Did you know that the average 6-room home collects up to 40 pounds of dust in the air ducts annually?
That’s one big dust bunny.
The dust in your air ducts could include mold, pollen, bacteria, dirt, chemical residue, smoke, hair, dander, insects, and more. This can elevate allergies and asthma. For a healthier home, Warner Service has a few tips to help your air ducts combat these allergens:
- Use efficient air filters. Proper filters catch contaminants from your home’s air, which is good for a few reasons. It’ll save money on energy bills because your HVAC system doesn’t have to work as hard to produce and disperse clean air, and it’ll help alleviate allergy symptoms, like itchy eyes, coughing, and breathing problems, caused by unwanted contaminants.
- Install a whole-house vacuum cleaner. Vacuuming helps control dust, but most manual vacuums don’t catch super small particles. Whole-house vacuum cleaners exhaust small particles directly outside. If you choose to manually vacuum…
- Run your furnace fan. Even HEPA-filtered vacuums agitate some dust into the air. If your furnace’s filter is clean and the thermostat is switched to “fan on,” the airborne dust will be caught.
- Keep moisture away. Moisture and air ducts don’t mix well. If your home’s air ducts are wet thanks to a few summer showers, it can cause mold build-up. This can lead to serious health concerns, so call a professional before moisture creeps in. They’ll check for and repair leaks or re-do poor installation.
- Check the condensation pan on the air conditioner’s cooling coil to make sure it properly drains. While you’re there, double-check that all non-air conditioned spaces in your home, like unused rooms, the attic, and the basement, are properly sealed.
- Clean your home. Dirty ductwork can be combated by simply giving your home a good once-over, including:
- Dusting shelves, tables, and ceiling fans
- Vacuuming carpets and hardwood floors
- Washing drapes and rugs
- Wiping down walls
- Sweeping floors
- Protect ductwork during renovations. Close off registers and vents during any renovations that will create sawdust or other particles. If you don’t want to close them completely, use a thick plastic cover held down by medium-adhesion painter’s tape over your vents. This will help prevent any particles from getting caught in your system.
- Don’t use fabric softener or dryer sheets on cleaning rags. If you’re an eco-conscious homeowner who prefers microfiber cloths to paper towels, avoid using fabric softener or dryer sheets when cleaning them. These products will reduce the cloth’s ability to pick up dust.
- Understand air pressure. Many homes unintentionally operate under negative air pressure, created by mechanical systems. The air pressure becomes lower inside your home than on the outside, which can accelerate the inward flow of dusty outdoor air and back-up the furnace and chimney. Clean air ducts can help catch any dust from negative air pressure.
- Call Warner Service for preventative HVAC service in Frederick, Maryland as soon as possible. We’ll give your home comfort system a check-up – and scare some dust bunnies away with our duct cleaning.
Nobody wants to live with a 40-pound dust bunny made of pet dander, smoke, chemical residue, and other unsavory contaminants. To keep your home and family healthy, follow Warner Service’s few go-to tricks, from replacing the air filter each month to calling in the pros for a duct cleaning.
If you'd like more information on how you can stop dust bunnies in your home and help alleviate allergies and asthma sympthoms, download our free checklist:
