According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the science of indoor air duct cleaning is still in its developmental stages.
What is already well documented scientifically, however, is the ever-worsening quality of indoor air sources in general.
Recent ongoing indoor air quality studies indicate that our indoor air is often more polluted than the air just outside our homes and workplaces.
What makes this such a health concern is simply this: the average adult in North America spends up to 90 percent of the average day indoors, breathing this increasingly polluted indoor air.
For this reason, the EPA recommends indoor air duct cleanings when there is a justifiable need. In this post, we will talk about what those justifiable needs might be and how to choose the level of air duct cleaning for your home or workplace needs.
When a Professional Air Duct Cleaning is Justified
The EPA has identified certain situations when a professional indoor air duct cleaning might be recommended or warranted.
You or someone in your family or employee group is experiencing health symptoms that continue despite ongoing attempts to alleviate them. Here, particular symptoms to watch for include respiratory, skin allergy, memory, mood, or attention issues.
- Your home or workplace seems unusually dusty given the level of inside-outside traffic and regular housekeeping.
- Deposits of mould or mildew have been discovered in, at, or near the site of one or more air registers.
- Known toxic or hazardous substances or chemicals are used regularly in the space, including but not limited to glues or adhesives, paints or primers, tobacco, wood smoke, commercial cleaning products or air fresheners, and similar others.
- You have no documentation of any prior indoor air duct cleaning taking place in the history of the property, and logic suggests that the occasional air duct cleaning would complement and enhance the results of your annual HVAC/furnace inspection and cleaning as well as improving system efficiency.
- Air ducts are shown to be densely packed or clogged with dust, debris, dirt, and/or vermin (insects, rodent debris and waste, etc.).
How Often Should Your Indoor Air Ducts Be Professionally Cleaned?
This is a great question—and one with no single definitive answer.
Part of the answer lies here: just as regular inspection and maintenance services can extend the life of your HVAC/furnace systems, so too can regular attention to air duct cleaning be expected to benefit the efficiency and lifespan of these systems.
The rest of the answer depends on how and how frequently the indoor space is used. For households or workplaces with heavy chemical or tobacco use, for instance, the indoor air ducts would more quickly accumulate potentially toxic particulate matter.
It is known that having a clean air filter and clean air vents, air registers, and air grills can improve HVAC/furnace efficiency year-round. This is because the cooling and heating systems don’t have to work as hard to transport temperature-controlled air through the system.
Conversely, when air filters, air ducts, and registers begin to clog up with dust and debris, the system has to expend extra energy to push the air through into each room. By keeping the air duct system, filters, and registers clean and clear, minimal energy is expended to complete this task and money is also saved.
Having offered these caveats, Angie’s List and the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA) recommends having your indoor air ducts professionally cleaned every two to five years or as needed. Those with pets or allergies would benefit from an annual cleaning.
Which of These Three Indoor Air Duct Cleaning Packages Should You Choose?
Here at Clean Air Solutions Hamilton, we work in partnership with our sister company, Shipton’s Heating & Cooling, to ensure our clients have the cleanest, most efficient, and effective indoor air quality systems.
Together, we have nearly a century of expertise in the temperature control and indoor air quality industries. We have seen firsthand how temperature control and indoor air quality technology has evolved since Shipton’s first opened its doors in 1924.
Today, as a third-generation family-owned and operated duo of companies, we offer three packages that have been specifically tailored to the needs of our HVAC and air quality clients.
Here is an overview of the three indoor air duct cleaning packages we offer:
Bronze
- Complete Rotobrush HEPA vacuum service
- Sanitizing and deodorizing service
- Air register cleaning service
Silver
- Everything in Bronze, plus:
- Furnace fan compartment cleaning service
- A/C coil cleaning service
Gold
- Everything in Bronze and Silver, plus:
- 21-point furnace inspection and maintenance service
So which service do you need? And how will you know?
Here is what we recommend:
When to order Bronze
For pure indoor air quality maintenance purposes, it doesn’t get better than our Bronze air duct cleaning package, which gets right to the heart of keeping your recirculating indoor air as clean and toxin-free as possible.
When to order Silver
The Silver air duct package is a great choice when you have recently (within the last 12 months) had your HVAC/furnace system inspected and maintained, but now you want to have your indoor air duct system inspected and cleaned as well.
When to order Gold
If you have never had your indoor air duct system professionally cleaned, and you have no record of having had your furnace inspected and maintained (for instance, because you just bought a home and the previous homeowner did not know), the Gold package is the perfect choice for you.
Give Us a Call
If you are still not sure which package is the best fit for your needs, we encourage you to reach out to us to schedule your free consultation.
During this consultation, we provide you with a free, no-obligation indoor air duct cleaning service quote. Give us a call at 905-544-2470 to set up your appointment now!
