7 Ways Dirty Air Ducts Are Affecting Your Family’s Health

You have probably heard by now that it is important to schedule regular cleaning of your air ducts, vents, and filters. Adding air duct cleaning to the books improves indoor air quality, which certainly sounds like a positive thing. But have you ever thought about the consequences of not getting your air ducts cleaned? Poor air quality may have more negative effects on your family than you might think. Take a look at some of the crazy stuff that could be hiding in your vents and what it does to the body.

The “Stuff” Hiding in Your Vents

Duct cleaning professionals are always talking about the “stuff” building up in your air ducts, circulating through your house and affecting your indoor air quality. Here’s an inside look at what they are referring to:

• Dust and Dust Mites
• Pollen
• Pet (and People!) Dander
• Mold, Mold Spores, and Mildew
• Fungi and Fungal Spores
• Disease-Carrying Rodents and Insects, Their Feces and Remains
• Bacteria and Viruses
• Tobacco Smoke By-Products and Other Chemical Pollutants

All of these allergens, growths, diseases, and pollutants can wreak havoc on your family’s health.

Health Symptoms of Dirty Air Ducts

If your family is experiencing any of the following symptoms, it could be a sign that you have dirty air ducts:

• Coughing or chronic coughing, sneezing, sore throat or throat irritation, congested or runny nose, and itchy or watery eyes (cold symptoms)
• Wheezing, difficulty breathing, and asthma or allergy worsens or attacks occur at home, not elsewhere
• Headaches
• Low-grade fever
• Eczema, rashes, or hives
• Lethargy and feeling generally “unwell” at home

These symptoms could be indicative of larger health concerns caused by dirty air vents.

1. Worsen Pre-Existing Conditions, Such As Asthma, Allergies, and Pulmonary Conditions

Family members with asthma or allergies can suffer from dirty air vents as the allergens circulating throughout the indoor air trigger increased and longer attacks, making them sick. In addition, studies have shown that patients suffering from pulmonary health conditions saw their condition improve when their primary living space received regular air duct cleaning, revealing that dirty air ducts can worsen the condition of family members struggling with pulmonary health.

2. Develop Respiratory Infections, Disease

If your family is getting sick more than normal, experiencing coughing, sneezing, sore throats, runny noses, nasal congestion, headaches, and low-grade fevers, they may have upper respiratory infections as a result of dirty air ducts. If your air ducts remain uncleaned, these issues could develop into something worse–a lower respiratory infection such as bronchitis or pneumonia.

3. Cause a Sinus Infection

As bacteria and viruses circulate throughout your indoor air, they could be working their way into your family’s sinuses, which can lead to infection.

4. Catch the Common Cold

This same bacteria can affect more than just the sinuses, but the whole body and cause the common cold along with all of its symptoms.

5. Cause Dry or Itchy Skin

The mold and mildew circulated throughout the air by dirty air ducts can worsen or lead to skin issues such as eczema, rashes, and hives.

6. Make You Tired, Feel Unwell

As your family’s bodies fight off the bacteria in the air caused by dirty air ducts, kicking-on their immune systems, they may begin to feel tired, run-down, and generally unwell when they are at home.

7. Create Stress

Because dirty air ducts no longer filter indoor air like they are supposed to, the dust in your home is no longer removed, but simply circulated. We Alaskans know full-well the pain of wiping glacial silt off of our hard surfaces only to have them settle again in under 15 minutes. Dirty air ducts can create stress from endless cleaning!

If your family is experiencing some of these symptoms and you think dirty air ducts may be the cause, give us a call! At Moore Heating, we have been providing superior, quality duct cleaning to Anchorage, Eagle River, and the Mat-Su Valley for over 30 years. We would love to speak with you and your family!