Fumes from indoor air quality, household and garden chemicals, insulating particles, and dust can all enter the duct system, potentially exacerbating asthma and allergy problems. Sealing ducts can help improve indoor air quality by reducing the risk of contaminants entering the ducts and circulating through your home. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that you read this document in its entirety, as it provides important information on the subject. Duct cleaning has never been proven to actually prevent health problems.
Nor do studies conclusively demonstrate that the particle (e.g., dust) levels in homes with dirty air ducts are higher than those in homes with clean air ducts. This is because much of the dirt in the air ducts adheres to the duct surfaces and does not necessarily enter the living space. It's important to note that dirty air ducts are just one of the many possible sources of particulate matter that are present in homes. Contaminants that enter the home through both outdoor and indoor activities, such as cooking, cleaning, smoking, or simply moving around, can cause greater exposure to contaminants than dirty air ducts. In addition, there is no evidence that a small amount of household dust or other particles in air ducts poses a health risk.
If any of the conditions identified above exist, it usually suggests one or more underlying causes. Before ducting is cleaned, modernized, or replaced, the cause or causes must be corrected, or else the problem is likely to recur. Some research suggests that cleaning the components of heating and cooling systems (e.g., cooling coils, fans, and heat exchangers) may improve the efficiency of your system if it is dirty. You may consider cleaning your air ducts simply because it seems logical that they will become dirty over time and need to be cleaned from time to time. As long as the cleaning is done correctly, there is no evidence to suggest that such cleaning is harmful.
The EPA does not recommend that air ducts be cleaned routinely, but only when necessary. However, the EPA recommends that if you have a furnace, stove, or fireplace that burns fuel, it be inspected for proper functioning and maintained before each heating season to protect it against carbon monoxide poisoning. If you decide to clean your air ducts, take the same consumer precautions you would normally take when evaluating the competence and reliability of the service provider. Whether or not you decide to clean your home's air ducts, preventing water and dirt from entering the system is the most effective way to prevent contamination (see How to Prevent Duct Contamination). If you decide to clean your heating and cooling system, it's important to ensure that the service provider is committed to cleaning all components of the system and is qualified to do so. In addition, the service provider can propose the application of chemical biocides, designed to remove microbiological contaminants, to the inside of the ducts and to other components of the system.
Some service providers may also suggest applying chemical treatments (sealants or other encapsulants) to encapsulate or cover the inner surfaces of air ducts and equipment housings because they believe they will control mold growth or prevent the release of dirt particles or fibers from the ducts. These practices have not yet been thoroughly researched and you must be fully informed before deciding to allow the use of biocides or chemical treatments in your air ducts. They should only be applied, if any, after the system has been properly cleaned of all visible dust or dirt. Knowledge about the potential benefits and potential problems of cleaning air ducts is limited. Since conditions in every home are different, it's impossible to generalize about whether cleaning your home's air ducts would be beneficial or not.
On the other hand, if family members have unusual or unexplained symptoms or illnesses that you think could be related to your home environment, you should discuss this with your doctor. The EPA has published several publications as guidance on identifying potential indoor air quality problems and ways to prevent or solve them. You may consider cleaning out your home's air ducts simply because it seems logical that they will become dirty over time and need to be cleaned from time to time. While there is still debate over whether regular duct cleaning is beneficial or not, there is no evidence to suggest that such cleaning is harmful when done correctly. On the other hand, if a service provider doesn't follow proper procedures for cleaning air ducts, it can cause problems with indoor air quality.
For example, an inadequate vacuum collection system can release more dust, dirt and other contaminants than if it had left them alone. A careless or inadequately trained service provider can damage your ducts or your heating and cooling system which could increase your heating and air conditioning costs or force you to make difficult and costly repairs or replacements. This is because much of the dirt that can accumulate inside air ducts adheres to their surfaces and does not necessarily enter living spaces. In addition, there is no evidence that a small amount of household dust or other particles in air ducts poses a health risk. The EPA does not recommend that air ducts be cleaned except when necessary because of continuing uncertainty about their benefits in most cases. However, they do recommend that if you have a furnace, stove or fireplace that burns fuel it should be inspected for proper functioning and maintained before each heating season in order to protect against carbon monoxide poisoning. Some research also suggests that cleaning dirty cooling coils fans and heat exchangers can improve efficiency of heating and cooling systems but there is little evidence indicating that simply cleaning out a system's ductwork will improve its efficiency. You may consider cleaning out your home's air ducts simply because it seems logical that they will become dirty over time and need to be cleaned from time to time.
While there is still debate over whether regular duct cleaning is beneficial or not, there is no evidence to suggest that such cleaning is harmful when done correctly. On the other hand, if a service provider doesn't follow proper procedures for cleaning air ducts, it can cause problems with indoor air quality. For example, an inadequate vacuum collection system can release more dust, dirt and other contaminants than if it had left them alone. A careless or inadequately trained service provider can damage your ducts or your heating and cooling system which could increase your heating and air conditioning costs or force you to make difficult and costly repairs or replacements. In conclusion, while there are still debates over whether regular duct cleaning is beneficial or not in most cases due to continuing uncertainty about their benefits; however there are certain precautions one should take when considering cleaning. The EPA recommends inspecting furnaces for proper functioning before each heating season in order to protect against carbon monoxide poisoning; as well as taking consumer precautions when evaluating competence and reliability of service providers. It's important for homeowners to understand all aspects related to duct cleaning, including potential benefits as well as potential problems associated with it before making any decisions.
