Changing your home's air filters is important to any homeowner, but is especially important if you live in the Phoenix Valley of the Sun where the temperatures soar during the summer months! Make it your 2010 New Year's resolution to establish a regular schedule to change the air filters in your home!

Why is it important to change the air filter in Phoenix?

Dirty air filters are a definite distraction from a well appointed home. It doesn't make sense to spend money on wall paint, plantation shutters and expensive Southwestern art work if a dust-filled air filter sits above it all in your Phoenix home. Besides looking bad, a dirty air filter can be a health hazard. The Trane website tells us, "the air inside your home is usually more polluted than the air outside. And, that means millions of unwanted airborne particles are being inhaled by you and your family." Air filters are intended to trap various particles from your home's air, including:

• Pollen
• Dust
• Bacteria
• Tobacco smoke
• Cooking smoke
• Animal hair and dander 

Wolf Mechanical Inc is an established air conditioning  company in Phoenix, Arizona, having served the community for over twenty years.  Their website's homeowner guide states this regarding air filters, "A dirty air filter places a great deal of unnecessary stress on your entire Phoenix air conditioning and heating unit. In neglecting such a simple step, you can overwork the entire system, leading to costly maintenance and repairs, all of which can be prevented by replacing the air filter as needed."

Air filter guidelines for homes in Phoenix

Wolf's Homeowner Guide recommends to check your Arizona home's filter once a month and change it no less than once every three months. 

Here are guidelines for air filters in your home:

• High-efficiency pleated filters which have a built-in electrostatic charge are the best-known type of air filter for health benefits.
• Air filters should be changed whenever it appears dark and clogged, once every 3 months at a minimum.
• Households with smokers or cat lovers should change their air filter more frequently.
• Households with family members who suffer from asthma or allergies, should be diligent about changing filter often.
• Change air filters to coincide with change of season (switching from A/C to Heat).

Which A/C air filter is best?

In her Washington Post article "The Dirt on Furnace Filters" written January 2006, Jeanne Huber, provides information about air filter design. She indicates that the older, less expensive air filters are not as good at trapping the tiny particles that can cause health problems as the newer high-efficiency pleated filters. The  built-in electrostatic charge in the new air filters can remove up to 90% of the spores from the air. 

However, she explains that the penalty for not changing the more expensive  type of air filter often enough is that, when dirty, they, "significantly restrict air flow once they become somewhat clogged. This prevents the air moving through the unit as it was designed to do, and it ends up running longer to do its job, which in turn runs up your gas or electric bill."  In summary, the more expensive air filters could cost more to use, if not changed often enough.

The bottom line is to regularly check and change your home's air conditioning air filters.  Use these tips:

• Keep the A/C filter measurements in your cell phone's notepad for easy access when shopping
• Buy at least a year's supply in January every year
• Schedule  your Outlook calendar for a quarterly air filter change and then do it!

For 2010, make it your New Year's resolution to change your air filters regularly.  This will improve your Phoenix home's air quality and lower your energy costs.  That means that your efforts to maintain your Phoenix home will match all the effort you've put into decorating it.  Isn't that a sensible New Year's resolution for Phoenix homeowners?

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