Maybe you’ve feeling a bit sluggish lately; or perhaps your allergies seem to be at their all-time worst. If spending extra time at home is causing you a degree of physical discomfort, then dirty air ducts might be to blame. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air pollution is a serious problem among households throughout the United States on a whole. For this reason, it’s important that you have your air ducts cleaned on a regular basis to eliminate the harmful side effects of poor household air.
So what causes dirty air ducts? Nick Sidon is the proud owner of Nick’s Dryer Vent Cleaning, a company that offers dryer vent and air duct cleaning services to San Diego County, and according to him, a number of factors can contribute to this unfortunate trend.
In Sidon’s experience, the single greatest offender as far as air ducts go is none other than dust. In fact, Sidon insists that the average 1,500 square foot home produces approximately 40 pounds of dust each year. If that sounds alarming to you, then consider the fact that the term “dust” usually encompasses items such as mold spores and bacteria – things that you generally don’t want to be breathing in. And if that’s not scary enough, according to Sidon, it’s not unheard of for toxic chemicals such as mercury and pesticides to be detected during a thorough examination of an affected home’s air ducts. Additionally, insects and other such undesirable creatures have a tendency to creep their way into air ducts. And since such pesky critters don’t tend to have manners, they generally have no problem leaving little pieces of themselves behind – all of which can eventually get circulated throughout a household’s built-in duct system.
While not every substance that makes its way into a home’s air ducts is harmful on its own, the problem is that when such items are circulated throughout the house, they can contribute to a general degree of pollution. For example, pet hair can easily make its way into the average duct system, and even though it’s not dangerous on its own, it can cause a home’s indoor air quality to degrade. The same thing applies to pollen, which can easily be introduced through open doors, windows, and vents. Pollen is not a dangerous substance per se, but those with allergies will often end up suffering exponentially if pollen is introduced into their air ducts.
Of course, the reason why all these substances have a tendency to wreak havoc on household air is that the average duct system works by drawing in surrounding air and circulating it throughout a home as necessary. Over time, these unhealthy elements can build up in air ducts and cause them to become dirty – a fact that pretty much translates into negative air quality.
If you have reason to believe that your air ducts might be a bit too dirty for your own good, then schedule an appointment for an air duct cleaning. You’ll probably end up breathing a whole lot easier after the fact.
