Why Should You Have A Regular Duct Cleaning Service? | Fort Worth, TX
The air ducts are among the critical components of your home’s HVAC system. It is a network of air ducts that deliver air to different parts of your home and back into the HVAC system. Hence, without them functioning properly, all the work that the HVAC system does will not amount to anything. Therefore, to ensure effective and efficient cooling of your home, you should have a regular duct cleaning service in Fort Worth, TX, to remove any materials inside the air ducts that might lower the air quality.
Regular maintenance of the HVAC system is also necessary. Regularly cleaning the ductwork means that any developing obstructions are effectively removed before they could interfere with the free air circulation through the air ducts. But what are the advantages or benefits of regular duct cleaning services? Below are some reasons you should have a professional clean the air ducts after a specified period, preferably semi-annually or annually.
Detect Mold Growth
Your home’s air ducts are tucked under the floors, above your ceilings, or even behind the walls, meaning hidden and dark. The air ducts might produce condensate whenever it is humid at your home, and since the light isn’t shining in the air ducts, the condensate will not dry. The moisture and darkness will create the ideal breeding and thriving ground for mold.
Whenever mold grows in your air ducts, the mold spores start circulating through the air ducts into your living space whenever the HVAC unit is running. Unfortunately, mold is a hazardous fungus that might result in various health complications in your home. Mold exposure could result in several health issues for you or your family.
These complications include respiratory issues, allergy symptoms, chronic headaches, weakening the immune system, and even skin rashes. The best way of ensuring that your family is protected from the harmful effects of mold is to have a routine duct cleaning service. The HVAC technician inspects the air ducts for any signs of mold, and if any, they will use an antimicrobial fogger to eradicate them. This also prevents future mold growth at your home or in the air ducts.
Why Is Mold the Largest Threat in Your Air Ducts
As mentioned above, mold is among the most significant problems some Fort Worth, TX homeowners face. First, mold will always grow, and since it develops in dark areas, it might become difficult to detect it. Damp and dark areas coupled with the lower temperatures form the perfect condition for its growth. By the time you’re noticing mold, it is already severe. And since the ductwork might at a time have all these conditions simultaneously, you should have a regular duct cleaning service.
You’ll likely find the following common types of mold growing in your air ducts.
Acremonium: This type of mold looks powdery and white. It grows mostly in areas that have water contact.
Alternaria: A brown or greenish velvety-textured mold that prefers growing on running water.
Fusarium: This type of mold grows at a place with water damage and has a cotton-like texture.
Stachybotrys: This is a relatively toxic mold, and the most common variant is blackish.
Aspergillus: This is a varied mold that appears in different colors such as yellow, white, or green.
Trichoderma: This Kind of mold grows in moist and wet areas. It rapidly multiplies and appears spore-like.
Chaetomium: This mold has a cotton-like appearance. It first looks brown but may change the color after some time.
Ulocladium: This is a layered black mold that is hard to remove. Though pretty rare in the air ducts, it doesn’t mean that ulocladium will not form.
Mucor: It is a grayish or whitish mold that grows rapidly, especially in warmer temperatures between 25-30 degrees Celsius.
If you are exposed to any of the mold types above, you could be exposed to the aforementioned health risks. Regular duct cleaning service ensures that your family doesn’t get the health complications caused by the mold. Hence, you should schedule it with a professional.
Help in Detecting Damaged Air Ducts
For the umpteenth time, your home’s ductwork is hidden. Therefore, you can’t see the damage. The only signs you might experience include:
- A reduced flow of air.
- The reduced service life of the HVAC unit.
- An increase in your home’s energy utility bills.
Whenever cleaning the air ducts, the HVAC technician inspects them for any signs of damage or for some areas where the sealing is off. After the duct cleaning service and repair, airflow into your home will be restored. Hence, your home will remain comfortable, and energy bills will be reduced.
Removing Pungent Smells from Your Home
The indoor air will circulate through the ductwork several times every day. Hence, whenever something amiss in the ductwork produces a pungent smell, the smell might flow into your house. The folly-smelling ducts might be caused by decomposing rodents, rodent dropping, mold formation, rodent urine, and rotting bird’s eggs.
Hence, whenever you smell a pungent odor in your home and don’t know or cannot pinpoint where the smell is coming from, it might be emanating from the air ducts. Using an air freshener to counter the smell will not amount to anything whenever such happens. It will be just a waste of resources and time.
You need a duct cleaning service in Fort Worth, TX, to remove all fecal matter and other materials rotting in your ducts that might produce a pungent odor. At the same time, ensure that the professional comes for a duct cleaning service and maintenance regularly to ensure that the air ducts are always clean and the air can seamlessly flow into your home. Your home will be comfortable by eliminating the foul smell because of the clean and great air quality.
Keeping Your Family Healthy
Filthy air ducts pose a significant health hazard to you and your family. For instance, the debris and dust could trigger asthmatic conditions. Additionally, if rodents live in your air ducts, they could come with parasites and other pathogens that might enter your Fort Worth, TX home and infect your family with various illnesses.
