Should You Clean Your Air Ducts?
There are differing perspectives on whether air ducts need to be cleaned. Some air duct cleaning companies tend to oversell the benefits of duct cleaning, claiming relief of allergy or asthma symptoms. Most people who have their ducts cleaned experience marginal benefits because there are so many other sources of contaminants that affect indoor air quality. Air duct cleaning is only one of the steps toward reducing the health effects associated with indoor air.

The government states you shouldn¹t have your ducts cleaned unless you have evidence of insect, rodent or mold contamination, or enough debris in your ducts to restrict airflow. There are two problems with the government recommendation. First, you could easily have mold and insect or rodent urine and fecal matter in your ducts without visible evidence. Second, the amount of debris in air ducts does not have to be extensive to affect your indoor air quality. Even marginally dirty ducts can host millions of dust mites, each excreting up to 20 fecal pellets every day. Dust mites have eight legs like spiders, allowing them to hang on inside ducts when air passes through; however, their excretions can easily become liberated into your breathable air. Dust mite excrement is a highly toxic allergen to humans...for this reason alone, cleaning your ducts is important.

Unless measures were taken to keep ducts clean during construction, ducts in new homes likely need cleaning. Duct cleaning companies have found them loaded with construction dust and garbage, such as lunch bags and aluminum cans.

On average, the space inside air ducts is equivalent to an entire room of a house that never gets cleaned. Ducts can host an entire biological ecosystem and cleaning them is an important step toward improved air quality.

Duct cleaning is typically recommended every four years, but air ducts that pass through concrete floors should be cleaned every year due to increased moisture in those ducts.

Do not allow duct cleaning companies to spray man-made chemical fragrances in the ducts; for some, these can be offensive. Furthermore, chemical cleaners should be avoided if possible. If the ducts have mold, insect or rodent contamination, chemical biocides can be used, but ensure they are registered with the EPA for safe use inside air-handling systems. Temporary high levels of ozone can be used to sanitize and deodorize air ducts without the use of chemicals. Ozone treatments are also great for reaching areas that cannot be easily accessed, such as air conditioner A-coils hidden inside of ducts.

This article is copyrighted and reprinted with permission by DanSchilling and Home Resource Magazine. To receive a copy of Home Resource, contact Sarah Schilling at publisherhr@gmail.com.

This article is intended to be general in nature and is not intended to address all potential issues. Specific determinations must be obtained by qualified experts.