When it’s cold outside we tend to stay indoors more than we do during the hotter months, however, if you’ve not had your bi-annual HVAC maintenance appointment completed, it’s likely your air inside has more pollutants than the cold air outside.

You see, when you don’t have your heater or air conditioner cleaned annually, the filters get clogged with debris that then enters your home once you turn it on again. That debris is not healthy for your lungs and can cause health issues both minor and serious.

So, how can you keep your home healthy during the cold winter months so you can enjoy the indoor heat? Here are a few tips.

1. Aside from having your HVAC maintenance, you should make sure your heater works properly. If there are pipes, a broken piece, or filters that need to be changed make sure you have those fixed as soon as your technician lets you know the issue is there. If you don’t, you could be looking at an increase in your energy bills each month or worse yet, the need to have a new heater installation complete.
2. Change your filters between your regularly scheduled HVAC maintenance appointments. Furnace filters need to be changed around 4 times per year, whereas your machine only needs maintenance by a professional twice a year. That means it’s important you are DIYing your filter changes between these appointments. A dirty filter can negatively affect your health and the performance of your machine.
3. When it’s cold outside, and we don’t open the windows as much to air out our homes, we may be surprised at how many toxins we put into the air we breathe. Be sure that you use natural or organic cleaning products when you clean your home so the heat inside your home isn’t being polluted.