s AC & Heat to have them inspect your system.
Share21 July 2017
Hi there, I am Nadine Bachmier. I am going to discuss the various ways HVAC contractors can keep the temperatures in your business stable. HVAC contractors focus on maintaining and repairing the air conditioner, furnace, and ductwork used in your building. To keep the heating and cooling system in good shape, contractors may need to replace internal components, clean out channels, or simply perform a full upgrade. I will talk about the tools and techniques used to maintain and repair the equipment in your building. I will also share information about new products as they hit the HVAC market. I hope you will follow along and learn all you can.