Air Quality 101 — Minimizing Pet Dander

Pets clog air conditioning units — naturally, without any evil designs, motives, or intentions.

Does that make them seem cuddlier than usual?

Totally your call – but unless this natural phenomenon of shedding hair and dander is left unaddressed, it can pose health risks to everyone in the building relying on the cool, clean, and conditioned air from the air conditioning units.

Pet Dander and Human Health

According to the American Lung Association, pet dander is detrimental to human health. It can result in a decline in functions of lungs, cause infections, and lead to upper and lower respiratory tract symptoms including congestion, sneezing, runny nose, chest tightness, and wheezing. (ALA — How Do Pet Allergens Affect Your Health?)

Pet Hair and the Health of A/C units

Pets regularly shed hair. Though it does not generally affect people, your A/C units and HVACs would like to protest in earnest — with decreased cooling, improper air conditioning, increased maintenance costs, and rocketing energy bills!

Why?

Because pet hair and dander clog air-filters, ducts, vents and ventilation fan motors in the air conditioning units.

This dramatically reduces the air available for conditioning. As a result, your A/C unit has to utilize greater amounts of energy to condition the air to proper levels of thermal comfort. This not only affects the efficiency of your air conditioning unit but also its overall life. As a result, it increases your maintenance costs as well as increases your energy bills.

How Can You Minimize Pet Dander and Hair?

Minimizing pet dander begins by keeping a vigilant eye for the movement of your pet in rooms and the places they visit often. The following actions will allow you to minimize pet dander in rooms:

Cleaning Pets

 

  • Frequently grooming your pet — this includes brushing your pet so that dander does no collect on their fur or their skin. This also allows you to limit the area where this dander and hair is shed the most, and as a result makes it easier to clean the area and prevent dander and hair from passing through the air vents.

 

 

  • Frequently vacuum the region next to the air vents and ventilation ducts.

 

 

  • Bathing — regularly cream rinsing your pet with shampoo helps minimize shedding of dander and hair.

 

 

  • Clean the pet’s bedding and favorite resting places at least once a week, especially if the place is in a carpeted room and near the AC unit. Using washable covers reduces the time and effort required for cleaning.

 

Cleaning Air Ducts

Daily cleansing of dander and hair is plain impossible – and this is where the efforts of your air breathing A/C units and HVACs show themselves.

Your A/C units and HVAC continuously breathe in all the allergens and pet hair apart from other particulate matter such as dust, smoke, toxic organic chemicals, etc. This requires that your air-conditioning units to be regularly inspected and maintained. Changing air filters is a DIY job, but cleaning the air ducts of all the buildup requires professional help.

If you require professional help with maintaining your A/C units, feel free to get in touch with us!

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