How Yucky Are Your Air Ducts? Here’s What You Should Know

Keeping your home clean is a very basic task. However, no matter how much you try to clean every nook and cranny, some areas can still remain dirty — without you even knowing. For example, air ducts, or those that serve as pathways for cooled or heated air to travel throughout your home.

This is why over the years, experts have emphasized the importance of Duct cleaning.

What Can Hide in Your Air Ducts?

It’s not only dust that can build up in your air ducts. Duct cleaning experts cite the following as the most common stuff (and creatures) they find every time they inspect and clean these ducts:

Bacteria and viruses

Fungi and fungal spores

Mildew, mold, and mold spores

Pollen

Rodents and insects that carry diseases

Feces and remains

Pets and pet dander

Chemical pollutants like smoke by-products

Why Clean Air Ducts?

One of the main reasons why air ducts should be cleaned is airflow and efficiency. Did you know that if you let stuff accumulate in these ducts, your whole HVAC system’s efficiency can be reduced by up to 40% compared to its performance when it was first installed?

However, apart from system performance, dirty air ducts are also dangerous to one’s health. Here are three ways how you and your loved ones’ health can be affected:

They can trigger allergies and asthma. With lower air quality, it’s most likely that allergens and bacteria circulate within your home. This can cause people with asthma and other allergies to become sick.

They can cause the so-called “sick building syndrome.” Over time, allergens can be distributed throughout your building or home. In the long run, it can make even healthy people develop acute to severe respiratory diseases.

They cause dry or itchy skin. This is because of the mold and mildew being circulated throughout the air in your home’s indoor environment. What’s worse is that unclean air ducts can later on speed up the process of aging when not addressed immediately.

How Will You Know It’s Time For Duct Cleaning?

Now that you’re convinced it’s important to have your air ducts cleaned, the question is — how will you know it’s time to call the professionals to clean your ducts? Here are four tell-tale signs:

There are dirt and debris around your vents. If you notice your vents are surrounded by dirt, there’s a high chance that your ducts have developed blockages. This sign is also often accompanied by visible mold growth.

You or your loved ones develop unexplained respiratory problems. This is especially true if you or someone you know doesn’t even have respiratory problems in the first place. But at the moment that a person living in your home who has asthma or allergies has his or her disease triggered — you should be suspicious that there’s something wrong with your airflow or circulation.

You notice signs of rodent or insect infestation. These include hearing unusual sounds in your ceiling, seeing droppings, and smelling foul odors.

Your energy bills have significantly increased. This can be traced to clogged ducts or leaks that prompt your system to work and run inefficiently.

Duct cleaning has a ton of known benefits that can save you and your family from different health issues. Contact JCS Home Services and we’ll be more than glad to clean your air ducts for you.