Fall has arrived in Southwest Michigan! With even colder weather quickly approaching, we all seek comfort and warmth inside our own walls more often. This is why indoor air quality is even more important this time of year since we’re all breathing the same air in a confined space. With that said, one of the most important things you can do to improve indoor air quality is to regularly have your ducts cleaned. This ensures the air being delivered through your ducts is free of dust, debris, mold, allergens and even rodents. Unsure if your home needs a duct cleaning? Read below for 5 Signs It’s Time to Have Your Ducts Cleaned!
1. Visible Dust Throughout Your Home
The most obvious way to tell if you need to have your ducts cleaned is visible dust in your home. If you’ve recently dusted and notice dust accumulating days after a good house cleaning, you most likely have an issue with dust and debris build-up in your ducts. If there is enough particle build-up in your ductwork, it will be pushed through your vents and settle on surfaces in your home.
In the same vein, if you notice a small puff of dust coming through your vent right after your HVAC system kicks on, that’s a surefire indication your ductwork needs a thorough cleaning. Your vents should never resemble the infamously dirty character, Pig Pen from Charlie Brown.
2. Poor or Inconsistent Airflow
If you’re not seeing visible signs of dust and debris in your home, the easiest way to determine if your ducts should be cleaned is poor or inconsistent airflow in different rooms throughout your home. The primary job of your ducts and vents is to deliver consistent warm or cool air in every room in your home. If you’re noticing certain rooms are cooler or warmer than others, or you’re not feeling airflow coming through the vents when your HVAC system is clearly delivering air to other rooms, these are good indicators you need to have your vents and ducts cleaned.
3. The Presence of Mold or Mildew
Nobody likes breathing in dust and dirt, but mold is the scariest air pollutant because it can be dangerous for your health. Mold and mildew aggravate allergic reactions and can make respiratory issues worse. If you’re notice allergy symptoms worsening like runny nose, waterly eyes, congestion, cough, or difficulty breathing, mold growth may be a problem in your home. To determine if this may be a problem in your ducts, check around your vent covers and air conditioning unit to see if you can spot any mold present.
However, if you have visible mold anywhere in your home, it’s a good idea to have your ducts inspected and cleaned by an HVAC professional if mold is found.
To prevent mold and mildew growth in your home in the future, you may want to ask your trusted HVAC technician about investing in a dehumidifier. With mold and mildew only growing in wet, moist areas, a dehumidifier will remove water from the air and prevent this problem from occuring in the future.
4. Strange Noises or Smells Coming from Ducts
The only noise that should be coming from your ducts are…absolutely nothing besides the common sound of your system running in the background. If you hear anything other than this typical operational sound, odds are your ducts are experiencing some problems. An unfortunate problem that can happen in ductwork that hasn’t been cleaned regularly are rodent infestations. If a pest has made your ductwork their home, you’ll often hear them running around in them.
Another sign you have a pest problem in your ducts is bad smells coming from your vents, which indicate that something has died inside your ductwork, which isn’t healthy for you and your family to breathe every day.
Especially if you’ve had a recent pest infestation and your ducts weren’t cleaned at that time, you should call to have them cleaned right away. This prevents the spread of pollutants and other disease-causing bacteria emanating from rodent dander, fecal matter, and viruses that can cause serious health problems.
5. Higher Energy Bills
Take a look at your heating and cooling bills from last year in the same month and compare them to this year. If your energy costs are higher than they were at the same time last year, you may be looking at an issue with your furnace or air conditioner. However, it’s also a clear indication that your ductwork is blocked. This causes your furnace or air conditioner to work harder because it has contend with dust and debris when pushing airflow throughout your home. This results in additional energy usage and increased bills.
Seeing Any Signs It’s Time to Have Your Ducts Cleaned?
If it’s been 7 years or more, or you have no record of any prior duct cleaning in your home, it’s a good idea to have your ducts cleaned regularly to prevent any of these symptoms of dirty ducts from occurring in the first place. If you are noticing any of these tell-tale symptoms that it’s time to have your ducts cleaned, call your trusted HVAC company before things get worse!
If you currently have an aging HVAC system that needs to be replaced and are in need of a duct cleaning, we have a special offer going on now until November 30th. If you buy a new HVAC system from us, we want that system to run as efficiently as possible so we will provide a duct cleaning for FREE. Click here to claim this offer and book your FREE consultation: https://thebossservices.com/free-for-all-this-fall/
Any other questions about indoor air quality and duct cleaning? Call 269-468-6682 to set up an appointment, and we will make sure the airflow in your home is healthy, consistent, and efficient again!
