How often should you clean your HRV filters?

By pulling the stale air from your home and replacing it with fresh air from the outside, you HRV or heat recovery ventilation system works hard to keep your house comfortable and to keep the humidity levels down. HRV systems are unique and energy efficient as they use heat transfer when the inside and outside air cross path. Therefore, it is essential to keep them running efficiently by cleaning them regularly. One of the important components of your HRV system is its filters, so how often should you clean them?

The filters have for primary function to remove many pollutants from the air before it enters your home. They can eliminate even small toxin particles such as smoke, pollen, bacteria, and mould spores. The recommended frequency for the cleaning of your HRV filters is every two months, but this depends greatly on your living circumstances. To determine if you should clean your filters more often, you need to first keep in mind where your house is situated. For example, if you live in a wooded area the number of flying insects will be greater than if you live in a more residential area. The little critters will unequivocally land right into your HRV’s filters and therefore will hamper your system’s normal operation. The same goes with living in a very populated city, the pollution alone will clog the filters rapidly. It will then be crucial for your system and for your health that you keep up this cleaning task more often. 

It is also recommended to clean your filters thoroughly when you are doing renovation work in your house as all the dust and debris, that might not be visible to the naked eye, are very much lingering in the air that you and your loved ones are breathing. Also, if you have just moved into a new home, do check your HRV filters to ensure that they have been cleaned recently.
Cleaning your filters may seem a tedious task but generally it only takes a few minutes and should not be neglected. Once you have removed the filters from the HRV system, vacuum off the dirt and debris and then wash them in warm soapy water. Allow for them to dry completely and reinsert them in their proper place. It will come a time when cleaning alone will no longer be sufficient and you will inevitably need to change the filters. If you notice that they are still mucky and dark in colour after a good washing, then that is a sign that you should replace them with new ones. This will usually be necessary once or twice a year. 

If dust is settling on your furniture quickly after a deep clean of your house or if bad smells, that can cause various health problems, are more common than not in your home, then cleaning the filters alone will not be sufficient. It is time to find a reputable HRV cleaning company to come and do a thorough clean of your entire system. Make sure that this includes the cleaning of the ducts as well as all the components. It is vital that you do not attempt this task yourself as you could damage your system and must change it completely. A professional clean of your HRV and its ducts only needs to take place every 3 years and will ensure optimal air quality in your home and guarantee you peace of mind.