Everyone wants a clean, safe, comfortable home. But, when you’re breathing in all sorts of dust, pollen, and other pollutants, you’re putting your health at risk. When contaminants such as dirt, debris, and other unhealthy particles accumulate on the sheet metal inside your air ducts and on other components of heating and air conditioning systems.
Common pollutants found in homes include:
- Biological debris. mold, mildew, dust mites, and pet dander can cause respiratory irritation and trigger asthma attacks
- Chemicals, like those found in paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, varnishes and waxes, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, office equipment, moth repellents, air fresheners, and dry-cleaned clothing.
- Combustion pollutants, like fuel-burning appliances such as space heaters, wood stoves, gas stoves, water heaters, dryers, and fireplaces which are improperly vented or unvented. Some of these pollutants can be life threatening if they accumulate. Carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and secondhand smoke are very common in your home.
- Central heating and cooling systems and humidification devices
- Excess moisture
- Outdoor sources such as radon, pesticides, outdoor air pollution.
Indoor Air Pollution and Health
The effects from indoor air pollutants on your health may be experienced soon after exposure or, possibly, years later. Some immediate health effects may show up shortly after a single exposure or repeated exposures to a pollutant. These effects include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue, and are usually short-term and treatable. Sometimes the symptoms of some diseases such as asthma may show up, be aggravated or worsened.
Long-term effects on your health may show up years after exposure has occurred or only after long or repeated periods of exposure. These effects, which include some respiratory diseases, heart disease and cancer, can be severely debilitating or fatal. It is prudent to try to improve the indoor air quality in your home even if symptoms are not noticeable.
The good news is that you can easily improve your air quality. Air filtration devices and dehumidifiers can help reduce the presence of undesirable particles in air ducts. But you also need to remove the buildup in your air ducts. When contaminants are identified, it is important to figure out their source. The source must be removed, or the contaminants will return.
If you see any of the below-mentioned occurrences, it is time for deep cleaning:
- Dust motes are floating around in the air.
- Hair and other debris trapped in vents.
- A fine film of dust on the grills of the return air registers.
- Clogged air filters.
- Persistent odor in the air.
Benefits Of Air Duct Cleaning
Getting the air ducts cleaned will save you from health problems such as increased allergies and asthma problems. Poor indoor air quality is also linked to respiratory diseases. You will also save money on repairs for your HVAC system. When your air ducts and filters are clogged, your heating and air conditioning system must work harder. This means parts wear out faster.. Maintenance and cleaning of air ducts is essential. Advantages of air dryer duct cleaning include –
- Improves Airflow Efficiency – A heavy build-up of dust and grime in the ductwork and registers constricts the free flow of air from the air conditioner and furnace. When this happens, there will be portions of your house that are either cooler or warmer than other areas. Having your air ducts professionally cleaned will eliminate uneven temperatures in your home.
- Cleaner Living Environment – Dust and debris in your air ducts gets blown into your rooms and settles over everything. Even if you clean the house regularly, dirty ducts mean everything gets dirty quickly and quite often. Air duct cleaning will get rid of all the matter that is deposited in the hidden nooks and crannies of the vents and other spaces and make for a cleaner living environment.
- Reduces Allergens – Air ducts are a thriving house of allergens and other irritants, which can affect your health. These irritants, like pollen, spores, mildew, bacteria, and microorganisms, can affect your lungs, nose, eyes and cause asthma, and respiratory illnesses.
- Removes Bad Odor – Smells, such as cooking food, paint fumes, cleaning agents, cigarettes, mold, etc., can accumulate in your house and it’s softer surfaces. Disagreeable smells and staleness can make your house feel dirty and unpleasant and room fresheners will only do so much.
- Improves HVAC Efficiency – The efficiency of your HVAC system gets compromised if the air ducts are not cleaned properly. It has to work harder for the same output, and even then sometimes it fails to properly heat or cool your house. When your HVAC system works harder, the parts wear out faster and will need to be repaired more frequently.
- Pest Control – Pests and rodents like to reside inside the air ducts because it’s dark, warm, and provides access to the inside of your home. These pests, rodents, and insects are not good for any home and they spread disease and illness.
- Lower Energy Costs – When the efficiency of your HVAC unit increases, it consumes less energy. Lower energy usage equals lower utility bills. Cleaning the air ducts is an important step of HVAC maintenance.
- Contaminant Control – Contaminates, like outdoor pollution and chemicals, are present everywhere. Sometimes it comes in on your shoes or blows in through open doors. Even the building materials in your home leach chemicals into the air.
- Easy Breathing – Cleaning the air ducts gives you the chance to breathe fresh, clean air without any worries.
Improving Indoor Air
You should schedule annual maintenance visits for their air conditioning and heating equipment at least twice a year. Regular maintenance, including repairs, keeps ventilation issues at a minimum and extends the life of the HVAC system.
All HVAC systems come with air filtration devices, but the quality of these varies widely. Often, they do not thoroughly clean the air. Better filtration systems mean better air quality and less frequent need for duct cleaning. High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters are some of the best filtration systems available, but even these only block 90% of suspended particles. Out of a commitment to provide our customers with the best options for quality indoor air, Abacus Austin offers the PureAir air filtration system from Lennox. This system effectively removes 99.98% of allergens from filtered air and works with most home HVAC systems.
Just like any other space in your home and office, air ducts too need to be cleaned. But we fail to give this aspect its due importance. Now that you know the various advantages of air duct cleaning, you will hopefully not compromise on it. If you need any professional help, look us up. We are an elite team of professionals who believe in hard, honest work Contact Abacus Plumbing for more information about duct cleaning and analysis by calling 512-400-0749
When You Want the Best Results
All Abacus Plumbing Austin technicians are seasoned, well-trained professionals. They have performed hundreds of ductwork inspections and can work on any system. Austin homeowners can be confident in the quality of work that Abacus technicians provide.
Call Abacus Plumbing Austin at 512-400-0749 for your air duct analysis and cleaning or schedule an appointment online »