When most of us leave the house each morning, we are greeted by a thin layer of yellow fairy dust…. That’s wishful thinking. If only it were fairy dust. Instead, in the very luscious Mid-Atlantic region of Maryland, DC and Virginia we are lucky to have beautiful green landscapes as far as the eye can see. The ornamental trees, shrubs, and grasses that are blooming in the spring sure are beautiful but your eyes, nose and throat may not agree.
This blooming coincides with the very short window of time when the weather in the Mid-Atlantic is mild enough that we can open our windows and doors and hold off on cranking up the AC before the humidity comes. The tricky part is that with opening up the windows and doors, you are inviting pollen into your home. Just like it does our cars, the pollen will create a thin dusting on the surfaces in your home, including your HVAC ducts and vents. Once pollen is in your HVAC system, any time your unit turns on it will be circulating the pollen throughout your home. Not ideal if you have any type of allergy. Spring is a great time to have your air ducts cleaned. Not only has your HVAC system been circulating stale air all winter, but it has also likely accumulated dust, dirt and other debris along with the pollen. These allergens can be very bothersome to all people. Hire a NADCA certified air duct cleaning company like Dapper Ducts to remove the pollen, debris, dust and other build up in your ducts. Call Dapper Ducts to get an air duct cleaning quote so that you can breathe easily.
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In the Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia area, we are all on the edge of our seats for sunny days and warmer weather. Feels like it has been a very long winter. At last trees are blooming and flower shoots are coming through. On the same hand, pollen counts will be starting to show up on your radar as well. You know pollen is here with the itchy eyes and nose, a little scratchiness in your throat.
Now is a good time to have your air ducts cleaned. You’re probably opening your windows to let in some fresh air on these temperate days, and this will increase the pollen, dust, dirt and other debris that are introduced into our homes. These allergens will make their way into your air handling systems and when you turn on the heat or air condition, they will be circulated in our homes. We always recommend the proactive step of cleaning or replacing the air filter in your HVAC system each month. However, you still need to hire a NADCA certified air duct cleaning company like Dapper Ducts to remove the debris, dust and other build up in your ducts. Call Dapper Ducts to get an air duct cleaning quote so that you can breathe easily. We’re going to take a slight detour from our typical topics around indoor air quality (air duct, dryer vent and chimney cleaning) and talk about the connection between indoor and outdoor air quality. I recently came across an interesting article out of Taiwan.
Taiwan’s environmental protection agency Administration announced regulations for indoor air quality (IAQ) and will impose fines for schools with poor IAQ. The Administration noted that the nation’s kindergartens are a top priority for improved indoor air quality. The most problematic pollutants are CO2, CO, PM2.5 and PM10, which are blamed on idling cars during drop off and pick up times. (FYI, since I had to look this up myself, PM2.5 and PM10 refers to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) that have a diameter of less than (insert # here) micrometers.) These regulations are super interesting to me for a lot of reasons. But mostly, to stay relevant to the main idea, I hope this drives home the connection between outdoor air and indoor air quality. Somehow I think we have this false sense of security that “Phew, I’m inside, it’s safe in here” with regard to the pollutants in the air outside, the allergens that we are triggered by, and the dust that we are trying to keep ahead of. And this just isn’t accurate. What’s going on outside most certainly follows us inside (could take that really deep if you want to) so I applaud the Taiwanese government for helping to bring awareness to how a simple habit that may not even be registering in the consciousness of parents’ minds (keeping the car running during drop off and pick up) could be potentially harming their kids. Something I’m sure they would never be doing intentionally. I encourage you to think about the air quality at your kids’ daycare or school. Have you ever glanced at the supply or return vents in the classroom and noticed a layer of grayish/black dust and debris? What can you do about it? Having Dapper Ducts or another NADCA (National Air Duct Cleaners Association) certified company perform air duct cleaning, so that all of your ducts, vents and the air handler unit are free from debris and dust is a big step toward improving the air quality for the little ones in your life. Call or email Dapper Ducts today for a quote! We frequently receive phone calls and emails from potential customers who have recently moved into a new home or apartment where a smoker lived. There are a lot of factors that go into how strongly the smell of smoke may linger in a home. Some of those factors are: wall to wall carpeting, wall paper and paint, window coverings that came with the home (i.e. drapes and curtains), and air ducts and air filters.
For the carpets, wall paper/paint, and window coverings, those are items that are up to the new homeowner to determine what they have the means to replace and how. For the smell that may be lingering and circulating in your HVAC unit, air duct, air vents and air filter, Dapper Ducts can certainly help with our full service air duct cleaning. According to the NADCA guidelines, the following components are to be cleaned with any air duct cleaning service and Dapper Ducts does this as part of any standard duct cleaning job:
Have Dapper Ducts or another NADCA (National Air Duct Cleaners Association) certified company perform air duct cleaning for your home. Ensuring all of your ducts, vents and the component parts of your HVAC or air handler unit are free from smoke, microbial growth (mold) and dust is critical to good indoor air quality. Call or email Dapper Ducts today for an air duct cleaning quote! Often when we think of air quality, we think of the outdoor air and reports we hear on the TV or radio during warm weather for haze, smog, and days when more sensitive groups like children and older adults should remain indoors. However, what we often don’t think of when it comes to air quality is the fact that all the air we breathe in our homes, offices, hospitals, and schools comes from the outdoors. Indoor air quality is frequently just as bad if not worse than outdoor air quality. This is even more true doing the colder months. Why?
There are a lot of factors that impact the quality of indoor air, so I’ll give a few examples. During the winter, we usually aren’t opening our windows to let “fresh” air in. This means the same air is being circulated in each room, pulled back into your return vents, run through your air ducts (that may have years of dust and debris resting inside, let alone microbial growth), and then pushed back out your supply vents. YIKES, right? This makes changing the filter monthly essential and having your air ducts cleaned at least once every two years. Then we’ve got the chimneys to think about. Cuddling up in front of the fire with hot cocoa and a movie or good book is the quintessential image of winter, and we support that. We just want to be sure you do it safely. Many people do not know how to properly start a fire, which leads to smoke kicking back into the home before the flue is warm enough to pull it up and out of the house. Please, have your chimney cleaned and inspected every year if you use it regularly. And don’t hesitate to ask Yani how to start a fire. Ain’t no shame in the learning game. You could always pick up a tip you didn’t know before (plus he loves playing with fire :). Lastly, let’s talk about holiday decorations. Where do you store yours? Is it climate controlled? Are they out in the open in your basement or attic collecting dust? This can play a big role in introducing mold, mildew, dust and debris into your indoor air this time of year and then you’re breathing it the rest of the season. If any of these situations ring true for you, have Dapper Ducts or another NADCA (National Air Duct Cleaners Association) certified company perform air duct cleaning for your home, condo or apartment. Chimney cleaning and dryer vent cleaning is also important this time of year when house fires are more likely. Call or email Dapper Ducts today for a quote. We always offer discounts when you bundle 2 or more services. |
AuthorThe Dapper Ducts team wants you to know all about indoor air quality. Archives
October 2019
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