CAN A DIRTY FURNACE FILTER MAKE YOU SICK?
Have you ever thought about why the filter in your furnace is dirty? Perhaps the cleanest, most efficient filter you can use for your furnace is one that doesn’t have to be contaminated. If you’ve ever thought about this possibility, here are some answers to that question for you. Read on to find out more.
Why is a dirty furnace filter dangerous? First of all, let’s look at why a dirty furnace filter is hazardous to your health. If the dirty furnace filter gets contaminated with air pollution, particles of dust, and other harmful particles, it can cause several serious health problems. The most common problem caused by dirty filters is pneumonia, which is a dangerous respiratory disease. People who suffer from pneumonia can easily pass on this disease to their family members and anyone else living in the home.
A dirty filter is dangerous because it can allow too much carbon monoxide to enter your home. Carbon monoxide is the gas that causes death in the most tragic home fires. This gas can quickly enter your home by air you breathe each day if you do not use the proper ventilation system. If your furnace filter becomes contaminated with air pollutants, these pollutants can quickly get into your home and enter the lungs of those people inside the house.
When you use a dirty furnace filter, the contaminants can start entering your body. The pollutants that enter your body can then build up in the lungs, where they can begin to damage your cells.
Some of the most dangerous contaminants that can enter your body when your furnace filter is dirty are metals such as copper, lead, mercury, and insecticides, including the pesticide organophosphates. All of these types of pollutants can cause a wide variety of severe problems for your health.
If you think that a dirty furnace filter is dangerous, you need to change it immediately. The longer you leave your furnace filter dirty, the higher the risk you have of getting sick.
It’s easy to change the furnace filters of your furnace. If you have any cleaning products in your home, you can easily remove the filter on your furnace and spray the cleaner onto the filter.
There is no doubt that a dirty furnace filter is dangerous to your health, but there are many ways that you can protect yourself from this danger. You can use filters that have no chemicals or contaminants and that do not trap dangerous particles. They have an insulating layer so that the particles that get trapped can’t get into your lungs.
If you don’t want to buy a filter with a layer that will prevent particles from entering your lungs, you can always use a HEPA filter designed to filter particles down to one micron. They work very well, but you should only get one of these filters because the more filters you have in your furnace, the higher the chances of having the wrong type of particle getting into the lungs.
Some studies have shown that people with a HEPA furnace filter had a fifty percent less chance of getting sick from having a lousy furnace filter. There is no doubt that having a HEPA filter in your furnace can also be the difference between a healthy furnace and one that could lead to health problems.