In recent years, indoor air pollution has become an issue of growing concern and increased visibility. Improving the quality of your home’s indoor air is a hot topic. There are now many companies offering products and services intended to improve the quality of your indoor air. One of the services being marketed is cleaning the air ducts in your home.
However, whether cleaning the air ducts in your home will actually improve the indoor air quality is a controversial topic. You may have heard both sides of this controversy and are wondering what you should do. So, the friendly folks here at GAMA Air want to provide some unbiased information to our friends and neighbors in and around Beverly Hills, Culver City, Mar Vista, Miracle Mile, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Bel Air, Westwood, Downtown Los Angeles, Vernon, Huntington Park, Sherman Oaks, Encino to help you decide what is best for your situation.
The Controversy
First off, let’s be upfront, knowledge about the potential benefits and possible problems of air duct cleaning is in its early stages, so a blanket recommendation cannot be offered as to whether you should have the air ducts in your home cleaned. Some people claim that cleaning the air ducts will prevent health problems. They claim that particle levels (such as dust) in homes increase because of dirty air ducts. But this has yet to be conclusively proven.
Much of the dirt in air ducts clings to the duct surfaces and does not necessarily enter the living space. And remember there are many possible sources of particles that are present in homes, dirty air ducts being only one possible source.
What is Air Duct Cleaning?
In general, duct cleaning refers to the cleaning of the various heating and cooling system components of a forced air system. This includes the supply and return air ducts and registers, grilles and diffusers, heat exchangers, heating and cooling coils, condensate drain pans (drip pans), fan motor and fan housing, and the air handling unit housing.
To Clean … Or Not to Clean
Despite the controversy, you should consider having the air ducts in your home cleaned if:
- You can see substantial mold growth on the ducts or on other components of your heating and cooling system.
- The ducts are infested with vermin, such as rodents or insects.
- The ducts are clogged with excessive amounts of dust and debris and/or particles are actually released into the home from your supply registers.
However, keep in mind that if any of the conditions identified above exists, it usually means there are one or more underlying causes. Prior to any cleaning or replacing of your ducts, the cause or causes must be corrected or else the problem will likely recur.
An ounce of prevention?
It seems logical that air ducts will get dirty over time and therefore you may consider having your air ducts cleaned occasionally. As long as the cleaning is done properly, there is no harm in doing this. However, the EPA does not recommend cleaning air ducts on a routine basis, but only as needed.
Stay tuned for future articles on suggestions for choosing a duct cleaning service provider and what to expect from a provider as well as how to determine whether a thorough job was done.
But if you’d like to discuss the details now, please give us a call at (310) 651-6936 or use our online form to schedule a check-up on your system.
Do you have questions that you’re eager to get a response on? You’re at the right place! Fill out the form on our “Ask an Expert” page, and the resident expert at GAMA Air will get back to you quickly with an answer.