Prevent Air Duct Contamination

This is advice for every homeowner, regardless of whether they decide to have their air ducts and HVAC system cleaned or not. Indoor to ensure that your home ventilation system is functioning efficiently and that your air ducts are not contaminated, you need to commit to a preventive maintenance program.

Preventing air duct contamination is done in part by preventing dirt from reaching the inside of your air duct system, and also with a healthy portion of active maintenance. Here are some tips:

• Using the air filter with the highest efficiency that is recommended by the maker of your HVAC system.
• Changing filters on a regular basis.
• Changing filters with increased frequency if you notice build-up or clogging.
• Making sure that there are no missing filters. If one of your vents is missing a filter or there are gaps around the filter, the air, along with contaminants, can enter your HVAC system with ease.
• Insisting that the professionals who maintain or check your HVAC system clean the cooling coils and drain pans.
• Your home's heating and cooling system is especially vulnerable during times of home renovation, construction, or maintenance. During these times you should seal off both the supply and return registers. You should also not operate the air ventilation system until all the dust and debris has been cleaned and removed from your home.
• While air duct cleaning may help lessen the need to dust your home, the more frequently you dust and vacuum, the less often your need to have your air duct cleaned, because you have removed this dust from your home.
• It is best to use a HEPA vacuum cleaner or at least the highest efficiency filter bags your vacuum cleaner can take.
• If your home HVAC system includes in-duct humidification equipment, the humidifier should be operated and maintained in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

The bottom line with these recommendations is that whether of not you make the choice to have the air ducts in your home cleaned, you can follow these tips to help reduce the risk of air duct contamination.

Low Cost Energy Savings

Clean the heating and cooling system in your home does a lot more than improve indoor air quality and circulation. Air duct cleaning can also be an effective, low cost way of lowering your utility bills. Over time, dust and debris build up in HVAC systems, causing them to operate less efficiently and reducing the systems ability to heat or cool properly. Studies have suggested that dirty air ventilation systems, particularly dirty coils, can reduce the efficiency of your HVAC system by as much as 30%. 

Furthermore, if your filters are dirty, they are further obstructing air flow, causing utility bills to rise and reducing the life span of your HVAC system as a whole. These reductions in the efficiency of your air duct system continue, because the dust and debris that is not caught by the coils or filters builds up in the ductwork itself (if it does not escape and get spread throughout your home). There are two things that you can do. The first is to regularly inspect and change your air filters, so as to increase the efficiency  and life span of the air ventilation system as best you can. The second is, if it has been more than a year or two, to have your air duct system cleaned by a professional air duct cleaning company. Why not get a free estimate today.