You might spend hours cleaning and tidying up your house, but have you ever questioned the quality of the air occupying your indoors? Studies conducted in both the US and Europe indicate that in regions with highly developed industries, we spend over 90% of our daytime at home, not suspecting the danger behind closed doors. If you recognize yourself in these statistics, do you consider how air duct cleaning and sealing improves indoor air quality? We’re here to discuss that, so stick around if you want to learn more!
What Causes Unhealthy Indoor Air Quality?
Through mundane everyday activities, such as cooking, moving around, or cleaning, residential homes build up layers of pollutants that are redistributed through the HVAC system. Indoor smoking, humid space, recent furnishing, or poor installation of household equipment can all cause contaminant buildup that can go unnoticed in most busy family units.
The ability of a simple houseplant to provide your home with clean air is far overrated despite its oxygen production. Air ducts are like the lungs through which fresh air enters your home. If dirty or leaky, they collect further debris, preventing clean air from entering the home and contributing to the contamination. Here’s what may come into your home through a dirty air duct:
Pollutants
Many pollutants gain easy access into your home and, ultimately, your lungs through everyday activities.
For instance, improper use of pesticides is a sure health risk. Also, using paint with no protective gear and burning painted wood may lead to inhaling heavy metals, such as airborne lead or mercury vapors.
Moreover, there are several ways that carbon monoxide can enter your home, but most commonly, it happens through gas stoves, heaters, or ducts that are inappropriately placed near your garage.
Carcinogens
Asbestos is a carcinogen previously used to heat-protect iron-board covers and fire-resistant gloves. Over time, it breaks apart into breathable particles. Twenty years of exposure to its fragments may lead to a disease called asbestosis (fibrosis of the lungs), which can affect entire families at a time.
Radium follows this same principle of disintegrating into toxic radon. Since having such particles in the air can be very dangerous, the safest solution is to remove any carriers from the living space altogether.
Moreover, second-hand smoking increases the risk of lung cancer and throbbing migraines and is especially dangerous to children in crucial developmental stages.
Allergens and Biological Pollution
Although dust mites and fungus are naturally present in the air to some degree, closed and humid spaces or a moist carpet increase their presence to allergy-inducing levels. Sometimes, even pollen can cause a problem if present at high levels.
Allergic reactions to these allergens may include rhinitis, conjunctival inflammation, skin rash, or asthma. Mycotoxin, a more dangerous biological pollutant, is a fungal metabolite that can easily be inhaled and cause immunosuppression.
What Are the Effects of an Unhealthy Indoor Quality?
Infants, toddlers, pregnant women, and fetuses are a high-risk category for recurring health issues due to their respective developmental stages and undeveloped immune systems. Additionally, if you have an older person living in your home or someone with a chronic respiratory disease, you might have already witnessed the challenges they run across in highly polluted areas.
From basic fatigue or dizziness to nausea or headaches, contaminated living spaces disturb your overall health, even with no predisposition to respiratory problems.
A phenomenon known as ‘multiple chemical sensitivity’ has become well-known among individuals who suffer from illnesses caused by a mixture of airborne substances.
Tuberculosis, once a problem of the past, has recently come up on an increasing number of occasions. Residential crowding and insufficient ventilation disturbed its steady decline and welcomed it into the modern home. And, while even a simple allergic reaction can go a long way, exposure to carcinogens is the ultimate hazard to you and your loved ones in the home.
Filthy air ducts not only contribute to overall air quality decrease, but if they are blocked, they stale the work, which shortens the lifespan of your HVAC system. When this occurs, there is no way for the air in your house or apartment to circulate and give way to fresh, breathable air in its place.
Visual mold or debris, vermin infestation, or a recent rebuild can all be good reasons to consider cleaning your air ducts to prevent risks to your family’s health. If someone is already displaying obvious signs of respiratory problems, it is also wise to consider how air duct cleaning improves indoor air quality and take further action accordingly.
Consider Calling Your Air Duct Service Provider
When it comes to clean, breathable air in your home, remember that you must maintain clean air ducts. There is no shortage of information on how air duct cleaning improves indoor air quality, so don’t hesitate to read up and learn more about the benefits of frequent air duct maintenance.
If you are looking to improve the air quality in your home, connect with our Aeroseal Colorado team of professionals. We offer cleaning, sealing, and diagnostic repair of air ducts, along with various other services, so call us today to learn more or schedule a cleanup!