On days when the air pollution in Champaign, IL is high, you might get a notification on your phone suggesting that you stay inside if you have asthma or other health problems. But what if the air quality inside your home is just as bad or even worse than it is outside? Unfortunately, that’s the case in many homes across the country. Air quality inside is 2-5 times worse on average.

When you’re trying to keep the air in your home healthy, one of the ways you can help is to have your ductwork cleaned. That doesn’t mean you should grab a broom and a dustpan and try to do it yourself. Ductwork cleaning is a service that should be professionally done so that you don’t end up with any dust or contaminants inside your home. Here is more information that you might want on hand if you’re considering having your ducts cleaned.

What Is Ductwork?

In films, the HVAC ductwork is what spies and thieves use to sneak into vaults or top-secret rooms. But in most homes, it’s just the space that hot or cold air moves through to heat or cool your house. All of the air that comes out of your vents or goes back to your HVAC unit through the return registers, will pass through the ductwork. If you think about it, you really don’t want the air you breathe moving through ductwork that is filled with a half-inch of dust. That is where duct cleaning comes in.

What Causes Poor Indoor Air Quality?

Inside the home, pollutants can end up in the air from lots of different sources. Every time you cook, you are releasing smoke and cooking odors into the air. When you use chemical cleaners such as bleach or ammonia, fumes can stay in the air for a long time. Dust, germs, and allergens can also be trapped inside, causing sneezing, coughing, itchy eyes, and illness. If you don’t have an effective way of getting rid of pollutants, they don’t have anywhere to go and you’ll just keep breathing them in.

What Are the Benefits of Regular Air Duct Cleaning?

Air duct cleaning isn’t the only way to keep your air clean, but it can be a piece of the puzzle when it comes to indoor air quality. If you or someone in your family has asthma, allergies, or other health problems, keeping your ductwork clean is a way to make sure pollutants don’t come back into the home. Duct cleaning can:

  • Keep Dust Out of the Air: If you don’t like dusting, duct cleaning might help you to do it less often. 
  • Stop Mold in its Tracks: If you have mold in your ductwork, it can cause major health problems. You can get it out with air duct cleaning.
  • Help Your HVAC Run More Efficiently: When there is a lot of debris and dust in your ductwork, your heating and cooling systems can struggle to run as efficiently. 
  • Keep Bad Smells Away: A bad smell coming out of your ductwork might be from dirty ducts. An HVAC technician can help you find the cause.

Do You Need Air Duct Cleaning?

Not every family needs air duct cleaning. You may have great indoor air quality and spotless ductwork. But if someone in your home is struggling with health problems from poor air quality, duct cleaning might be a good next step. You can also consider other steps such as air filtration and purification systems and HEPA filters for your HVAC system.

Choosing a Company for Your Air Duct Cleaning

The last thing you want is for all of the dust that’s in your ductwork to come swirling back into your house. That’s why it’s so important to make sure you choose the right company for the job. Make sure they are using the right tools including a HEPA filter for their vacuum or outside ventilation. They should also check for black mold and asbestos before stirring it up into the air. At Castle Home Comfort, we follow all of the right procedures and use the right tools to protect you and your home.

If you are considering air duct cleaning in your home in Champaign, IL, you can give our team at Castle Home Comfort a call. We would love to answer your questions and set up an appointment.