Every home, no matter how old, has a mystery or two within. Maybe it’s a cryptic inscription in the driveway. It could be a not-quite-right angle in the hall bathroom. Perhaps it’s a distinct whistling sound you hear every few nights that convinces you the house is haunted.
Other mysteries are much more mundane. For instance: What’s going on in your air conditioning ducts? They’re out of sight and out of mind, so knowing what’s gathering within can be difficult. What you should know is that it could spell trouble. So what can build up inside your home’s ductwork? Let’s solve the mystery.
Good Old Bad Old Dust
Though more innocuous than what can develop in your ducts, dust—the most common unwanted occupant of ductwork—can still pose health problems and household inconveniences. Dust mites, which are common allergens, are rampant amid household dust. Your HVAC system can then send them through the ducts, onto your surfaces, and into your nose. If you find yourself dusting more often than usual, even after you’ve replaced your HVAC filter, this is one sign that this is more than just a filter problem.
Mold Growth: This Mold Breaks You
Humidity throughout your home doesn’t leave out ductwork. This moist circulating air, in concert with the ubiquitous mold spores that float by, can lead to entire colonies of mold taking hold deep within your ducts, out of sight but most certainly not out of your respiratory system. This is among the more frustrating sources of respiratory illness: you can clean your home from top to bottom but still neglect the ducts where the mold resides.
Bacteria: Single Cells, Multiple Issues
We sanitize our surfaces regularly—or at least, we certainly should. Kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms are often the objects of rigorous cleaning to prevent the buildup of bacteria. Your ductwork, however, probably doesn’t get the antibacterial attention that your toilets and counters do. Those same moist conditions can foster the rampant growth of bacteria, which love dark and damp places more than the moodiest teenagers you’ve ever met. Circulating bacteria-contaminated air through your house could be making you sick without knowing it.
Animal Droppings: Ew Horizons
Every child’s fantasy at one point or another is to pry off a grate, climb into industrial-sized air ducts, and explore a secret world above, below, and within the walls. For tiny pests such as cockroaches and mice, or even not-so-tiny squirrels and raccoons, that fantasy can become a reality—and a nightmare for homeowners. Excrement is part of what can build up inside your home’s ductwork, much to anyone’s chagrin. These pests can leave their calling cards in your ducts in the form of solid waste, which can send untold numbers of unthinkable pathogens into your home’s air. If this hasn’t convinced you to give your ducts a thorough cleaning, what will?
