It never fails: Springtime allergens peak outside so you close the windows and doors and crank up the air conditioner, only to find the sneezing and foggy head continue. What gives? You may be dealing with dirty air ducts — the pathways used to circulate air throughout your home. Dirty air ducts affect the quality of air inside your home, which can mean continued allergy symptoms.
How Do Air Ducts Get Dirty?
Air ducts create a network throughout a building to circulate air that has been heated or cooled. However, moving all that air can be a dirty job.Dirty air ducts impact on your health
To move air, the system first must pull in air before heating or cooling it and blowing it through the air ducts. The air the system pulls in is unfiltered, meaning it may contain dirt, dust, and pollen — all of which can aggravate allergies and cause an increase in symptoms for allergy sufferers.
Over time, as a system runs throughout different seasons, the buildup of allergy-causing dirt and dust can become a problem. The air moving through air ducts disturbs the built-up dust and dirt particles, which can be blown back throughout a home.
Why Indoor Air Quality Matters
Indoor air quality refers to the quality of the air inside a building, such as your home. Every home has dust, just like every home is different. What may be a problem in one home may not be a problem in another.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that health effects of poor signs may include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, along with headaches, dizziness, and even fatigue. While these symptoms may show up right away, other problems may take a long time to show up.
The best way to resolve the health effects of poor indoor air quality is to avoid exposing yourself or your family to the pollutants that are causing the problem. If you notice an increase in allergy symptoms even with the air conditioning on, you may need to address the air quality inside your home with air duct cleaning.
How Air Duct Cleaning Can Help
Professional air duct cleaning includes an evaluation of your home’s air ducts both before and after the cleaning to determine if the cleaning was successful. Professionals use specialized blowers, vacuums, and brushes to clean all of the air ducts throughout your home. They will also inspect and clean other parts of your home’s ventilation system.
The EPA notes that air duct cleaning is not detrimental to the home environment, as long as it is done properly. Improperly cleaned air ducts can actually contribute to the problem, making symptoms worse.
Alergen info by NADCA