Tag Archive for: dryer vent cleaning

What Are the Most Common Health Concerns Caused By Dirty Ductwork?

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Indoor air pollution isn’t just what the outside air brings into the home through open doors and windows. The air inside your home or office includes the daily, monthly, and even annual build-up of dirt, airborne bacteria, and broken down debris from every facet of activity within a given building. Indoor air pollution tends to build up in air ducts, on air filters, and all throughout a ventilation system, which is why it’s so critical to regularly clean your air ducts and replace or clean air filters as necessary.

What respiratory problems and other health concerns can be caused by a dirty ventilation system?

  • Allergies: One of the clearest effect of dirty air duct or air filters is an increase in allergies. Dust and mold spores can build up and spread throughout the entirety of a building, and these hazard can increase give it a greater number of people pet and exposure to the elements outside.
  • Respiratory Infections: Viruses and bacteria can easily spread throughout the air even without direct person to person or hand-to-hand contact. Once these germs enter the ventilation system, they can easily grow and spread due to the dark, warm, and generally undisturbed environment. Mold often likes to grow directly on air filters, especially in damp environment near leaks or moist air. This buildup can lead to it penetrating the air filter or being recycled into the air, making respiratory infections are more common and harder to remove the root cause of.
  • Sinus Infections: Even if indoor air pollution is more dirt and debris than it is viruses and bacteria, the buildup of motes and obstructions in the air will come into contact with your nasal passages every time you breathe. This dirt and debris can inflame your sinuses which can lead to an infection even with the most benign of air particles. Having indoor air pollution of any sort can always increase complications with sensitive sinuses.

Whether you’re sensitive to allergies and sinus infections or simply want to breathe clean air in your home or office, regular cleaning of your air filters and ductwork is essential. Please contact us if you have any questions about the best way to make sure that your air is clean or want to learn more about our air duct cleaning process.

Cleaning Your Dryer Vent Is Important

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Cleaning Your Dryer Vent is Important

The vent for your dryer – that tube that goes from your dryer to the outside of your house – is not a thing that we think of cleaning very often. We clean out the dryer lint filter every load, but lint can also build up in the pipe to the outside, and even inside the dryer itself. There are many reasons why this is unsafe.

Risk of Fire

Lint is flammable, dryers run hot, clogged dryers even more so – the buildup could cause a fire. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, there are 2,900 dryer fires each year, causing 5 deaths, 100 injuries, and 35 million dollars worth of damage. Over a third of those are caused by dirty vents.

Decreased Efficiency

A clog in the dryer vent line can cause your dryer to be less efficient, requiring more time or even more than one cycle to dry clothes. Also, increased cycles and longer cycles cost more money in energy and in wear on the dryer and on the clothing.

Wear to Clothing

Clogged dryers may run hotter, causing more wear and strain on the fabric. Your clothes could wear out faster.

Longer Dryer Life

A dryer that has to work harder to dry clothes, and that runs hotter and longer, wears out faster. Keeping your vents cleaned out increases dryer life.

Mold

Dryers run with a lot of humidity at times. Clogged vents can have difficulty blowing all that moisture outside, and can even hold wet spots and puddles inside. Lint can soak up the humidity and get moldy. Soaked lint also compacts and sticks, and makes the clog worse and more difficult to clear.

It is important to make sure that not only your lint filter but also your dryer vent are clean and clear. As vents often have bends and wrinkles and connections that may not be clear, consider having them professionally cleaned at least once a year.

Alpine Specialty Cleaning specializes in dryer vent cleaning. Please click here: dryer vent cleaning for more information and a free estimate!