Page 16 Fall Home Improvement 2026 Lincoln Daily News Keeping Your House’s Air Clean in Winter Imagine it: it is October. The warm summer weather is starting to cool down, and the evenings are even cooler. The air is not cold yet, but certainly not hot either. You are finally able to open your windows once more to let that nice breeze in without having to sacrifice the AC in your home. As October becomes November and then December, the weather gets colder and colder. Eventually, you are not able to have the windows open at all. Until the air warms up again in March and April, you are not going to be able to have a consistent flow of fresh air into your home. What can you do to make sure that air is as clean as possible throughout the winter months? Luckily, Logan County has an expert in this area people can turn to for air quality matters in the home. Bret Tripplett of Bret Tripplett Heating & Cooling is very knowledgeable on the topic of HVAC systems and what it takes to keep air clean in the home. LDN was recently able to ask Tripplett some questions on this topic. All HVAC systems have filters, and these filters are what catch the particles in the air and keep it clean. This is the primary thing one can, and should, be doing when trying to keep clean air in their home. In addition to keeping the air clean, Tripplett shared that regularly maintaining these filters comes with additional benefits. According to Tripplett, “having a clean air filter in your HVAC system helps lower your energy bills, extend the equipment’s lifespan, and helps reduce allergy flare-ups.” When maintaining an HVAC air filter, it can start with something as simple as vacuuming and dusting it. In addition, Tripplett recommended grooming any pets with fur, as well as making sure that vents and air returns are not obstructed by anything. Even with regular maintenance though, these filters will eventually have to be replaced. Triplett shared that the frequency of these replacements depends largely on the thickness of the filter. One inch filters are going to need to be replaced monthly, while filters that are four or five inches thick can last between three and twelve months, but should be checked quarterly to ensure they are clean. If your home does not have an HVAC unit and instead relies on a window unit or ductless system, Tripplett had some advice for you too. He shared that these systems traditionally have washable filters. These filters should be cleaned monthly. Knowing how to maintain and when to replace filters are both great pieces of information. This does not help when knowing what and how to replace the filter, however. Tripplett shared that, if you are replacing a filter, “the size should be printed directly on the outside of the filter’s cardboard frame.” If you are buying a filter for the first time or the filter you did buy does not seem to fit, Tripplett had some advice. “A tape measure may be your best friend,” says Tripplett. “You’ll need to know the length, height, and width of the opening.” He shared that properly sized air filters should slide in and out of their slot in an HVAC unit easily.
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