Reduce Your Chances of Getting Sick This Season with Cleaner Air

If your household is anything like mine, then when one person in the house gets sick usually EVERYBODY in the house gets sick. Especially when the kids return to school after Winter break, they bring home all kinds of germs with them. It usually starts when you hear one person sneezing then another coughing. Next thing you know there's a bathroom garbage can full of used tissues piled a mile high!

One way to avoid passing those nasty germs around from all that sneezing and coughing is to change your furnace's air filter regularly. Your air filter is usually found inside the air intake vent near your unit. For optimum performance, change your home's air filter every 90 days or sooner, although most HVAC specialists recommend changing your air filters at least once month.

Not only does this help in the spreading of airborne germs and viruses, it also keeps your furnace from working so hard trying to get air through a dirty filter. Just imagine trying to breath while holding a dirty, dust clogged cloth over your face. That's exactly what your furnace is trying to do with a dirty air filter.

Be sure to check the MPR number on the filter as well. The higher the MPR, the more micro particles such as pollen, pet dander, smoke, bacteria and viruses your filter will capture from the air passing through it.

Amazon.com has some great deals on air filters. I found a 6-pack of air filters for my furnace for almost $2 less per filter compared to what I usually paid.

Stay healthy and breathe easier this cold and flu season by keeping your air filters clean!