The fecal matter produced by the rodents might produce fecal spores, potentially making you or your family members fall sick. To ensure that such an eventuality doesn’t arise, you should have a routine duct cleaning service performed to your air ducts to ensure they are free from any contaminants. Clean ducts go a long way in improving the indoor quality of air and ensuring that your family remains healthy.
How Does Neglecting Your Ducts Affect Your Family
Causes Asthma Flare-Ups
The air pollutants could affect your family in various ways. For instance, though you may not develop any side effects, your asthmatic family member may experience more aggressive and frequent flare-ups. Further, by not having a regular duct cleaning, harmful bacteria might grow in the air ducts uninhibited. You could also experience pests and small insect infestations in the air ducts. These unwanted critters feed on the debris buildup in the ducts.
Decreased Cleanliness and Air Quality
Not having a duct cleaning service by a professional in Fort Worth, TX, reduces the air quality in your home. Dust is circulated in the air, which affects the comfort of your home. The dust might settle on your furniture and clothing, reducing your home’s cleanliness. Hence, you will have to enlist frequent home cleaning services to remove the dust.
Contaminated Air Might Speed Up Aging
According to multiple studies on the harmful impacts of air pollution, it has been proven that even short-term exposure to contaminated air could result in premature aging. Hence, you should ensure a professional comes for a duct cleaning service to avoid premature aging.
It Is the Most Common Cause of Various Respiratory Illnesses
Over time, it has been well documented that improperly maintained drains can be associated with a greater risk of suffering respiratory complications. Those exposed to contaminated air develop respiratory symptoms, especially newborns and senior citizens. Unfortunately, the health complications caused by the indoor pollutants might present themselves after many years, not just after exposure.
Some of the immediate health impacts that you might be eradicated through duct cleaning services in Fort Worth, TX, are throat, nose, eye irritation, fatigue, dizziness, and headaches. Although data on the exact exposure periods required or pollution concentration that could cause fatal or severe respiratory complications isn’t available, it is generally known that breathing contaminated air places you at the risk of longer-term exposure.
Sick Building Syndrome
This refers to the symptoms that a person could experience when in a specific building, such as their home. If you don’t have a duct cleaning service, the allergens such as dust, pollen, mold, and pet dander might build up in the air ducts. Whenever they build up over time, your family members or other inhabitants of your home are at the risk of developing allergic reactions and respiratory complications. Normally, the side effects worsen when you’re in a specific room and then improve when you leave the space.
The Air Ducts Become Home to Rodents
Insects, Rodents, and other critters that find their way inside the ductwork might pose a severe health risk to your family, not forgetting that they are nuisances. Not only are they pest disease vectors, but the rodents will normally chew the ducts on their way in or even enter the sealed access. A professional duct cleaning service can notice and fix the damaged and unsealed areas. If the ductwork is chewed up or damaged pretty badly, the professional might recommend that you replace them.
Places You at a Risk Of Disabling the HVAC system
The buildup of debris and dirt might eventually clog the other aspects of your Fort Worth, TX home’s ventilation system. This results in a non-functional HVAC system whenever you want it most. Whenever the HVAC system isn’t functioning, you breathe air that is unfiltered and might even be contaminated.
Protecting Your HVAC System
If the air ducts are dirty, they could place the HVAC system under stress. For instance, when the rodents find homage in the ducts and create nests, the free air circulation through the air ducts is inhibited or blocked completely. This makes the HVAC system work harder to cool or heat your home per the thermostat setting.
Unfortunately, the blockage makes the heating and cooling system not work at an optimal level. The straining makes some of its components wear out more rapidly, meaning that you should also be forced to seek regular HVAC repair services. You might have to replace the entire unit earlier before it reaches the end of its expected service life.
On the contrary, regular maintenance and duct cleaning services mean that the professional will remove the material forming within the ducts. This ensures there is a free flow of air into your indoor living space. Hence, you can optimize the HVAC system’s operation to ensure that it serves you to full-service life or even more.
Save On Cooling and Heating Costs
An HVAC system is among the appliances that consume a significant amount of energy in your home. However, this doesn’t mean that you should be alright whenever an unreasonably high energy bill comes at the end of the month. Fortunately, there are deliberate steps that you could take to ensure that your energy bills remain low at all times.
For instance, to keep the heating and air conditioning unit optimally working, you should regularly hire a reliable and experienced duct cleaning service provider to clean the air ducts. This significantly improves the circulation of air through the air ducts. Consequently, it minimizes the energy used by the HVAC system in keeping the indoor air clean and within a comfortable range of temperatures all through the year.
Thorough and Professional Duct Cleaning Services
Air ducts in your home are the largest component of your HVAC system. They also are essential because they allow the conditioned air to reach your living space, ensuring that it is comfortable and safe. Hence, you should have a duct cleaning service performed regularly to ensure that any dirt, debris, bacteria, or mold inside the air ducts are removed. Do not hesitate to reach us at One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Fort Worth for a duct cleaning service.