Though old man winter seems to be retreating yet again for another upcoming spring and summer season, this does not mean that your furnace does not need a thorough inspection and possible cleaning. In fact, now may very well be the perfect time to get this done.
INDOOR AIR QUALITY
Does it seem that you have constant nasal congestion or sinus headache? The quality of air that is inside your home can have a huge impact on your respiratory health. Typically, in a home that contains 6 rooms, there can be the equivalent of 450 pounds of dust that is created throughout the year! Additionally, this dust is what you and your family is breathing in every day. If your furnace ducts are dirty, that can cause a myriad of symptoms to include headaches, sinus symptoms and allergy-type symptoms.
Cleaning your furnace ducts helps the air in your home circulate more efficiently. If not cleaned regularly, there can be a buildup of contaminants, which can cause the symptoms listed above. Now, this is not to say that if you do not clean your furnace ducts you will suffer from health issues, but for people who have underlying respiratory problems, it could impact their health negatively.
EFFICIENCY
Another reason to maintain your furnace ducts is to make your system as cost effective as possible. When the duct of the furnace are clogged and dirty, it simply does not work as well as it should, which in turn can make your electric bill significantly than usual. This is due to the fact that the furnace is working harder than it should be because it is not clean.
UNWANTED VISITORS
A third reason to have your furnace ducts cleaned is that you may be placing host or hostess to unwanted visitors such as raccoons, birds or any type of animal that can gain access to the duct. This definitely can pose a problem to your furnace working correctly, as well as possibly killing innocent animals.
With that said, having your furnace ducts inspected and cleaned annually should be sufficient to keep it working in tip-top shape, as well as keep you and your family free of possible respiratory illnesses. So before you pack the family up for that yearly summer vacation, add a furnace inspection and furnace duct cleaning to your checklist of things to do so you can breathe easy.