It’s unfortunate when you see people hurting themselves inadvertently just to save a few dollars.
- Let’s be clear—this sentiment does not apply to people who are so poor they have no choice but to buy whatever they can reasonably afford at any given time.
But my father for instance is a good example of what I’m talking about. He has several pensions and passive income he makes from the stock market. With the amount of money he continually makes and has saved in various bank accounts and trusts, he has no business being cheap about things regarding home maintenance and appliance care. He also buys the cheapest equipment he can find whenever he needs new tools or electronics. It’s one thing if you’re dealing with a device that isn’t going to negatively affect your life by using something cheap and flimsy, but you can’t apply the same logic to anything related to your home’s heating and cooling system. Having bad air quality at home can lead to both short term and long term health problems, especially for those who already have respiratory illnesses like asthma or COPD. My father is convinced that his “washable” air filters are just as good as my disposable MERV 14 allergen filters that cost me $17 a piece. Even though I show him that his filter is only rated MERV 3 when it’s brand new and completely unblocked, he remains unconvinced. On top of that, these washable a/c filters are prone for mold growth as it’s extremely hard to get them bone dry before putting them back inside the air return. My father’s house smells mildly moldy and I wonder if it’s because of his terrible a/c filters.