How to Prevent Air Duct Contamination

If you find yourself getting sick frequently or your allergies seem to be acting up for no reason, the problem may be in your air ducts. Air duct contamination can cause bacteria to grow and spread throughout your house. The spores can make you sick. Fortunately there's an easy fix. You can prevent dirt from entering your air system at all so your air ducts will not become contaminated.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Manual for your heating and cooling system
• High-efficiency air filter for heating and cooling system
• High-efficiency vacuum with filter

1. Use the highest-efficiency air filter recommended by the manufacturer of your heating and cooling system. This information should be available in the instruction manual or on the equipment.

2. Change the filter for your heating system regularly. If you have a central air-conditioning unit the filter should be changed on that also.

3. Look for any gaps around the air filter. You do not want dirt to enter the system without going through the filter.

4. Vacuum your home regularly, preferably with a vacuum that contains a high-efficiency vacuum (HEPA) filter. Using high-efficiency vacuum bags is a good idea also. Remove dust regularly.

5. If there is any construction work being done in your home, seal off supply and return registers and do not operate the heating and cooling system until after cleaning up the dust.

Tips & Warnings

• If your heating system includes in-duct humidification equipment, operate and maintain the humidifier strictly as recommended by the manufacturer.
• When having your heating and cooling system maintained or checked for other reasons, ask the service provider to clean cooling coils and drain pans.