Don’t Neglect Your Home’s Biggest Filter

You have a filter on your furnace, which experts recommend you should change on a monthly basis.  This recommendation is made to improve energy efficiency but also to improve the air quality.  The filter traps tiny particles, such as dust and dirt as well as allergens, molds, and bacteria, that can be found in the air.  These particles are so small that we don’t see them in the air, but they are there.  And when the air moves through a filter, they are caught.  However, when air continues to move through a filter that is full of these contaminants, some will inevitably be broken loose and re-introduced into the air.

This is how your furnace filter works.  But you have an even bigger filter in your house – your carpet.  You may not think about it, but your carpet functions like a massive filter.  All the particles that float invisibly through the air will eventually be drawn by gravity to the floor.  There your carpet awaits for the dust, the microbes, and the allergens.  The fibrous nature of carpet ensures that most of these particles are trapped in the carpet.  As The Carpet and Rug Institute explains, this is actually a good thing, especially for those suffering from allergies or asthma.  Instead of drifting around in the air, allergens and other irritants are caught in the fibers of the carpet and held there.

While it is good that particles are removed from the air, do you want them in your carpet?  If they are allowed to build up, some of these particles may eventually be stirred up and be re-introduced into the air.  Just as the furnace filter must be changed to remain effective, your carpet must be dealt with too.  However, with carpet it is not as easy as simple removing the old and installing the new.  In this case, you have to remove the particles from the carpet.  You can do this in two ways:  vacuuming and having the carpet cleaned professionally.  Vacuuming regularly can help to remove the filtered contaminants from your carpet.  Yet only a certain amount will be removed with the vacuum.  A regular professional carpet cleaning is the best way to get your carpet as clean as possible.  Then your carpet will always be able to keep filtering more impurities out of your air.

If you’ve changed lots of furnace filters since the last time you cleaned the biggest filter in your house, it may be time for a visit from Langenwalter.  Our expert technicians and powerful equipment will get your carpet clean and ready to gather more dust, dirt, pet dander, allergens, molds, viruses, and bacteria.  Call us at 317-876-9944 or schedule online when it’s convenient for you.