Now that summer is here, it's time to get your air conditioner serviced. A thorough servicing before the heat waves arrive, will ensure that your air conditioner is up to the task of keeping you cool this summer. While you're having your air conditioner serviced, you'll also want to have your ducts cleaned. Starting the summer with clean ducts will increase the efficiency of your air conditioner, and ensure that the air that's flowing through your home is clean. If you're not sure you need to have your ducts cleaned, here are four issues you should look for. If you see any of these problems in your home, it's time to add duct cleaning to your list of service items for your HVAC technician.
Air Flow is Diminished
When you turn your air conditioner on, you expect to feel cold air flowing through the vents. If the air flow through your vents is diminished, or non-existent, the first thing you should do is change the filter. Dirty filters can stop the air flow through the vents. Once you've changed the filter, check the air flow through the vents again. If the flow is still too low, it's time to have your ducts cleaned.
Foul Odors Coming From Vents
If you're smelling foul odors coming through your vents, and your air conditioner is working properly, the problem may be caused by dirty vents. This is particularly true if you have a pest infestation problem. If you've pests such as roaches and rodents in your duct work, you could be smelling fecal matter, urine, egg casings, and even dead roaches and rodents. A thorough cleaning will remove all those things from your ducts so you can start breathing fresh air again.
Pet Hair Blowing Through House
If you've got pets, particles of their hair can get sucked up into the filter compartment. When that happens, the hair can end up in your ducts. If you're seeing pet hair blowing out from your vents, it's time to get your ducts cleaned.
There's Visible Mold Growth
If you live in a region that experiences excessive humidity during the summer months, you could have mold growing in your ducts. Unfortunately, mold can be harmful for people with breathing problems. If smell mold, take a look inside your vents. If you can see visible mold growth, you'll need to have your ducts cleaned as soon as possible. Without proper cleaning, mold spores can filter through your home each time you turn your air conditioner on.
Contact an HVAC company, like Dalo Plumbing & Air , for more help.
Share21 June 2017
Every summer, I agonized over energy bills that would shoot into the stratosphere as a result of my efforts to keep cool in the heat. Every time I turned the temperature down, my bills increased. This summer, I decided to take some of the control over my energy bill back. I installed reflective film on my windows that reduced the amount of light and heat coming into the house. I started serving more cold meals or asking my husband to barbecue outside, so that my air conditioner didn't have to compete with the hot stove, and I started doing laundry at night to reduce appliance heat in the house at peak times. I also had ceiling fans installed. So far, the difference in my bill has been tremendous. This blog is a way for me to explore other ways to reduce energy drain during the summer months.