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Changing Furnace Filters & Spring Cleaning For PF Patients
I hope everyone in our online forums community is keeping safe and managing well amid the COVID-19 pandemic and social isolation. Remember to take care of your mental health during this time, and ask for help or support if you’re in need!
Since being discharged from the hospital, and now having to spend only time within the four walls of my home; I’ve been giving some thought to spring cleaning, organization that I’ve wanted to get done and other small tasks around the house. Since the weather is getting warmer here in Canada, and we’re facing prolonged periods of time indoors, it feels like the perfect time to open some windows, turn up some music and do some cleaning/organizing!
While compiling my list, I wrote down the need to change my furnace filter and then tried to recall whether I’ve already done this in the last few months. I can’t remember so by default, I am just going to replace it/change again. I’d rather do this more often as opposed to less. This led me to think about other IPF/PF patients…. how often do you change and replace your furnace filters? Was this a decision you made, or one recommended by your physician?
What are some other regular tasks you do around your home/clean regularly to keep your lungs as healthy as possible?
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9 Replies
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There is a recent IPF study looking at particulate matter by French zip codes. It did find that dirtier air was associated with more rapid declines. So, with that in mind, I think it does help a little to change your house air filter often enough to improve air quality. It probably also helps to use the house fan or AC instead of opening windows when air quality is bad. Staying indoors on bad air quality days may also help. There are web sites that report various air quality indexes by region, state/province, or city. Those are helpful.
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`living in Florida I change tge heat/air conditioning filter at least every 2 months and usually every month. The system works better and is much better for my lubgs. I also have air purifiers running 24/7 and change that filter as called for.
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Hi Judy,
Thanks so much for writing and sharing what you do re: the furnace filters! Typically I think they say every 3 months so doing it more often than that for those of us with a lung disease is a good idea. I think I am going to increase the frequency, thanks for sharing. Be well, Charlene.
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Hi Kyle,
Thanks for connecting and sharing your thoughts on this topic. I’d love to get my hands on that article, I imagine it would be a great one to share among the IPF/PF community, I’ll see if I can track it down. Do you remember the title of it? I agree with you, the more often you change your filters the better as it makes sense that there would be a more rapid decline from dirtier air. Air quality does pay an important role as well, I frequently check this where I live, especially in the summer months. Thanks for sharing and hope you’re doing well.
Charlene.
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I just now found a different article on an analysis of Lombard Italy with similar findings. I’ll keep looking for the French Zip codes research.
Valérie Siroux1 and Bruno Crestani. “Is chronic exposure to air pollutants a risk factor for the development of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis?” Eur. Respitory J. 2018
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Awesome – thanks so much Kyle! I look forward to pulling this article and giving it a read through. I really appreciate your circling back with this information. Be well, Charlene.
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Hi @kyle-stiegert , thanks so much for sending us the article! You’ll note the first attempt didn’t work as this platform is very finicky when it comes to copying/pasting content. Usually it shows up as unformatted code and then flags it as spam for Mark and I to ‘approve’. I removed all the code though, and added the article into your post as a hyperlink. When you click “HERE” above, it should send us right to the article. Thanks again for sharing it, I look forward to reading. Charlene.
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Here is the French zip code study: click HERE
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