5 Ways You Can Prevent Dirty Ductwork in Your Texas Home

Your ductwork is an important and often overlooked part of your HVAC system. Just like any HVAC components, if your ducts are neglected, they can accumulate dirt, debris and even mold. This drastically reduces your indoor air quality, leading to asthma and allergy problems, illness, and more. It can also cause your HVAC system to run less efficiently. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to prevent dirty ductwork and keep your ducts clean and efficient.

Preventive HVAC System Maintenance

It’s essential to have both your heating and cooling systems inspected annually, before the time comes to start using each one. Your HVAC technician will perform some basic maintenance tasks to make sure your system is functioning properly and running efficiently for the season to come. One of the things that the technician will do is to clean your other components and get rid of dirt, mold and other debris that have been building up, before they have a chance to spread to your ductwork.

Protect Ductwork During Renovations

Renovating your home may improve things in the long run, but the process also kicks up a lot of dust. As it swirls through the air, much of that dust will get into your ductwork. Then, next time you turn on your HVAC system, the dust will be expelled back into your home for your family to breathe. If you want to prevent dirty ductwork, have your contractor seal off all the ducts in the area where they’ll be working before you begin any kind of renovation or construction project on your home.

This also applies to building a new home. New ductwork often will gather construction debris. Be sure your HVAC professionals check the ducts thoroughly to eliminate contaminants before installing them.

Clean Your Home Regularly

Even if you aren’t doing any major renovations on your home, dust and debris from the air can still find its way into your ducts. The best way to guard against this and prevent dirty ductwork from day to day is to clean your home regularly and thoroughly. In particular, vacuum the floors and dust the surfaces, as these are the places where dust tends to settle. The cleaner your home is, the cleaner your ducts will be as well.

Protect Against Mold

Dust in your ductwork is one thing, but mold is a far worse problem. If you discover mold and mildew growing in your ducts, you’ll generally need an extensive and costly professional duct cleaning to get rid of it. Therefore, when working to prevent dirty ductwork, mold needs to be one of your chief concerns.

In particular, be careful of air intakes next to naturally moist areas, such as bathrooms. Moisture is what fosters mold, so if your bathroom develops a mold problem, that problem can easily spread to your ducts through the air intake, making it much harder to deal with. Keep the areas next to air intakes dry and well-ventilated, and check them regularly to keep mold away.

Schedule Regular Ductwork Inspections

The inside of your ductwork is hidden from view, so even with all the precautions you’ve taken, how can you be sure that your ducts are clean? The answer is regular ductwork inspection. This can be a bit of a tricky business. A number of unscrupulous companies will claim to do regular duct inspections, before attempting to rope you into a much more expensive procedure.

Fortunately, the National Air Duct Cleaners Association can provide reputable professionals to inspect your ducts properly and prevent dirty ductwork. They can also help you determine how often you should have your ducts inspected, based on the construction of your home, family’s lifestyle, and other factors.

Benefits of Taking These Preventive Measures

You’ve taken all necessary precautions and have successfully been able to prevent dirty ductwork. So what do you get for your efforts? First of all, you’ll save money by avoiding the expensive duct cleaning and repairs that result from neglect.

Your indoor air quality will also improve significantly, especially from reducing the chance of mold and bacteria circulating in your home. Additionally, your HVAC system will run more efficiently, reducing repairs, extending its lifespan, and saving you energy.

For more tips on how to prevent dirty ductwork in your Houston, Galveston or Sugar Land area home, please contact our experts at Davis Air Conditioning & Heating.

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