Posts Tagged ‘Duct Cleaning’

Edmonds HVAC Safety Tip: Clothes Dryer Ventilation

Monday, January 9th, 2012

It’s important to maintain the ventilation system in your Edmonds home for many reasons. Increasing the efficiency of your HVAC system and lowering your utility bills are a few of them, but safety is the best reason to keep your vents clean, particularly your clothes dryer vent.

Clothes dryers are one of the leading causes of house fires each year. Poorly maintained venting systems and improper installation are usually the cause. Protect your home with these maintenance and safety tips.

Even if you clean out the lint trap after each use, lint can still get trapped in the exhaust vent and cause a fire hazard or a potential carbon monoxide leak with gas dryers. Maintaining proper ventilation for a clothes dryer includes cleaning out the exhaust duct and hose. To do this, you just need to unplug your dryer and detach the hose, which can be removed with common household tools. If you already do this regularly and find an abnormal amount of lint and debris, call an HVAC technician to inspect it. There could be something in the duct system blocking the ventilation for your dryer.

At least once a year, you should also have a qualified technician inspect and clean your exhaust duct and make sure you have the proper style hose. If you have a foil or vinyl hose, you should replace it with a flexible metal one that is fireproof. You might want to consider installing a dryer box, which protects the flexible hose and saves space.

Dryers that aren’t properly installed or put in areas that could create hazards are often found in older homes; however, some newer homes are built with designs that create longer ventilation paths and more potential for debris to get trapped inside the ducts.

Don’t wait until a hidden safety issue turns into a fire or carbon monoxide hazard in your Edmonds home. Inspect and clean your exhaust hose and duct today!

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How Do I Reduce Dust in My Home? A Question From Ballard

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

Dust is everywhere. There is no way to stop it from occurring, so instead we turn to cleaning and filtration to keep the amount of dust circulating through the air in your Ballard home to a minimum. Luckily, there are quite a few things you can do, even without installing new equipment, to reduce your dust levels.

Duct Cleaning

First on the list is regular duct cleaning. You dust your furniture and your floors, so why not clean out your ductwork? Properly cleaned ductwork is very important because of just how much stuff can build up in there over time. Imagine regular air flow in an enclosed space that never gets cleaned. How much dust and debris do you think could build up over the course of a year? Hint: it’s enough to keep a steady flow of dust in your indoor air.

Professional duct cleaning is important and should be done once every year or two depending on how often you use your home comfort system. However, you should also clean in and around the vents and ducts in your home where you can reach. This can be done weekly and will help immensely to reduce dust.

Filtration

Most air filters equipped with high quality HEPA filters work extremely well to remove dust from the air. Because HEPA filters can capture particles as small as 0.3 microns, they won’t just remove dust, but pollen, pet dander and even mold. Mold especially is a problem that occurs in far greater frequency in homes without filtration. Simple air filtration is an affordable solution to a lot of different contaminants, so it’s a good fit for any home.

Humidity

Humidity imbalance can cause dust problems as well. Low humidity leads to more dead skin and dust in the house, while high humidity causes the development of dust mites. Properly regulating your humidity to slightly less than 50% will create a perfect environment in which less dust is created and circulated in your home.

The best way to reduce dust is to take a three pronged approach to indoor air quality. Cleanliness is always first on the list, but after that don’t neglect the value of filtration and proper humidity control. When used properly, these three things will ensure dust never bothers you again.

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IAQ Systems – Can They Help Get Rid of Bed Bugs? A Question From Shoreline

Monday, August 8th, 2011

Indoor air quality systems are designed to remove a lot of unwanted contaminants and allergens from your Shoreline home. But, they can also help remove some unwanted pests. Dust mites, for example, can only survive in humidity of 50% or greater. But, what about bed bugs – a much larger problem for many homeowners? Can you get rid of them with your air quality system?

Bed Bug Facts

Bed bugs come into your home on clothing, luggage or other people. They don’t sprout out of any one particular condition, so no matter how clean your house is, you can be exposed to bed bugs at work, on the train, or when visiting friends. Once you’re exposed, it is very easy to bring them into your home where they quickly spread to the rest of the family.

Bed bugs don’t generally live far from people, so you won’t find them in dirty ducts or hiding in your air vents very often. That makes it even harder to get rid of them without a full blown fumigation of your home. However, there are some things your indoor air quality system can do that will make a difference.

Indoor Air Quality Actions to Take

Bed bugs don’t just thrive on your family, but on the conditions in which you live. They’ll get into the nooks and crannies of your furniture and your clothing and wait until night fall to come out and bite. So, one of the easiest things you can do is utilize a complete air filtration system to remove all the extra debris and dust that builds up in your home.

Humidity control will also make it easier to clean your mattress and the surrounding areas with a HEPA certified vacuum cleaner. If you have ductwork, make sure it is cleaned regularly. While bed bugs don’t hide in duct work very often, some will and every bed bug you can destroy is one less that will bite you.

Finally, avoid any pesticides while your family is in the house. Pesticide exposure is a common cause of illness in children and pets. It can be avoided with careful attention to indoor air quality and cleanliness. If you need to fumigate, call a licensed exterminator who can do so without putting anyone in your home at risk. They can help you layout a good fumigation plan and block future infestations.

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How Can You Improve Your Arlington Home’s Air Quality?

Friday, August 5th, 2011

One of the easiest ways to protect the health of your family is by maintaining high air quality in your Arlington home. Without good air quality, you run the risk of contracting Sick Building Syndrome or making other problems like allergies or asthma worse. Depending on what type of air quality system you already have in place, there are many things you can do to improve your air quality.

Filter Changes

The easiest way to improve air quality is to maintain the equipment you already have. Specifically, change your filters regularly. Filters each have a specified period of time for which they will last. However, if your home has high levels of larger contaminants like pollen and dander, you may need to change your filter more often.

Beyond filter changes, make sure your filtration device uses high quality HEPA filters, capable of stopping debris as small as 0.3 microns.

Cleaning Your Ducts and Equipment

Another easy way to reduce the load on your air quality system without paying for new filters every two months is to clean the equipment and the ducts in your house. Ductwork quickly gets clogged with dirt, dust, and other debris being blown by your furnace and air conditioner. If you have a boiler and radiant heat system this is less of an issue, but you should still check your air vents and any air conditioner units in your house for excess dirt and debris buildup.

Your air quality equipment should have a specified timeline for regular cleanings – usually every six months to one year depending on the size and quality of the equipment. A lot of this cleaning can be done by you, but for advanced cleaning or parts replacement, you may need a professional.

New Equipment

Finally, you can buy new equipment that does a better job of removing contaminants from your indoor air. If you have only a simple air filter, consider getting a purifier as well to remove other contaminants like smoke and gas. If you have a smaller piece of equipment that works well but longer keeps up with the entire house, there are larger purifiers on the market that can handle a bigger space. Additionally, proper ventilation can help with your indoor air quality if you don’t currently have enough fresh air circulating through your home.

No matter what your problem, there is a solution you can work toward to keep the indoor air quality of your home high.

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