That's how much it costs to buy a good-quality, pleated air-conditioner filter and to change it once a month during air-conditioning season.
Most of the cheaper, flat filters don't do as good a job of trapping small pollutants such as dust and pet dander. In fact, they remove only about 10 percent of pollutants from the air. So those particles find their way into your air-conditioning system, where they can clog up the works or blow back into your home.
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It might surprise you that
the really expensive, ultra-thick disposable filters - the ones that cost $15 or $20 - aren't any better for your system than
the cheap ones. Same goes for reusable, washable electrostatic or "monofilament" filters.
Sure, they trap the tiniest
bits of dust and dander. But they're so thick that they don't allow the air to flow through them freely, especially if you
don't clean them every week.
That makes your air-conditioner work harder and will shorten its life.
Your best
bet: a 1-inch, pleated air filter that costs $4 to $5.
It looks like cloth on the outside, but the pleats contain fibers
that catch allergy-causing smoke, mold and dust before your air-conditioning system can suck it in. At the same time, the
pleated filter allows enough air to get through so your system can operate properly.
Don't want to spend $5 a month
on an air filter or bother changing it every four weeks or so?
Brad Porter, a sales consultant for Integrity Air Conditioning
in Phoenix, has some advice for you. "You can either buy a filter or you can be a filter," he says.
Every day, you
and your family breathe in chemicals from your carpet, paint and even walls.
If you live with a smoker, that smoke
lingers long after the cigarette is snuffed out.
Mold and pet dander can make someone with allergies miserable - until
you filter it out of the air.
Using a pleated filter and replacing it every month will keep your air cleaner and your
air-conditioning system in tip-top shape longer.
A tip: Replace those filters every month, even if the manufacturer's
instructions say it's OK to do it every two or three months.
Arizona is a dusty place, and your filter will be dirty
long before it looks like it is.
Every time you pay your utility bill, change that filter.
Here are a few more
inexpensive ways to keep the air in your home clean during air-conditioning season:
• Spray the bottom
side of your pleated filter with an oil-based furniture polish.
The oils will help the filter grab the smallest particles
for the first week after you change the filter.
Plus, your whole house will smell great for about half an hour after
you spray the filter.
• Invest in a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter. These high-efficiency particulate-air
filters remove 99.97 percent of dust, animal dander, smoke, mold and other allergens from your carpet and floors, without
spewing them back into the air.
• Caulk and add weatherstripping around doors, windows and electrical
junction boxes.
This will help keep the dusty Arizona air from getting indoors and adding to your indoor air pollution.
• Put
portable air cleaners in your family's bedrooms. Choose portable units that have HEPA filters.
Ask your salesperson
to show you how to change the filter before you buy the unit, as it can be difficult to replace the filter cartridge in some
of these portable cleaners.
• Don't be talked into wasting your money having your ducts cleaned, a job
that costs several hundred dollars for only a few hours' work. For most people, duct cleaning has no benefit unless it's part
of a thorough cleaning of your entire air-conditioning system by a licensed technician.
Without a good cleaning of
the air-handler cabinet and coils, duct cleaning alone won't make your air-conditioner work better or reduce the dust in your
house.
Romero has been in the Arizona home-building and remodeling industry for 35 years. He has a radio program
from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturdays on KTAR-FM (92.3) in the Valley, from 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays on KNST-AM (790) in Tucson and
from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturdays on KAZM-AM (780) in northern Arizona. For more do-it-yourself tips, go to rosieonthehouse.com.
