Should I Clean My Air Ducts?

Cleaning your air ducts is an important process of clearing the air in your home. The EPA says that indoor air quality inside buildings today is often two to five times worse than the air quality outside – and can be much worse than that.

If you’re like most people, you think of your home as a safe haven from the harmful things in the world. Unfortunately, no matter how hard you try to keep the surfaces and floors in your home clean, the air you breathe could be causing harm to your family – unless you clean your air ducts.

Why is it Important to Clean Your Air Ducts?
Whether you have a heater, air conditioning or a whole house fan that runs through your air ducts, you need to have your ducts cleaned at least once a year. Those ducts are used constantly to transport air throughout your home.

The National Air Duct Cleaners Association reports that the ducts in your HVAC system recirculate the air inside your home between five and seven times per day, which can lead to a buildup of contaminants within the ducts. Below are a few other great reasons to clean your air ducts.

To Prevent Mold and Mildew
Moisture is a big problem in homes today. While a whole house fan is a great tool for improving ventilation in your home and helping to avoid mold and moisture buildup within the home, the ducts themselves can be a hidden location where mold can build up and hide from view. Having them cleaned by professionals can help to remove the hidden moisture.

You may also elect to use biocides to prevent certain bacteria and molds from growing in your ducts in the future – however, the EPA is skeptical as to whether or not biocides are effective in this application, so consider carefully whether that’s a move you really want to make.

To Clear Out Debris
This is especially true for families who have vents and air ducts in floors – and children. You’ll be amazed at all the tiny things that fall into the air ducts through the floor vents. Legos, Barbie Doll shoes, Polly Pockets, hair ties, paper clips, rubber bands… the list goes on.

All of these small things can get recirculated through your air ducts forcing your heater, whole house fan, or air conditioner to work even harder to move the nice warm or cool air to the places you want it to be. Routinely clearing out the debris allows your equipment to operate more efficiently.

Of course, the most important reason to clean out your air ducts is for the good health of your family. Allergens and irritants can be trapped inside and circulated throughout your home if you aren’t careful. Cleaning out the ducts means you don’t have to worry about allergies, asthma attacks, and other upper respiratory problems that could occur if your fail to do so.

Having the air ducts in your home or business cleaned is a measure to help you to have better indoor air quality. In addition, a whole house fan will improve the ventilation inside your home.