When you clean most things in your surroundings, the relationship between cause and effect is immediately obvious. This isn’t so for air ducts and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems. Indoor air quality is hard to assess until it gets really bad. By then, cleaning the system can be much more expensive, and you and your family or employees might already be at medical risk. Here’s the how and why of HVAC cleaning improving your air quality. Really though, it might be more accurate to say that failure to clean your HVAC hurts that air quality than the inverse.
HVAC Filters are Vital
When you get a professional HVAC cleaning session, an important part of the process is filter treatment. Dust, dirt, and pollen particles in the air get pulled into the filter screens, and layer on more and more thickly. Once a filter is covered in dirt, the fan has to work harder to pull air through it, which forces the dust particles inside too. The filter screen weakens from this, and the air that comes in dirtier than it was outside. Depending on how long it’s been since last time, your HVAC filters might just need some cleaning, or they could require replacement. Either way, you can count on them making your air cleaner rather than dirtier once they’ve been serviced.
Settled Dust Tends To Snowball
A well-made ventilation system defends itself against fouling. The HVAC system’s interior is smooth and free of sharp corners, which makes it difficult for dust to settle on them. As long as the fan sweeps this system with moving air frequently, an HVAC interior doesn’t get dirty easily. However, once a small amount of dust does manage to settle inside of the system, these defenses start losing their effectiveness. Dust is rough and adhesive, and a dust particle’s surface easily catches other particles. A layer of dust readily catches more dust out of the passing air, and the dirt coating gets thicker at an accelerating rate. Once you cross the threshold, air quality starts declining faster than you might think.
Dampness and Rust
Dirt doesn’t only attract more dirt. Many natural impurities also soak up moisture from the atmosphere, and the enclosed space inside an HVAC makes evaporation difficult. Moisture is bad for machines in general, and HVACs are no exception. Moisture breeds bacteria and mold that hurt your air quality badly, sometimes dangerously. It also causes metal surfaces inside of your ducts and HVAC motor box to rust, making the surfaces even rougher and better at trapping dust. Part of washing an HVAC system is drying it, and a good cleaning session will leave yours free of moisture and related unpleasantness.
Cleaning San Ramon Air Ducts Often
It seems obvious that HVAC cleaning would improve air quality, but many people don’t get how bad things can get how quickly without cleaning. HVAC cleaning also improves energy efficiency, reliability, and general performance. Want to improve airflow and the quality of the atmosphere inside your place of business or home? Get help today from nearby Air Duct Cleaning San Ramon technicians to remove dirt and dust from ductworks or HVACs!