Steps to Take to Prevent Mold in Your Air Ducts

If you have ever had to deal with mold, you won’t need us to tell you just how difficult it can be to get rid of or how unappealing it can make your home look. Mold outbreaks are unsightly and can quickly ruin the appearance of even the most well-decorated of properties. However, mold is more than just a visual nuisance: it can also pose a serious to risk to your health and to the health of anyone else in your household.

Mold is potentially at its most dangerous when it spreads around your air ducts so if you notice a strange smell in your home or any visible signs of mold growth on air vents and in the ductwork, we urge you to take immediate action. Call your local duct cleaning experts and ask them to visit your home at the earliest possible opportunity. If you are not sure who to call, you can search for ‘duct cleaning near me’ online. Alternatively, if you live in or near Arvada, please feel free to call and speak to us now about our commercial and domestic HVAC cleaning services in the area.

Of course, prevention is always preferable to a cure so be sure to follow our top mold prevention tips below if you aren’t already doing so.

Mold Prevention Tips From Our Arvada Duct Cleaning Team

To minimize the chances of mold taking hold in your air ducts and vents, try the following suggestions in your home or commercial premises:

• Check Humidity Levels and Reduce if Too High – A humidity level between 30% and 50% is ideal, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. If the humidity level in your home is a little higher than 50% it probably won’t matter too much but any reading above 60% is considered as high. With this much moisture in the air around your home, you may encounter a number of issues, including mold, mildew and even infestations of pests such as cockroaches. To bring down the humidity level in your home, consider investing in one or more dehumidifiers. If you have never measured the level of humidity in your home and you are not sure how to do it, all you need is an inexpensive digital hygrometer, which you should be able to find in a local DIY store.
• Inspect Your Plumbing on a Regular Basis – Leaking pipes that cause water to seep into the walls of commercial and domestic properties are a leading cause of mold growth in the USA. For this reason, we recommend that you inspect your plumbing on a regular basis or hire a professional to inspect it for you. If you don’t have the name of a reputable local plumber, you can search for one online at the same time as you search for a local air duct and dryer vent cleaning specialist.
• Consider Installing Air Purifiers with UV Lights and Ionization Features – Simple air purifiers will suffice for most homes but if you feel the air in your home is particularly dirty or you want to take every possible measure to improve air quality, more advanced units can be purchased. Those that have UV lights to kill germs and ionization functionality will remove more contaminants.
• Clean AC Drip Pans Regularly – Cleaning your HVAC drain pan regularly will help to ensure that your air conditioning does not create the humid conditions in your property that mold simply loves. You should also make sure that the pan is tilted toward the drain, to minimize the chances of pooling water.
• Check all Air Vents for Obstructions – Make sure there is nothing that could restrict the flow of air from the vents in your home or office. Lighting fixtures should never be installed close to vents and tall pieces of furniture or shelving should be sited well away from them too. Anything that is close enough to your vents to obstruct the flow of air will encourage condensation and higher humidity levels, which can lead to mold growth.
• Have Your Vents and Ductwork Cleaned on a Regular Basis – It should go without saying but it’s so important we feel we have to include this suggestion on our list of top tips for mold prevention. Have your vents and ducts cleaned on a regular basis by an experienced professional. Dirty vents and ducting not only encourage poor air circulation that can lead to mold growth, they will also reduce the efficiency of your HVAC system, thereby increasing the cost of heating and cooling your home or commercial premises throughout the year. A visit once or twice a year from an expert air duct and vent cleaner will not cost a fortune and could save you thousands of dollars in future maintenance costs.

In addition to all of the above, we recommend that you pay an HVAC technician to service your system at least once a year, to ensure that it remains in excellent working order. Even the cleanest of systems will struggle to keep humidity levels down if the air conditioning equipment starts to fail.

Call Our Arvada HVAC Cleaning Team Today

If you happen to live in Boulder, Arvada or a nearby town or city, we would be delighted to come and clean your air ducts and air vents at a time that is convenient for you. Call now for full details of our services in the area.

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