Ductwork Maintenance Tips for Improved Air Quality
When looking at indoor air quality using air conditioning, any issues you have may be unrelated to the actual HVAC unit. Instead, it can have a lot to do with the choice, and age of the home’s air conditioning ducts. When doing ductwork maintenance, air quality can be reduced if ducts with fibreglass insulation on the inside are disturbed.
Always Check with an HVAC Professional First!
Where a cleaning apparatus such as a vacuum is applied to this type of insulation, it may weaken the surface of the insulation and cause fiberglass particles to be discharged from the air conditioning into the home for a long period afterwards. That’s why it’s always best to leave a job like this to the professionals! A licensed HVAC company will usually have the right tools and know-how to properly maintain your home’s ductwork.
What’s Inside Your Air Ducts?
By understanding the different types of ductwork material, air quality can be maintained or improved. Air quality usually depends most on what’s inside the duct system. If the system used is smooth metal on the inside, it rarely needs cleaning, as there are very few places for bacteria and mold to grow. If the internal material is galvanized, the zinc coated surface is harmful to microbes. Where any ductwork has foil covering and is smooth on its internal surface it also rarely needs cleaning, as the surface provides a poor place for microbes to grow as well. It’s at the ‘elbows’ or parts of the duct that are angled and any unintentional irregularities of the surface where most dirt and debris will accumulate, as seen in the photo below:
Where there are plastic surfaces or flex duct, air quality may not be quite as good as the smoother surface designs. This is due to some ductwork being designed with small cavities or hollows in the surface joins. Debris accumulates in these and once damp, these are good places for the development of mold and bacteria. This design requires a good filtration system, as it is often very hard to clean properly. Another product which is coated duct board is satisfactory, providing both outside and inside are foil lined. This product is not as long lasting as metal products though.
Generally, air conditioning ducts do not usually need cleaning more than once every year, as most of the debris matter ends up in the cooling coil and air filter before it reaches the ductwork discharge area. An exception may be return air ducts where they are not filtered and ducts that were attached to a furnace or heater, these are usually found in older homes.
Dealing With Older Ducts and a Lack of Filtration
With this kind of ductwork in place, air quality would need to be monitored or the old ductwork replaced with a better system. If your home’s HVAC system does not have a place for a filter, that’s the most critical issue to address first. Once that’s in place, you can proceed with the replacement of the old lines that connect to the old heater system.
Hopefully you found this guide useful and informative from a homeowner’s perspective. Just remember that cleaning some types of ductwork may not improve the air quality at all, and it is always safer when left to a professional. Let a licensed HVAC technician make the final decision on what’s right for your home’s indoor air quality.
How to Choose a Good HVAC Company
Most of these companies offer free diagnostics within their service area, but may require that to be in the form of a price discount off of service work or duct cleaning. Be sure you understand fully what the price and terms of the deal are, and that the company you work with has clearly marked trucks and a lot of 5 star reviews on Google.
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