My dad is always looking to make environmentally-friendly updates to our house.
Last year he made us all switch over to reusable sandwich bags, and last month we completely swore off plastic water bottles.
Eco-friendly swaps can be good for the environment, but there are some swaps that I’m not sure are that great for our health. I have really severe allergies, so we always make sure to swap out our air filters every month to ensure that we maintain quality indoor air. Maintaining healthy indoor air quality is really important for my respiratory health. My dad found out about reusable air filters that are washable and decided to try it out, so we have been using them for about three months now. Every month we clean out the air filter, wash it, allow it to fully dry, and place it back in the HVAC. The reason why I don’t enjoy the washable air filter is because I don’t think standard household washing will fully clean all of the particulates that may reside within the air filter. My allergies have been really bad over the past three months, so I’ve asked my dad if we can return to using the disposable air filters. He started to do some research and found that the disposable air filters don’t make too deep of an environmental impact after all, so we’ve decided to switch back. I’m all for making swaps that will help Mother Earth survive for centuries to come, but some swaps can be dangerous or simply unhealthy if the right cleaning protocols aren’t taken.