Your home’s air conditioner will perform better with frequent maintenance like your car, washing machine, or any major appliance. Air duct cleaning is one of the primary services to consider to ensure your HVAC system’s longevity.
Any HVAC system gets contaminated with frequent everyday use despite routinely replacing filters. Unfortunately, your air ducts are a prominent hiding place for dust, contaminants, and allergens to loiter. That dust and dirt are filled with impurities and air pollutants that can spoil your indoor air quality and force your system to work harder. It raises your energy bills, but it can also seriously shorten the lifespan of your HVAC system.
Below are the five things to consider if you need to have your ducts cleaned
1) Mold
While we all know how dust can seriously impact our health, mold is equally or more dangerous than dust. It can aggravate allergies and respiratory problems. It can also spread fast throughout your family members.
Your heating and cooling system can generate condensation, leading to mold growth in your ductwork, especially if you live in a humid environment. You may find mold around your vent covers. Still, unfortunately, many parts of your heating and cooling system aren’t easily accessible, so mold in your air ducts is tough to notice visually. Nevertheless, while mold can be hard to see, it normally presents itself in the form of a musty odor.
If you have mold in your air ducts, it’s crucial to take action promptly to maintain your home’s indoor air quality. An HVAC technician will be able to recognize and remediate any mold problems and help stop their return. Along with duct cleaning, you should also take extra safeguards against surplus moisture in your home. Consider installing a whole-home dehumidifier or optimize your thermostat settings. Keep in mind that if the conditions driving the mold growth in the first place are not corrected, mold growth will recur.
2) Your Home has Experienced a Major Renovation
Dust and debris will always find their way in during any construction. It gets messy even when contractors actively clean up and close off work areas to keep the rest of the place clean. Unless the HVAC system is not turned on and kept completely covered during the entire construction process, that dirt and dust will undoubtedly make their way into your ductwork.
Construction and remodeling dust can contain some nasty particulate matter that you don’t want to breathe, so it’s best to remedy it before respiratory problems develop quickly.
3) Dust
Some homes accumulate full of dust, no matter how frequently they clean. While dusting isn’t a delightful task, it’s something we all have to do once in a while. If you see that every flat surface in your home is coated with dust instantly after putting away your cleaning supplies, you likely need to have your ducts cleaned!
Even the most hygienic homes can have dust and harmful pollutants lingering in the air ducts. You may also notice dust coming out of the vents when switched on the HVAC system. Look at the air supply and vents around your house and notice if they’re visibly dirty. Remove a vent cover and filter and look into the ductwork. Your ducts likely need to be cleaned if you notice dust inside and outside.
To prevent future dust buildup, frequently replace your HVAC system air filters. You can also install an air purifier. Filters and air purifiers function with your HVAC system to entrap airborne particles like dust and other impurities before entering the ductwork.
4) Rising Energy Costs
Your HVAC costs should be fairly predictable from year to year. Unclean ductwork might be to blame if you get a high energy bill, especially compared to the same time a year ago.
Ductwork can sometimes become so contaminated that air cannot flow smoothly and efficiently through your HVAC system. When this happens, your furnace and air conditioner are pushed to work harder to preserve a comfortable temperature. This added energy expense means higher energy bills.
You even may notice that a bedroom or other room in your house doesn’t get the same level of airflow as other rooms. In most cases, fully open vents should provide moderately consistent airflow in all rooms. Inconsistent airflow could be the result of dirty air ducts.
It is worth noting that it isn’t always the accumulation of debris in your air ducts that causes your system to work harder. Any leaks in your ductwork are lost energy, decreasing the efficiency and increasing your energy bill. Hiring an HVAC technician to clean your ducts not only remove toxic contaminants but can also rule out possible leaks.
5) Signs of Pests
If you see signs of pests in any part of your home, there is a relatively good chance that they may have damaged your air ducts. The more minor pests penetrating your home are always hiding, lurking, and crawling through the smaller passageways, so they’re not found. Your air ducts are excellent passageways for these pests to go. If pests are using your air ducts, the odds are high that they leave behind waste and other dirt. The ideal thing to do is call a pest control service to remove them, followed by professional HVAC technicians to clean your air ducts properly.
Need Air Duct Cleaning? Hire a Professional at Aztil AC!
Cleaning your home’s air ducts is a complex process that demands cutting-edge knowledge of HVAC systems and specialized tools. It’s not something that you should attempt on your own. Professional HVAC technicians use commercial-grade vacuum systems and powerful brushes to remove dirt and debris from your HVAC system. They are also trained to detect other problems in an HVAC system that you may not know to look for.
If you live in West Palm Beach and your air ducts need to be cleaned, contact Aztil Air Conditioning. We are a reputed company specializing in HVAC repairs and maintenance. You can reach out to us at +1-888-729-8452.
