Air Duct Cleaning and Health Concerns

We’ve been getting a lot of responses from our customers telling us they’re noticing big benefits from having their air ducts cleaned. Some are little things, like improved performance of their HVAC, while others are reporting improvements in their health. Air duct cleaning can have any of these benefits, but three particular customers we had recently that really highlight why you want to have your air ducts cleaned.

1. Insulation In The Wrong Places

This story comes from a family who’s father had a history of asthma and allergies. When they first moved into their home, they did a pretty serious cleaning job on it. They scrubbed everything they could think of, top to bottom. Like a lot of people, they didn’t immediately think about air duct cleaning, though. This person hadn’t needed an inhaler since they were very young, but not long after moving in, he was back on one. They couldn’t figure out what it was until they heard about air duct cleaning and called us.

The previous owner kept many cats and the ducts were filled with cat hair. That aggravated his allergies, but it wasn’t the worst of it. There was debris from construction work – including powdered fiberglass insulation. It turns out a construction crew remodeling the house before they came in didn’t clean the vents after finishing their project. Fiberglass insulation is a serious carcinogen when breathed and it was tearing his lungs to pieces.

After we did a full cleaning of his vents, he reported a noticeable improvement in his breathing and overall health.

2. Unwanted Visitors

Mice infestations should be taken very seriously. They contaminate food and spread diseases – including the deadly hantavirus. When one family purchased a home, they weren’t aware of how long it had been sitting unused and quickly found mice had taken up residence.

They called in exterminators to get rid of them and the mice were pretty swiftly killed off, but they didn’t think to check if the vents needed cleaning afterward. When they started having breathing problems, they called us to check it out. We found dead mice – mummified by the poisons – mice feces, and chewed up insulation in their vents. They’d killed the mice, but they were still contaminating the house by leaving their traces in the vents.

3. I Can’t Remember

When we ask people how long it’s been since they had their ducts cleaned, a common response we get is, “I don’t know.” Out of sight, out of mind, right? Well, that was the response one family gave us when they called us in for a cleaning. “I can’t remember the last time we had this done.” It turns out the answer was around 30 years ago. How did we know? Well, in addition to the usual build-up of dust and dirt, we also found toys and baseball cards from the late 80s and early 90s. We even found a whole wind-up car stuffed down there.

You see, when kids see holes, they like to stick things in them. This not only creates more surface space for dust to cling to, it impedes the airflow, forcing your HVAC system to work extra hard to get the same results. In addition to the health problems caused by the extra dust in the air, it also wears down your ventilation system faster, forcing you to deal with costly early repairs.

When You Move To A New House, Get The Ducts Cleaned

One of the most common elements of these and other stories we get at Easy Breezy Ducts is people didn’t think to have their air ducts cleaned when they first moved into a home. It was only after they started experiencing health issues or breathing problems that they called us. Every time we hear this, it turns out the ducts were never cleaned and there’s something really wrong with them. Whether it’s mouse leavings, or toxic construction debris, there’s always something to be found in the vents that you don’t want in there.

This is why you should always call us when you move into a new house. You never know how well the previous owner took care of their ducts. Maybe they did just fine. More often, we find they didn’t. A good air duct cleaning makes a huge difference in how good you feel living at home.

Whether you’re moving into a new home, or you just can’t remember the last time you’ve had your air ducts cleaned, you should get in touch with us today. You’ll be glad you did when you can breathe easy in your own home!