Health Considerations in Air Duct Cleaning

The health issues that can result from dirty ducts and vents in your house are more complex then you might think. 

Here are a few considerations

1) Contaminant Cleaning To date, there has been little or no research about what, if any, health benefits are received from duct cleaning, but most experts suggest that if you have someone in your house with allergies, respiratory illnesses or odd symptoms that don’t fit any ailment, you should try having the entire HVAC unit cleaned.  While experts debate the health benefits that come from even the best air duct cleaning, they all agree on one thing – cleaning such ducts will not hurt anyone.  If you think the air in your home is causing illness from deposits in your vents, consult a professional air duct cleaning company for advice. 

2)  Fuel-Burning Appliances:  Exhaust System Cleaning

While the HVAC ducts in a house only need to be cleaned every few years, ducts leading into or out of fuel-burning appliances need to be checked every year, as do your fuel-burning appliances such as gas stoves and ovens.  The kitchen exhaust should be checked and cleaned every year to prevent the exhaust from your stove, for example, re-entering the house, causing carbon monoxide poisoning.

3)  Allergens

Many kinds of allergens lurk in air ducts for an air duct cleaning might remove.  The five most common allergy triggers found in household ducts are dust mites, pollen, mold, animal hair/skin particles and insect/animal droppings.  If there are dust mites, pollen, animal skin and dander particles in the air in the house, then they are in the duct system also.  Insect and animal droppings, however, will only be present if there is a pest infestation in your duct system.  If mold is present in your air ducts, then excessive moisture is collecting in your ducts, which is not normal.  If that is the case, will need to find out where the moisture is coming from and how to stop it.