Okay, so the term “spring cleaning” is sort of misleading. Keeping the house clean and dust-free isn’t just a spring thing, it’s an all-year, never-ending job.
The good news? We’ve got a cool trick for you that will help simplify your cleaning chores.
Just head over to your thermostat and switch your fan setting to “ON”.
When dusting, make sure your thermostat fan setting is set to ON, not AUTO.
We’ll explain how this secret thermostat trick helps you keep your home clean and dust-free.
First off, your thermostat fan has 2 settings:
So what does this have to do with cleaning? Well, when your fan is set to ON, it’s constantly pulling air into the AC system—even if your AC isn’t actually producing cold air at the time. And, as you’re cleaning, you absolutely want air to circulate non-stop through your AC system.
Why? Well, when you vacuum, dust or sweep, you’re actually kicking dust and dirt up into the air. Now, if your fan is off in between cooling cycles (i.e. in AUTO mode), all that dust will eventually just land on another surface.
BUT if your AC fan is set to ON while you’re cleaning, all that dust and dirt gets sucked into the AC system, where it’s then trapped in your AC filter.
The fan pulling air into the AC system, where the filter “cleans” your air.
Now that you know our little thermostat cleaning secret, we should probably warn you: only use the ON setting when you’re cleaning.
Why? Well, leaving the thermostat fan setting to ON (instead of AUTO) can lead to:
Here’s the thing: you’re most likely using a fiberglass filter (the most basic kind) that’s only designed to capture larger pollutants like dust and dirt.
Which is bad news because there are so many smaller contaminants in your home’s air that a fiberglass filter can’t catch, like:
The solution? Upgrade your filter’s MERV rating.
A filter’s MERV rating determines just how small of contaminants it can catch. The higher the MERV rating, the more contaminants it can catch. Residential filters typically range from MERV 1 to MERV 16 (basic fiberglass filters are typically rated MERV 1–4).
The MERV rating you need really depends on what you’re trying to achieve. For example:
We’re happy to offer tips and help you choose the air quality product you need.