The air inside your home is the air you and your loved ones breathe all the time. While we might be confident that only the air outside is polluted and we are safe indoors, this is not always true. There are a lot of contaminants and pollutants in indoor air as well, which may lead to various health problems. Particularly if someone in your family is highly allergic to airborne allergens or has asthmatic trouble, contaminated air could be a huge risk and air filtration becomes extremely essential.
The air inside your house may carry dust, pollen, soot particles and more, that flow in from outside. The best way to ensure that the air you breathe is safe is by maintaining a well-ventilated home and installing an air conditioning system or an air filtration system. Looking for HVAC solutions for your St. Louis area home or business? Contact our air conditioning experts at 314-993-1110.
What Does Home Air Filtration Do?
The purpose of home air filtration is to trap the minute contaminants and pollutants in the air inside your home. An air purifier or filter usually has a very fine mesh or sieve that traps the particulate matter in the air circulating through it.
Most HVAC units already have an built-in filter. There are also separate portable air purifiers available whose sole purpose is to clean indoor air. Both HVAC air filtration systems and air purifiers need to be serviced and cleaned regularly to ensure uninterrupted performance.
Air filters may also need to be replaced after a certain period, depending on the type of filter and its usage.
Different Types of Home Air Filtration Systems
Air filters used in your home may be portable air purifiers, furnace filters, or HVAC air filters.
- Portable air purifiers or air cleaners are meant for cleaning the air in a small area, say a single room in your house.
- Central furnace or HVAC air filters purify the air flowing through the entire house, wherever your furnace or HVAC system supplies warm and cold air.
Types of Materials Used in Air Filtration Systems
Air filters for home use usually have any one of the following three kinds of filters.
- Fiberglass filters: These filters are made of layers of fiberglass held between metallic grates. These filters are cheaper and disposable. These filters capture relatively larger particles but may not be best suited for fine particulates.
- Pleated filters: This type of filter is quite common in home air filtration systems and in commercial systems too. It consists of a cylindrical or flat filter made of polyester, cotton, or similar materials. The material is pleated to increase the surface area of the filter so it can trap more particles. It is quite resistant to airflow and filters out dust quite effectively.
- High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filters: HEPA filters are made of multiple layers of very fine fiberglass threads woven into nets. These filters can capture particles of various sizes as the layers of netting have different mesh sizes. HEPA filters have the highest air filtration efficiency among all three types used in home air purifiers.
Why Do You Need Filtration in Your Home?
The primary reasons why you need a home air filtration system are:
- To prevent allergies from dust, mites, pollen, pet dander, etc.
- To prevent bouts of breathlessness in asthma patients
- To prevent respiratory and other health issues in babies, the elderly or patients
- To prevent fungal growth inside the house or fungal infections due to airborne spores
- To protect your HVAC system and other sensitive equipment from dust
Get Your Air Filtration System Serviced By the Best in St. Louis
Just having an HVAC unit or an air filtration system will not help if you don’t service it regularly. Let Galmiche & Sons take care of all your furnace, air filtration, and HVAC maintenance needs. Call our heating and air conditioning professionals today to learn more about how we can help.
