A pet can be a loving addition to your home. However, they can also bring lots of problems, especially if they shed hair. This can make it harder to maintain your home and may even lead to health problems for your loved ones.

The good news is that there are some simple steps that you can take today to pet-proof your home. Find out what to do to make upkeeping your home easier with your furry, feathery, or scaly friends in it!

6 Tips For Pet-Proofing Your Home

Follow these tips to make cleaning up after your pets at home easier!

Upgrade Your Air Filter

One of the easiest things you can do to pet-proof your home is to upgrade your air filter. A typical spun glass air filter will have trouble capturing all the additional particulates your pet releases. Bits of hair, pieces of feathers, or scale fragments can waft through the air in your home. These can pass through your HVAC system and remain in circulation.

Upgrading your air filter to an electrostatic air filter, HEPA filter, or pleated air filter can improve the ability of your HVAC system to remove pollutants from the air. This can make it easier for you and your loved ones to breathe safely indoors.

Regularly Switch Out Your Air Filter

Your air filter must be regularly switched out or cleaned if it's washable. Dust that builds up in your air filter can prevent your HVAC system from efficiently circulating air. This can cause your HVAC system to strain beyond its normal working limits to move air through your home. Ultimately, this can cause parts in your HVAC system to fail sooner than expected.

Replacing your air filter once a month can help improve your home's air quality. You'll also place less strain on your HVAC system. This can cause fewer repairs and makes it easier to keep your home clean, as your air filter will remove more dust from the inside.

Tackle Any HVAC Repairs Right Away

Your HVAC system cleans the air inside your home. If you're bringing new pets into your home, you'll need your HVAC system always to function efficiently. That makes it essential to fix any problems with your HVAC system as soon as they're detected.

Putting off HVAC system repairs can be tempting, but it's costly. A breakdown can be much more expensive than a regularly scheduled maintenance or tune-up.

Get a Hypoallergenic Pet

If possible, you might want to get a hypoallergenic pet. These pets shed less frequently and create fewer hair particles and dander that can set off allergies you or your loved ones may have. They also produce less material that needs to be cleaned by your HVAC system. Hypoallergenic pets require less cleanup and can be an excellent addition to your home.

Swap Out Your Carpet for Hard Flooring

Pets can make your floors dirty and dusty faster, whether shedding their fur or bringing in mud from outside. Carpet can retain hair from your pet, making it harder to clean your home. Carpet can also trap the dust and pollen they bring in from outside, making your indoor air quality worse than it would be otherwise.

Switching your carpet for hard, smooth flooring like tile, laminate, or hardwood can make cleaning up after your pet easier. You'll just need to sweep occasionally to eliminate any hair that builds up on your floor. This can reduce the strain of indoor air placed on your HVAC system. You and your loved ones can also enjoy better air quality without carpet.

Cut Back Plants From Your Home

Pets love to play and explore, but if you have trees and plants near your home, this can cause indoor problems. Your pets can bring in pollen, dirt, and debris from any plants they get into that are near your home. Cutting these back from your home can make your pets less likely to bring in any unwanted airborne pollutants. This makes cleaning your home easier.

Schedule an HVAC System Inspection For Your Home!

Want to improve indoor air quality and make life easier for you and your pets? Schedule an HVAC system inspection today! Doing so can help you discover any HVAC system problems that may impact its performance. Catching problems early when they are detected can help you save money and make it less likely that your HVAC system will suffer a catastrophic breakdown.