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The Importance of Clean Air Ducts

Duct cleaning is probably not the first to-do on your list, but here at Air System Services, we are big advocates of annual cleaning and regular maintenance for your ducts. You are probably thinking, “Of course, you would say that you are an HVAC company,” and you are right! If there is anything we are passionate about it is air systems and their positive impact on building occupants' health and a limited impact on their wallets.

When it comes to duct cleaning, there are two reasons why it’s very important.  The first is health and the second is finances.

Health

Indoor air quality is an issue that plagues many buildings and occupants all over the country. We have touched on this issue in a few posts on our blog including The Basics of Sick Building Syndrome, Mold: Diagnosis and Prevention, and our indoor air quality page.  The World Health Organization has published statistics that show more than 1.6 million deaths a year due to poor indoor air quality. To put that in perspective, that is one death every 20 seconds! Unfortunately, there are more publications to support these startling numbers. The American Lung Association attributes tens of thousands of deaths to poor indoor air quality, and another many thousand – even millions of deaths to related conditions such as asthma, infections, and other issues provoked by poor indoor air quality.

Keeping indoor air quality a priority in homes and offices keeps family and building occupants healthy and productive. Specifically, indoor air quality is important for building managers to address because it has been shown in studies that poor indoor air quality can have detrimental effects on productivity, attendance, and morale. Further, it is not uncommon for an employee to complain to authorities about unhealthy work conditions in a “sick building” which can quickly add up to huge legal fees if a lawsuit were to evolve.  This transitions us to the second reason to clean and maintain air ducts.

Finances

Basically, anything that may restrict airflow through your HVAC system reduces efficiency and will increase the cost to run your heat or air.  Energy costs are already rising, and lower efficiency systems quickly become a financial burden as they strain the wallet on a monthly basis. In addition, restricted airflow through your HVAC system also means less air circulation, so it takes longer to change out the air in any given room, adding to already expensive energy costs.

We have mentioned it before in the health section, but buildings with poor indoor air quality tend to have lower employee production rates, higher absences, and lower morale, resulting in a loss of productivity for a business, which we all know equates to dollars in the long run.

If you are a building manager or a homeowner who is concerned about the health and finances of their building, call us at  919-266-5755, or fill out our contact form.