Do you notice yourself suffering from one allergy after another? Do you feel that you sneeze for no apparent reason many times a day? Your indoor air may be the culprit. Quality air indoors is very important. Compared to outdoor air, indoor air is sometimes more polluted. This is particularly an issue when there are smaller children involved. Kids play with stuffed toys on the carpet and air borne particles and dust tend to mix with the air indoors. Plus, allergens in your air ducts may add to the issue. If you find your children with a cough and cold forever, you might want to have your air ducts cleaned.
To homeowners, indoor air pollution can become a challenge. This is particularly true for persons who spend most of their time at home such as senior citizens, very small children and their caretakers. Many urban homeowners may also be more prone to having polluted air indoors compared to any other group of people. Continuous exposure in the workplace, school and home is the biggest concern. The lungs tend to be the most vulnerable to pollutants that are airborne. Non-respiratory symptoms and signs can also come into play. Needless to say, you lessen your risk of prolonged exposure to indoor air pollution when you have your air ducts cleaned.
The reason for this is that you can get a variety of sickness from airborne particles. It is important for you to inhale clean hear. Regular checking and cleaning will ensure a clean ventilation system, which is essential to your health. Air flow can even get clogged up once in a while when there is mould growth. In fact, air ducts which are insulated tend to be more sensitive to moulds.
In the last few years, growing evidence from scientific studies indicate that indoor air is polluted. This is particularly true if the community you live in is industrialized. Most people spend almost all their time indoors. This causes a great risk to health due to being exposed to indoor polluted air compared to outdoor air, which is sometimes cleaner.
Homes Built Since the 70s
Since the seventies, homes had been constructed tighter in order for energy to be conserved. Methods of building were put into place so that hot air was kept out in the summer and cool air in the winter. While energy does get more conserved this way, it also causes ‘tight home syndrome’ which contributes to air pollution indoors. It also locks in stale, sick and dirty air. The air pollution indoors has three levels according to the Center for Disease Control. These are Particles, Germs and Gases. Many times, microbe contamination from gases, bacteria and moulds are contained. Needless to say, adverse conditions of health are the result. In fact, some tests reveal that the air you breathe indoors can be up to five times more polluted than the air you breathe outdoors. These thus cause ailments like allergies and asthma. If you have not gotten your air ducts cleaned in years, then now is the time.
Health Problems
Here is a list of symptoms caused by dust mites, moulds dander and other allergens:
• Cough
• Chest tightness
• Dyspnoea
• Malaise
• Recurrent fever
• Inflammation of the conjunctiva
• Rhinitis
• Asthma exacerbation
• Recognized infectious disease
Don’t Try to Do This Yourself
Your clogged vents and ducts will not become clean when you vacuum them. In fact, using your home vacuum cleaner may be a big risk. It is better to hire professionals who will be able to do manual tasks like using tools and brushes to clean the air whips and brushes. Professionals will also use a chemical sanitizer and anti-bacterial solutions to control the contamination of microbes. This is done after the entire system is clean. EPA registration is also necessary for real professional air duct cleaning. As a matter of fact, if you are planning to do this yourself, you may end up with more risks than you started with. You are probably better off hiring a real professional that has been trained.
When Is Immediate Cleaning Necessary?
There are times when having your air ducts cleaned immediately is important. For one thing, if there is visible mould growing substantially within the metal sheets that are visible of our cooling or heating system, then cleaning is going to be needed. Of course, there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes t detecting mould in cooling and heating systems. Here are a few points to understand:
• There are reasons that mould will begin to grow in the air ducts. If the main cause is not corrected, you can expect a recurrence of mould growing.
• Many segments of your cooling and heating system are probably not easy to access and can’t be inspected just by looking at them. Ask a cleaning service to show you any signs of mould they see within the hose.
• If you have air ducts that are insulated and this gets wet, it may need to be replaced rather than just cleaned.
• A final confirmation that mould is growing within your air ducts can be done by a lab analysis. Send a sample to a microbiology lab and they can tell you if it is indeed mould or something else that may be clogging your air ducts.
• Your air ducts will also need to be cleaned if these are infested with insects and rodents.
• Also, if these are clogged with excess amounts of debris and dust or particles released into the home by one thing or another, such as cigarette smoke or insecticide.
When was the last time you had your air ducts checked? If you have been suffering from one allergy after another or if your kids have been having flu-like symptoms month after month, the culprit may be your air ducts. Call a reputable air duct cleaning company today to nip this problem in the bud.