Why it’s Important to Have Your Air Ducts Professionally Cleaned

July 15, 2018

There are several health-related reasons to have your air ducts professionally cleaned by an experienced HVAC company like J.D. Swallow in Ottawa. Let’s review them here.

Health Benefits

It’s a widely-known fact that heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are an effective “collection area” for all manner of health-adverse contaminants: bacteria, fungi, mold, and dust. Engaging a professional to clean (and thereby remove) these detriments will provide a big boost to your home’s air quality.

Children

Children breathe faster than adults, and they inhale more air relative to their body weight than adults do. Add in the fact that kids are closer to the ground, where contaminant concentrations are higher, and it’s easy to see why children are more likely than adults to have health problems related to “dirty” air. In fact, for children under age 10, colds, the flu and asthma attacks are two of the top five reasons for emergency room visits.

Allergy Sufferers

It isn’t just children whose health is at risk when exposed to dirty air ducts. The elderly, people with allergies, asthmatics, and people with respiratory or lung disease can find it hard to cope in a home which circulates unclean air. Here’s a telling stat: one out of every six people with allergies suffer because of a direct exposure to fungi and bacteria in their home’s HVAC system. And overall, 50 percent of illnesses in the United States are either caused or aggravated by polluted indoor air.

Air pollution, both internal and external, contributes to lung disease, which is the third-leading cause of death in North America. Around 361,000 people die from this disease every year.

Interesting stats

Here are some telling stats that further confirm why a professional air duct cleaning should be a must for your home:

The average six-room house accumulates 40lbs of dust annually
One millimeter of dirt built-up on a heating or cooling coil can reduce efficiency by close to 21%
Most fiberglass filters (the most commonly-used filter type) do a poor job of preventing dust, dirt, pollen, and other materials from entering your home’s air supply. The exact success rate of these filters is around 7%
90% of HVAC system failures are due to excess dirt and dust
Most people spend 60% – 90% of their lives indoors
Of the top five environmental risks to human health, poor indoor air quality is one

How Often Should Your HVAC Ducts be Cleaned?

When thinking about how often your HVAC ducts should be cleaned, a few factors should be considered:

Do you have pets, especially ones that shed heavily (producing hair and dander)?
Are any family members asthmatics or allergy sufferers?
Are there smokers living in the home?
Have you recently remodeled or renovated your home?
Has your home ever experienced water damage from a flood, burst pipe, etc.?

The more of these questions you answer yes too, the more frequently you should have your air ducts professionally cleaned. Contact our HVAC company in Ottawa today and let’s design a game plan for improving your home’s air quality.