What is Air Duct Cleaning?
The EPA reports that indoor air quality is typically two to five times worse than air quality outdoors and can be up to 1000 times worse. Considering that the average person spends as much as 90 percent of your time indoors, it is important to take action to clear the air in your primary environment. One way you can do that is by cleaning your air ducts.
Air Duct Cleaning Basics
When you have your air ducts cleaned, someone comes into the home and cleans the ducts where air travels throughout your home. This can be the ducts that are used for heating your home, air conditioning, and even for your whole house fan. It isn’t only the ducts that are cleaned, though, but the heating and cooling coils and drain pans are cleaned at this time too. The EPA also recommends changing your filters routinely throughout the year to keep them free of potential toxins.
During the course of a year, these ducts fill with dust, debris, pollen, mold, and even bacteria that is transported from one area of your home to another through the ducts. This can lead to upper respiratory problems, allergy problems, and even asthma attacks for your family.
Some services that offer air duct cleaning will suggest applying chemical biocides to the air ducts. While they can be highly beneficial for preventing mold and certain bacteria from growing in your air ducts in the future, the EPA has not cleared any biocides for use in air ducts that are lined with fiberglass or made with fiberglass duct board. So, make sure this isn’t an issue with your duct system before agreeing to let your service provider apply chemical biocides.
Who Needs to Have Air Their Ducts Cleaned?
You might be surprised to learn that air duct cleaning is a great investment for the health of families in every household. You should especially consider the benefits of having your ducts cleaned, though, according to the National Air Duct Cleaners Association, if you own pets, smoke cigarettes or cigars, have experienced water damage to your home or HVAC system, have gone through a recent home renovation, or if someone in your household suffers from asthma or allergies.
While the health benefits alone are enough to encourage you to have your ducts cleaned routinely, the energy savings benefits are icing on the cake. When your ducts are filled with contaminants, it makes your heating and cooling units operate less efficiently. This is part of the reason why between 25 and 40 percent of the energy used to heat and cool your home is wasted energy.
Getting your air ducts cleaned at least once a year is a great way to help have better air quality inside your home. In addition, consider a whole house fan to improve the ventilation inside your home.