Winter can be hard on the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system of your house. It’s that time of year when homes are closed off from the outside and the doors and windows are sealed tightly against the freezing temperatures. What makes it harder on your constantly running furnace is the lack of proper maintenance because, the same air that keeps you and your family cozy and warm, is also the same trapped air that could easily make you ill by circulating dust, pet dander, mold spores, bacteria and other allergens.
Now that winter is gone and spring is here, it’s time for some action! While you were enjoying those long cold lazy days indoors your house was busy becoming toxic from cooking and all the mud, salt, dust trekked in by you and your family, not to mention all the bacterias that accumulated from the never ending sniffles and colds. To really get your home clean and purified you must include air duct cleaning on your To-Do spring cleaning list.
Why air duct cleaning is so important
Firstly, air duct cleaning removes the dirt and dust from your home’s HVAC system and prevents it from recirculating all over the place especially when you turn on the air conditioning for the summer. Doing so would help reduce symptoms of allergies and chronic lung ailments. It can also help prevent any musty, moldy odors from circulating. Moreover, air duct cleaning eliminates less pleasant things from your system, such as animal droppings, mold and sometimes even trapped rodents. Air duct cleaning also allows your HVAC system to operate better and more efficiently, thus lowering your cooling and heating bills. What’s better is that it can extend the life of your system.
Air duct maintenance
As soon as your air ducts are thoroughly cleaned, there are many ways to keep them clean and continue to prevent dirt, dust, dander and mold from circulating through your system. You must change your HVAC systems filters regularly. Further, filters can be installed over all air intake registers to help prevent dander and dust from being drawn into your furnace.
Other household items that need attention
The more pollen, dust and other airborne particles enters your home the more they get trapped within the fibers of your carpet and rugs. Though your carpet can improve the indoor air quality of your home a bit by acting as a filter and grabbing dust etc., it can also contribute to indoor air pollution. Walking on it if not regularly vacuumed, may actually cause allergens to be redistributed back into the air.
In addition, you should also check your home regularly for mold before it gets worse. The possible negative effects of mold, namely, the fungal spores, can circulate through the indoor air of your house. Mold growth may not always be visible and it is possible for hidden mold to discharge mold spores that can affect the indoor air quality. This makes it really necessary to check your home consistently for mold, especially during the spring and summer because the humid conditions can make the mold more likely to grow.
As you continue on with your spring cleaning this season in improving the cleanliness of your home and its appearance, you should definitely consider taking these additional actions to improve the indoor air quality and avoid any health issue to you and your family. Improving the air quality of your home will help create a more comfortable and healthier environment with lowered risk of adverse health effects.