What Happens If Air Ducts Cleaning Is Neglected
Aside from keeping homeowners healthy and comfortable, air duct cleaning can protect the HVAC equipment’s health. The prevalence of your HVAC and air duct maintenance will center around the individuals living in the house. As a rule, it’s recommended that air ducts be cleaned roughly every three years.
For those with specific health concerns, checking the ducts on a more routine basis would be warranted. Small children are more susceptible to poor air quality than adults, as are the elderly.
If your home situation includes either of these groups, it’s wise to reach out to specialists like Air Duct Cleaning Ft Worth TX in the same timeframe as you would have your HVAC preventive maintenance. These checkups will determine whether cleaning is necessary or if you can wait another six months to a year.
Plus, if you have fur babies in the home, there will be dander, fur traveling into the registers, vents, and ducts, clogging filters.
While the recommended timeframe for changing filters is approximately every 90 days, you would need to move that span to perhaps every 35 days with routine checkups to ensure these are getting clogged faster.
What are some issues that can result from neglected air duct maintenance? We’ll look at some of the most prevalent results.
What Happens If Air Ducts Cleaning Is Neglected
In reality, there are Fort Worth homeowners, homeowners countrywide, who might not always be aware of the care and upkeep that comes with owning a house. While you could recognize the need to maintain the HVAC system, it may not be apparent that it includes cleaning the ductwork and vents or registers.
It took a while before many people understood that air filters must be changed regularly to maintain appropriate air quality. That’s among the top common reasons for an HVAC system malfunctioning; the filter does not allow adequate airflow because it is clogged.
If the air ducts are dirty, these will contribute to poor air quality with health consequences and repercussions for the HVAC system. The indoor air is noted to be almost twice as toxic as the air outside, according to the EPA or Environmental Protection Agency.
That in itself is an incentive to contact specialists in air duct cleaning. Learn how to clean air ducts in a DIY capacity at https://www.countryliving.com/home-maintenance/cleaning/031115125/how-to-clean-air-ducts-yourself/ and consider getting a professional for inspections and duct cleanings in order to avoid some of the following circumstances.
● The growth of mold is a possibility when air ducts are neglected
If your breathing is suddenly more labored, but you’re not someone with a medical profile of asthma, allergies, or any respiratory issues, nor have you any circumstances warranting congestion, there is a possibility your home could be developing mold.
In cases where the reason for mold growth is not readily detectable, it can often be attributed to the air ducts or the HVAC system. As time goes on, the air ducts have been described as an “ideal incubator” for the fungus, with the heating and cooling system trying to cool exterior air and remove the moisture.
The removed water vapor establishes the perfect moist atmosphere to grow mold. Without an air duct service inspecting the space regularly, those living in the home can become susceptible to breathing issues, sneezing, or coughing spells.
A sign you might be developing mold is the musty odor emitting from the HVAC, a likely indication the fungus is growing in the ducts. At that point, a specialist should inspect the air ducts to avert the problem before the house becomes infected.
● Has your skin become itchy with no known cause
Respiratory issues can be a significant sign when there are irritants in the household HVAC or within the ducts. Still, there can be more subtle indications that are also a nuisance, like problems with your skin.
If mold spores are in the air, they can harm the skin, usually reacting with hives, rashes, or in general bothersome itching. For those beginning to see splotches on the body or have an urgency to scratch at the skin, the idea is to eliminate the root starting with what’s in the air.
That would mean looking at the HVAC and the air ducts. The person who cleans the HVAC system will also often inspect and clean the air ducts. In this instance, you would contact the service to assess the ducts.
If there’s been no other source warranting the skin issue, dirty ducts will likely need to be serviced.
● Asthma and allergies can be lessened when air ducts are maintained regularly
When air ducts are routinely maintained, the specialists eliminate pollutants allowing easier, freer breaths for those who generally suffer from pulmonary issues like seasonal allergies, asthma, or other respiratory problems.
Dirty air ducts are not the cause of illness or disease, but the issue triggers symptoms common with disorders, allergies, causing these to worsen.
Suppose dust, pollen, or other particles accumulate in the air ducts or inside the HVAC unit. In that case, it can result in irritants that create harmful symptoms otherwise avoided if the ducts are adequately maintained. Click for the basics on air duct cleaning.
Final Thought
In Texas, people use their HVAC system longer than most of the country since their temperature remains warmer for an extended period during the year. That means additional care and maintenance of the HVAC system and the air ducts due to extensive use.
The air filters will need to be changed on a more routine basis, plus the specialists will need to do their inspections more frequently.
An HVAC professional should do preventive maintenance of the units once or twice each year, and the air ducts should be cleaned no greater than every three years but more often if you have pets, small children, live in a high pollen area or a zone where there’s a lot of dust.
Also, call the specialist if you suspect mold growth will emit a musty smell through the HVAC. The best way to avoid these sorts of repercussions from dirty ducts is to keep them inspected and cleaned by air duct specialists.