A Breath of Fresh Air: How Vent Maintenance Enhances Indoor Comfort

Every home collects dust, but some homes deal with a lot more of it than others. Dogs and cats bring hair, dander, pollen and dirt into the house, while cooking, fireplaces, candles, smoking, carpeting, bedding and everyday life all add more particles to the indoor environment. Remodeling can create even more, especially when drywall dust and construction debris get into places that are difficult to reach afterward. The EPA estimates that Americans spend about 90 percent of their time indoors and notes that concentrations of some pollutants can be several times higher indoors than outside, so it makes sense to pay attention to what is building up in the home. If you find yourself constantly cleaning and wondering why your house is so dusty, there may be more than one thing contributing to it.

Your air ducts are only one part of the house, but over the years they can collect dust, pet hair and other debris that makes its way into the system. A little dust around a vent does not automatically mean you have dirty air ducts or need them cleaned, but there are situations where taking a look makes sense. Maybe you have had dogs or cats in the house for years, a previous owner smoked indoors, you just finished remodeling, you can see pet hair or debris farther inside the vents, or you are actually noticing dust coming from the vents. Some homeowners also decide to have the ducts cleaned after buying an older home simply because they do not know what has accumulated in there or the last time anyone cleaned them.

Air duct cleaning is not going to solve every indoor air quality problem or eliminate every source of dust in a house. But when there is a substantial buildup of dust, pet hair or construction debris inside the ductwork, cleaning removes what is actually there. So whether you are wondering about air duct cleaning after remodeling, trying to figure out if pet hair has built up in your air ducts, or simply looking for signs that your air ducts may need cleaning, what you can see and what has been happening in your home are good places to start.