People commonly tend to skip cabin air filters when they bring their cars for maintenance. Unless their experts specifically notify them, they do not pay attention to it. Oil change, engine tuning, and other integral parts of the car all are priorities, but what they miss out on is a part that can lead to a major health hazard. When we, at Dale Feste Autos, have a customer coming for repairs and maintenance, we always look for problems in cabin air filters.
Why do we do it if it is not essential for a car’s overall performance? It’s pretty simple. As we stated above, your health is more important than your car’s health. If we told you that your kids and your family are at risk, wouldn’t you immediately mitigate it? You definitely would. So, we make sure our customers do not neglect the air filter of the vehicle.
Driving without an Air Filter
While there isn’t a direct impact on your engine’s performance with a broken or malfunctioning cabin air filter, it still isn’t the best idea to do it. Particularly if you are using your air conditioner or heater. Why? The reason is that a choked filter would reduce the airflow in the HVAC system, forcing the system to use up more power to circulate the temperature inside the vehicle. It could, after some time, require a maintenance job primarily because of malfunctioning air filters. But this isn’t even the more significant issue. The bigger problem is the health hazard that it may cause.
We cannot reiterate enough the importance of purified air inside your vehicle. Let’s put things into perspective. According to a study, the average American spends 225 hours a year commuting. Considering this, you expose yourself and your family to numerous potential respiratory issues as your air filter is responsible for stopping pollen and dust particles from getting into your car through the air conditioner. You definitely want to avoid that, don’t you? So, driving without an air filter is most certainly not the best of ideas.
What happens if the Air Filter Clogs Up?
A recent study by the WHO (World Health Organization) reveals that nine out of ten people breathe polluted air. Also, around seven million people die each year from exposure to fine particles found in the environment. Experts note that the contamination on the inside of the car can be equal to or worse than that found in the environment, and this can cause several health problems. If you smell an unpleasant aroma coming from the air conditioner, there is a high chance that your air filters have malfunctioned.
Itchy eyes or nose after turning on the AC
Allergies are a sign of the presence of fungi and other microorganisms in the vehicle. People often think that this is due to external factors, and once they close the windows, this discomfort will go away. However, mostly, this is not the case. The air inside the car also carries dust and spores that, when they are in large amounts, become irritating.
Cough when the AC is turned on
This condition suggests that you may have an allergic reaction to the air that is coming out of the air conditioner. This is a sign that you need to have your air filter checked for clogging.
The ideal solution is to get your HVAC system checked and get all the necessary repairs made. At Dale Feste Auto, we have been providing cabin air filter repair services to the residents of Hopkins, Minnesota for a long time. Whether it’s service, repair, or replacement, we do it all!