Is Your Home Giving You the Creeps? The Dangers of Dirty Air Ducts

Do perennial allergies, chronic coughing, or odd respiratory illnesses plague your home? Most homeowners realize that the air inside a house is unhealthy. Grime, allergens, and even mold circulating around your home’s HVAC systems in dirty air ducts contribute to indoor air quality. We’ll discuss how dirty air ducts can affect you, detect warning signs, and then tell you why you’ll want to make sure your home is healthy through regular duct cleaning.

Importance of Air Ducts

This is because air ducts supply a home with clean air. Being a kind of respiratory system for the building, they spread warm and cool air from the HVAC system in every room, hence making people comfortable all year long. However, the air ducts should also be serviced as if they are any other critical system that would be effective for you. As time goes on, airborne debris, dust, pet dander, mold spores, and all those contaminants will also pile up in ducts. Then, it is natural to have less fresh air in your house so you and your family do not enjoy it.

Dirty Air Duct Health Risks

The risks to health arise if the air is not treated correctly, along with the accumulation of these contaminants in ducts distributed inside the air that is breathed. The following lists the health risks that can arise with untreated ductwork:

Respiratory Conditions and Allergies:

It takes the dust, pollen, and pet dander particles to settle inside the ducts before circulating into your home. On the inhalation of those suspended particles, allergic reactions rise in the form of a runny nose and the typical coughing fit. The worst affected population to date has been asthmatic patients, and this gets worse for their conditions because this dirty indoor air worsens their conditions.

Higher Incidence of Respiratory Illnesses:

In case the grime in AC ducts collects moisture, you’re likely to have growth when there are spores of mold, bacteria, and viruses. These pathogens contribute to a great extent in causing infections such as respiratory infections and chronic sinusitis. Being exposed continually to such harmful pollutants may trigger such effects like sore throats, congestion, and tiredness.

Exacerbation of Existing Conditions

Dirty air ducts may even make conditions like asthma, bronchitis, or other respiratory issues in the victims worsen. The contaminated air may also be aggravating lung functions and frequent flare-ups in the patient may be posing unsafe living to others exposed to the problem of vulnerable respiratory problems.

Eye and Skin Irritations:

Some of the pollutants cause irritation on the skin and the eyes. For example, mold spores and VOCs. This accounts for the burning sensation in the eyes, dryness on the skin, and other various responses that can be seen when being exposed to it for such a long time associated with dermatitis.

Sudden Feelings of Fatigue and Headaches:

To establish bad indoor air quality, one could relate neurological symptoms such as headaches or fatigue, for example. The contaminants in the air may interfere with oxygen levels and make you feel tired or as though you are in a state of brain fog, which makes your quality of life decline.

Causes of Dirty Air Ducts

First, to solve the problem, one should know how and why air ducts get dirty. The following are some factors that contribute to air duct contamination:

Neglecting Regular Maintenance: Dust, pollen, and debris in air ducts are collected if cleaned and checked infrequently.

Pets: More pets that shed indoors quickly pet animal dander, fur, and dirt, which will collect inside the air ducts.

Moisture and Mold: Excess moisture develops an atmosphere of mold and mildew inside the ductwork, thus spreading contamination in the air in the form of spores.

Renovation or Construction: Dust and debris accumulate in the air ducts of most renovated homes that go on to impact the quality of air even long after completion.

Remove the Vents

After turning off the system, remove the air conditioning vents. Most of the vents are screwed or clipped to the unit; therefore, it is best that you prepare a screwdriver for its removal. When removing the vents, be careful since they are skinny in composition, and you might easily break or bend them.

Warning Signs Your Air Ducts Need Cleaning

Even though you cannot see the air ducts, the following will make you think the time has passed by without having it cleaned as soon as possible:

You have mold in the ducts if it is apparent there is growing mold on the vents or any kind of musty smell coming from your HVAC.

  • Too Much Dust on Furniture:
  • You are circulating dust to have to dust your furniture right after you cleaned

Air Flows Unsteadily:

Dirty debris or dirt inside the duct makes your air conditioner less efficient, and you get different temperatures in different rooms.

Aggravating Allergy Conditions

If the indoor allergy or asthma condition is being exacerbated by you or even, for that matter, by your family members, then your air ducts may also be poisoning the quality of indoor air.

How Air Duct Cleaning Can Make Home Air Better

Well-kept air duct cleaning absolutely ensures a healthier house by all means of pollutants in low numbers and enhanced air indoors. How this will work perfectly for your house

Allergens and Pollutants are Reduced:

Professional cleaning removes dust, dander, and other types of allergens that negatively impact human respiratory health. This becomes very important to households that have children, seniors, or pets with higher susceptibility to airborne irritants.

Quality duct cleaning services remove the growth of molds and sanitize the ducts, and thus, the further spread of spores and bacteria does not occur and causes potential health issues.

Improves Energy Efficiency:

This reduces wear and tear that robs you of the years of life of your HVAC service. Maintenance prevents you from wasting a lot on replacing or repairing your system. It makes your system work properly.

How Professional Air Duct Cleaning Service Works

Professional service is a guarantee that all the dirt collected on AC ductwork will be cleaned out. The following are what you will receive:

Inspection and Evaluation:

A good company will study HVAC ducts and can see the areas in which you experience problems, what kind of buildup exists there, and the intensity of buildup.

Vacuuming and Cleaning:

They have an extraction or vacuuming tool in conjunction with equipment to suck out all of the dust particles, debris, and everything in the system totally.

Mildew and Mold Treatment:

They will most probably use an antimicrobial or some disinfectant so that the mildew is killed, and thus, they will not recur again.

Change Filters:

A full service should therefore comprise inspection and changing of HVAC filters which are necessary for ensuring quality air in a house.

Selecting the Best Air Duct Cleaning Service

This will ensure that one selects a cleaning service that offers excellent quality service through the proper application of the apparatus. Professional firms with certification are assured of going through the procedure by sticking to the standard industry protocol, thus enabling them to do an outstanding air duct cleaning. Another great feature is that the cleaning equipment and agents used are not harmful to your home, your family, and the environment. The above feature allows you to review reviews and ask friends and others around you what it was like as far as having a similar service.

Do It Yourself Duct Cleaning Tips

Although professional duct cleaning is the only guaranteed way of ensuring that your air ducts are spotlessly clean, here are some things you can do in between services:

Dust Filters Freshly: Change filters monthly from 1-3 to keep dust and allergen from collecting within the system.

Clean the Vents Often: Dust all covers often to keep surface dust from becoming airborne and getting sucked into the ducts.

Control Humidity LEVELS: Let there be a dehumidifier such that indoor humidity remains below 60% and mold does not grow

Contact Us Today for Cleaner and Healthier Air

If your indoor air quality is affected, wait not until health problems begin to arise before having the air ducts in your home cleaned. Duct Technical Works LLC provides you with professional air duct cleaning to help you create a healthier and safer living environment. Our team uses cutting-edge equipment to remove dust allergens and other elements that can contaminate the air in your house, thereby improving its indoor air quality and allowing members of your family to enjoy easier breathing.

Contact us at Duct Technical Works LLC and make an appointment to discuss how our service will take care of all your air duct cleaning requirements. Your comfort level and cleanliness will make a difference in our company’s commitment to quality service. Call now or visit our website for more information on how you can achieve a cleaner and healthier home environment.