Day Ninety Two: Clean Air Act

I woke up last night to my son's sneezes.  A few minutes later my daughter started to sniffle.  Saying a silent prayer no one was sick, it dawned on me that we (read: me) have not changed our A.C. filters in several months.

Oops. It slipped my mind.

In her article on Improving Indoor Air Quality, Martha says to change your air filter monthly.  Our A.C. vents are in the ceiling.  The location of the vents is primarily for looks (you notice it less in the ceiling than a wall), but it means changing them is a pain.

This is what happens every time I change a filter:  I pull out the ladder and place it under the vent, banging at least one wall in the process. Then I climb said ladder, (recall I am afraid of heights), shaving several years off my life with sheer anxiety.  At that point, I typically break a finger nail prying the dusty vent open, get dust in my eyes pulling out the grubby filter, then nearly fall off the ladder putting the clean one in.

This time was no different.  Except that I managed to keep my manicure intact.

Please feel free to be disgusted by the following photo.  The one on the right is what I removed from my vents.  The one on the left is the new one:

My only reassurance is that most of America's vents are probably as dirty as mine.

I'll leave you now so you can go change your filters.