There are different ways for you to filter out any airborne pollutants to have clean air inside your home, including an air conditioner with a filtering system. You might be looking into getting a ductless air conditioner for your home, but you're not sure if it needs any filter. We've done our research, and here's what we found.
Yes, ductless air conditioners do have filters. It has a multi-stage filtering system that can keep the air inside your home clean, especially for those who are asthmatic or have allergies. What's more, the filters are also cost-effective as they are washable and can last you up to 10 years of repeated use.
Choosing ductless air conditioning might be the way to go, but it would be better to find out more about it. Keep reading as we explore more about ductless air conditioning, how to clean its filter, and more.
How do you clean a ductless air conditioner filter?
Like everything else, maintenance is key to having your ductless air conditioner working the way it should, and that includes keeping the filters clean so they can continue to catch any allergens or dust. Thankfully, the process of cleaning the filter isn't as complicated as you might think.
1. Switch the unit off
Before you can take out the filter and start the cleaning process, you should turn the air conditioner off to avoid pollutants blowing into your home.
2. Remove the filters
Once you're able to switch off your unit, lift the blower unit to find the filters underneath. All you need to do is slide out the filters from the bottom to remove them from the unit.
3. Vacuum or wipe the filters
At this point, you can choose to either vacuum out the dust or debris from the filters or simply wipe it off with a dry cloth. You'll want to do this process gently since the filters are delicate and can tear if you don't handle them properly.
4. Wash and dry the filters
After taking out the loose dust or debris from the filters, it's time to wash them down. You don't want to do this part with a pressurized hose, so just gently spray the filters with water to clean off any other dirt that might be left behind. Afterward, leave them off to dry.
5. Reinstall the filter in the air conditioner
Once your filters are all dry, you can pop them back into your unit. To do that, simply slide them back the way you took them out.
What is the difference between ductless and mini-split?
Before we get more into the nitty-gritty, you might be wondering about the difference between a ductless air conditioner and a mini-split. The easiest way to answer this is that these terms are often used interchangeably. However, they aren't comparable.
While it's not as popular, there is also a mini-split type for ducted air conditioners. With that, the better question to ask might be "what is the difference between ductless and ducted mini-splits" to know your options better.
The biggest difference lies in the design of the two different types. Ductless mini-splits are typically visible at a high portion of the ceiling and allow you to control temperatures per zone. Since ductless mini-splits tend to be more affordable and easy to install, the general market tends to lean toward choosing this instead.
Meanwhile, ducted mini-splits are concealed and provide centralized temperature control. While it does offer some of the advantages of a ductless mini-split and can provide more airflow, it has more chance to kick up dust within your space. If you don't have ductwork done in your home, then installing one would also add to the expense.
How well does ductless air conditioning work?
One of the advantages of having a ductless air conditioner at home is that it directly provides heated or cooled air into a room without going through the ductwork. This means that dirt is not blown into the room and circulated.
If you have multiple rooms and want to control each room's temperature to your needs, having a ductless air conditioner would do the trick. While it does have multiple indoor units for one condenser unit outside, you can easily control each unit individually.
It also means that less energy is exerted to produce hot or cold air to control the room's temperature. Consuming less energy means that the unit won't need to work as hard, which ultimately costs less for you when you get your electricity bill.
How many rooms can a ductless air conditioner cool?
As mentioned a while ago, a ductless air conditioner can cool multiple rooms with a single condenser. A ductless air conditioner is ideal for residential homes since one condenser unit can have up to four indoor units to cool different zones in a home.
Theoretically, this means you can have four different rooms cooled, with each having individual temperature controls. However, it also depends on how big the space is. Take note that the bigger the room you have, the more BTUs you need for a unit to cover a space.
To give you a range of how many square feet a single ductless air conditioner unit can cover, a small room of 150-200 square feet of space would need a capacity of 6,000 BTUs per hour. The largest space it can cover would be up to 1,500 square feet and would need at least 24,000 BTUs per hour to effectively cool that room size.
Conclusion
Now that you know that a ductless air conditioner does have filters as well as how to clean them, we hope it eases your worries about how to maintain its filters. If you're looking to purchase one for yourself, it's good to remember how a ductless air conditioner works and how many zones or rooms it can cool before actually going with it so it can fit the needs of your home.
For more information on ductless AC units, check out our related posts:
Where Should A Ductless Mini Split Air Conditioner Be Installed?