You probably don’t give much thought to your air ducts, and, to be fair, that’s a natural omission for homeowners to make. Just like your drainage pipes, air ducts with quality work behind them are built to last, and their simplicity means that very little will go wrong. There are no moving parts, and the ducts themselves are rigid and solidly built, only needing to move air around.
For the majority of homeowners, this means that once those air ducts are in place, structurally, you’ll never need to worry about them again! They’ll often last for the entire duration that you live in a home, as well as the several families that may come after you! But while the physical condition of an air duct is not a big issue, whether you need an air duct cleaning is something that may come up, because of your indoor air quality.
A Clean Duct Is A Safe One
The biggest problem that comes from having dirty air ducts is that this poses health risks to everyone in a home, and there’s no way to escape that risk. Because air ducts pump air into every major room in a home with a vent, you have no choice but to breathe in that air, even if it’s contaminated.
At best, dirty air ducts mean a musty smell every time your HVAC system starts up. At worst, it may actually make people sick, thanks to contagions that may be in the dirt. At the absolute worst, for people with respiratory conditions like asthma, or allergies, this means that the chance of reactions occurring at home are much higher than outside or in other buildings.
Cleaning Frequency
Fortunately, getting an air duct cleaning is not something that you need done on a frequent or regular basis. Under ordinary circumstances, an inspection of the ducts and an actual air duct cleaning would only be required for responsible house maintenance every 3-5 years.
However, there are certain circumstances where you might consider getting an air duct cleaning done. If people with respiratory or asthmatic conditions are experiencing regular, frequent reactions in the home, look to the ducts.
If you’ve recently renovated, or have had exterminators tell you that rodents were nesting in the ducts, get them cleaned. If you detect a musty smell in the house every time the HVAC comes on, again, think about an air duct cleaning.
Keep It Clean Longer
If you want to make sure that your ducts stay clean for longer periods of time, there are definitely things you can do in the home to precipitate this. The most important is sticking to the recommended replacement schedule for your HVAC filter.
Every three months is the longest interval, with a monthly schedule if you want maximum performance. The other thing you should be doing is just making sure your home is clean!
Sweeping and vacuuming up dirt and dust, and promptly getting rid of it reduces the chances of that dirt or pet dander getting into the ducts themselves. Clean air ducts aren’t too hard to achieve in Indianapolis, IN. Just take care of your home, and the ducts will give you trouble free operation for years to come.
