Everything About Effectively Cleaning Air Ducts & Vents
By: Seomul Evans
Submitted: 2008-07-24 13:03:37 | Word Count: 782
Is the air in your residence dirt free? at what time we are at home a majority of the people are hesitant on the subject of how dirt free the air inside their house is. The air has many contaminants that we breathe and that are a fact. The air in your home also may have quite a few pollutants. And some of these contaminants may be circulating in your house because of the dirty air ducts and HVAC system. A person may be prone to a lots of respiratory diseases that can further get elevated to take the form of allergy, asthma and many a times resulting in constant cough, vomiting, headache, and fatigue. The main cause of these sicknesses is contaminant that has found its way in your home since your air duct or else HVAC system is unclean, the quality of the air in your home is directly related to the cleanliness of the air ducts. Children specially are very prone to such kinds of diseases. The dust that gets accumulated in the HVAC and the air ducts can cause mild to serious respiratory problems on those living in that house. We need to reduce such health risks by cleaning these Ducts at regular intervals.
The Contaminants in the air duct such as fungi, Mold, and allergens such as pollen, dust and pet dander are very common as they can easily get collected inside your HVAC system and get circulated into the air that you and your family breathe. Such scenario may create a major health risk.
[ advertisement ]
According to American College of the Allergy approximately 50 of the sicknesses are caused and aggravated by the pollutants that is circulating in your house.
So, it is very important to clean and maintain your HVAC system on a regular basis. It is not only significant with regards to your health but a clean HVAC system will run more effectively and efficiently thus helping in reducing our high energy bills. Maintaining and cleaning the HVAC system will also ensure its smooth functioning and also increase its lifespan as compared to a dirty system, which will breakdown more than often.
Frequency of cleaning
Vent cleaning needs to be done on the regular basis it is recommended having your air ducts and HVAC systems inspected every two years, and having them cleaned every four to six years. Although this may vary according to the conditions where you are staying.
It is not recommended by (NADCA) or the National Air Duct Cleaners Association to set a specific time period between duct cleaning According to them the air duct cleaning must be initiated by the homeowner when they sense it is essential and has outlined a few factors that might lead to more frequent vent cleanings.
The major factors being residents Smoking in their house, Pets in the house shed hair and dander, Water contamination or damage to the HVAC system, residents living in dry and dusty areas, residents also suffering from asthma and allergies will benefit by cleaning air ducts more than often as it will lead to a reduction in the amount of indoor air pollution.
Cleaning Methods
The most effective way of air duct cleaning is by using the source removal methods. This method uses a specialized, powerful vacuum cleaner that can suck air and the dust from the ventilation system. There are some devices, that are inserted in air ducts like the brushes, skipper balls and air whips in order to dislodge any of the dirt or debris, which is stuck to inner surface of the ventilation system. The professionals you hire should also clean the piping and ductwork, registers as well as the furnace air filters and blower motors. The dirt should be collected in a containment unit by the vacuum cleaner.
While hiring the air duct cleaning contractor one must be very careful. You can get several contractors who will check the air duct as well as ventilation system and will offer you a quote for the same. We need to make sure that the cleaning contractor will clean and visually examine the air ducts and its related system components. We also need to make sure that the contractors that we hire are NADCA members or contractors, which use the Source removal methods that follow NADCA guidelines. We also need to get proof that the company is properly licensed and we need to check with at least three references before we should hire the contractor.
The blow and go companies charge suspiciously less and do a poor job of cleaning the ducts and the vent system and they also persuade home owners to buy un needed products and services from them.
