A major problem that all too many people let fall to the wayside when it comes to keeping up their home’s air conditioning system involves the efficiency, cleanliness, and just overall quality of their house’s duct system. Unkempt or constructed ducts can cause a great deal of damage to a home and the people who live there (not to mention causing the utility bills to skyrocket if the problem gets too far out of hand). Contaminants that invade the home via ductwork get dispersed into the atmosphere of the home, which can have long-lasting and detrimental repercussions on your health.
One of the biggest and most damaging things to look out for when it comes to bad ductwork is mold. When a system that is supposed to be airtight is no longer airtight, indeed, it can allow moisture to seep into itself. Over time, areas where the condensation forms become, essentially, mold farms--the fungus loves dark, moist places--the sort of places that may be easily formed by, say, a leaking air duct through an attack or crawl space. You can see how this can lead to some serious problems.
Likewise, outside contaminants may sometimes find their way into poorly designed duct systems, severely decimating your indoor air quality. Dust, hairs, bugs, leaves--these things can gather up inside the system and be distributed through the air unit. Southern born and bred readers may be familiar with the phrase, “Something’s done crawled up in there and died.” In the case of leaky or slipshod air ducts that could completely and one hundred percent be a true statement.
If your duct system is connected to any gas appliance, you will want to be especially careful to make sure that air is not backing up in the ductwork and causing a negative pressure zone where the exhaust is supposed to be going. This is a situation known as a “backdraft” which can easily lead to your home being contaminated with carbon monoxide, a gas deadly to humans.
It is also worth noting that, in the long-term, keeping your equipment up to date is typically going to turn out to be cheaper than having new equipment brought in to replace the broken things. Money might be saved in the short-term by avoiding the situation as much as possible, but it’s just going to lead to bigger, more costly problems--higher utility bills caused by the leaking air conditioning system being just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to possible costs.
Contact Harbin Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. to ask about our 60-month/zero-interest specials, available on qualifying, high efficiency systems. With thirty years of excellent customer service coming to bear, you can trust that we will help you make the best choice for your life. Our team looks forward to meeting you. Please feel free to stop by our office, which is located at 5910 Tennessee 57 in Counce, TN, and you can also reach us by calling 731-689-3651 or via our website, www.harbinair.com.
