Opinions on HVAC air duct cleaning are varied. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), you should only have the air ducts in your home cleaned on an as-needed basis. This could mean scheduling duct cleaning service after a major pest infestation or when your indoor air quality (IAQ) has already taken a dive. Comparatively, the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA) recommends cleaning ductwork every two to three years. What remains undisputed is that the right duct cleaning measures can vastly improve the health, safety, and comfort of your living environment in Anoka, MN.
Get Rid of Unpleasant Duct Odors and the Pathogens That Cause Them
All of the conditioned air that’s circulated throughout your home is passed through your HVAC air filter. Standard air filters capture and retain dust, dander, lint, hair, and other airborne particulates. However, many common allergens and contaminants pass right through standard filter mesh. Worse still, much of this debris winds up trapped in HVAC air ducts. If you ever wait too long to perform a filter change or if you have an abnormally low IAQ, you may even develop lint-like build-ups around your HVAC air registers, vents, and grilles as collected, in-duct debris gets blown off.
Not only can these trapped accumulations find their way back into your indoor air, but they can also create the perfect conditions for in-duct mold development. If your home is pervaded by a damp, dank, or musty smell each time you turn your air conditioner on, excess moisture, built-up debris, and fast-growing mold could be why. Cleaning your HVAC air ducts will leave you with a cleaner, fresher-smelling home. This is also true during winter if using your furnace floods your home with a burnt, dry, and all-around dusty odor.
Improve the Performance of Your Heating and Cooling Equipment
Over time, accumulations of debris at your air filter, around your air vents, and in your ducting will force your heater and air conditioner to work harder. These build-ups will also diminish your HVAC system’s overall performance. In addition to heating and cooling your home and filtering your indoor air, your HVAC system regulates your indoor humidity. If using your furnace or air conditioner leaves your home feeling clammy, muggy, or downright oppressive, built-up debris in your ductwork is a likely reason. Having this debris cleared out will lower your heating and cooling costs and improve your HVAC system’s humidity regulation.
Boost the Efficacy of Ongoing Pest Treatment Plans
Unbeknownst to you, there could be populations of rodents, raccoons, cockroaches, ants, bed bugs, or termites in your air ducts or air vents. When pest infestation is an ongoing problem, the quality of your indoor air is constantly diminished by pests’ leavings. You might have wings, exoskeletons, carcasses, fur, food, feces, and other detritus trapped in areas that you can’t see. If this is the case, not only will professional duct cleaning get rid of these IAQ concerns, but it will also increase the efficacy of any other extermination or pest management measures that you’re currently using.
Enjoy Clean, Dust-Free Surfaces
When your HVAC air ducts aren’t harboring and circulating built-up allergens and contaminants, you’ll find that you have a lot less dust collecting on your indoor surfaces. In addition to limiting the amount of sweeping, dusting, and vacuuming you have to do to keep your home looking its best, duct cleaning will minimize the amount of particulate debris that gets stirred up as residents move around.
People With Chronic Respiratory Illnesses Could Breathe Easier
Having a low IAQ is especially problematic when there are building residents who have asthma, allergies, or other chronic respiratory conditions. Duct cleaning removes many of the most common triggers for these and other respiratory ailments. This can mean having fewer episodes or attacks, and milder symptoms while indoors.
Duct cleaning can also be beneficial for pets and residents without respiratory illnesses. If you or anyone else in your home is constantly sniffling, sneezing, or wheezing, improving your IAQ will help minimize these issues. It’s also a good idea to invest in duct cleaning services before welcoming a new baby or moving in an age-in-place senior. These services additionally create cleaner and more supportive living environments for those with compromised immune systems or terminal illnesses.
Cleaning Your Ducts After Building Renovations or Other Events
In addition to everyday IAQ concerns, you might have short-term indoor air quality problems due to building renovations. Whether you just had water or fire damage repaired or you’ve recently refinished your basement, there could be a fair amount of particulate debris in your ducting from sawdust, drywall, flooring, insulation, and other construction materials. Duct cleaning will clear these contaminants out so that they aren’t continuously cycled and recycled throughout your living environment. You should also have your air ducts cleaned following any indoor fire or after prolonged exposure to heavy wildfire smoke.
Indoor Pets and Duct Cleaning Services
If you have one or more pets living in your home, this is a good reason to stick to NADCA’s recommended duct cleaning schedule of once every two to three years. In fact, you may even want to have your ducts cleaned more often. Both long-haired and short-haired pets constantly release dander into the air. Dander is what triggers an allergic response in those with pet allergies. It’s also prone to slipping right through the mesh of many standard HVAC filters. It can adhere to moist or tacky duct interiors indefinitely until mechanical, suction-based, or manual duct cleaning measures are applied.
How to Keep Your Air Ducts in Good Condition Between Cleanings
In between professional air duct cleaning, there are several things that you can do to minimize the build-up of trapped debris. You can check your filters monthly and change them every 30 to 60 days. You should also remove built-up debris from air registers, vents, and grilles. Additionally, you should groom your pets outdoors and brush them often to keep shedding at bay. If you have unlandscaped areas on your property, planting grass, putting down mulch or decorative rocks, or applying turf will help with dust control.
What to Do When Professional Duct Cleaning Isn’t Enough
Professional duct cleaning extracts accumulated debris from the interior of HVAC ductwork and features like air registers, grilles, and vents. However, duct cleaning alone is rarely enough to give an extremely poor indoor air quality a significant and lasting boost. If you have excessively humid indoor air, widespread problems with mold and mildew, or problems with rapidly transmitted or recurring illnesses, it’s important to find out why. Depending upon the nature and needs of your household and living environment, it may be necessary to supplement regular duct cleaning with integrated IAQ equipment. Integrated HVAC accessories like whole-house air purifiers, air scrubbers, media filters, and whole-house dehumidifiers work year-round to eliminate a vast range of common indoor contaminants.
Liberty Comfort Systems proudly serves Anoka and the surrounding communities. Homeowners throughout the region can turn to us for first-rate heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical services. We also provide air duct cleaning, basement finishing, and advanced IAQ solutions. To schedule an appointment, contact Liberty Comfort Systems today.
