I became picky about this a few years ago. I figured I should look into the air that I have the most control over and breathe in most frequently.

Air quality plays a critical role in maintaining good health. For individuals with allergies or asthma, exposure to air pollutants and allergens can trigger symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. Poor air quality can also lead to a range of health problems, including respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and other chronic conditions. In addition, air pollution has been linked to an increased risk of lung cancer and other types of cancer, as well as neurological disorders and developmental delays in children.

I'm not saying that using a cheap air filter will definitely lead to cancer or mental deficits for you and your family, but good filters can be modestly effective against particles in the air that cause all sorts of problems.

AC filters have a MERV rating, which stands for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value. The higher the MERV, the more particles it can filter.

Ratings of 16 and under are considered the standard, while 17–20 are for sterile situations like hospital operating rooms.

However, this doesn’t mean you should always get the highest MERV rating possible. They are more expensive and can actually make your AC work harder than intended due to increased air resistance.

Having said that, I think air quality is something you should invest in if possible.

Here’s a rough breakdown of what they filter. Note that each subsequent MERV rating filters the particles captured by the previous rating, as well as additional particles:

• MERV 2–4: pollen, dust mites, sanding dust, and carpet fibers
• MERV 5–8: mold/spores, dust lint, cement dust
• MERV 9–12: legionella, lead dust, humidifier dust, coal dust, nebulizer dust
• MERV 13–16: bacteria, tobacco smoke, auto fumes, sneeze nuclei, insecticide dust, copier toner, pet dander, face powder
• MERV 17–20: virus carriers, carbon dust, sea salt, combustion smoke, radon progeny, odor, microscopic allergens

I personally recommend at least MERV 11, and probably 13 or 14 if your system can handle it, but the choice is yours. Remember to change it regularly and pick one that addresses your concerns.

You can further improve air quality and extend the life of your filter by adding standalone air purifiers to other rooms in your house and dusting your home regularly.

You can also take massive steps to improve you health and overall disease resistance, you can start eating more nutrition foods, sleeping better, managing your stress, and exercising. If you are interested in an online health and fitness coach to help you slowly and surely build habits in an easy way, feel free to read more about my program here or to apply for a consultation here.